2025 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge
The 2025 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is a figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Denis Ten Foundation and the Kazakhstan Skating Union, and the seventh event of the 2025–26 ISU Challenger Series. It was held at the Halyk Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 1–4 October 2025.[1] Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance, and skaters earned ISU World Standing points based on their results. BackgroundThe Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is named in honor of Denis Ten, a former figure skater who competed internationally for Kazakhstan. He was the 2014 Winter Olympic bronze medalist, two-time World Championship medalist (silver in 2013; bronze in 2015), the 2015 Four Continents champion, and a nine-time Kazakh national champion.[2] Ten was murdered on 19 July 2018 in Almaty by carjackers.[3] The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and organized by ISU member nations. The objective was to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn ISU World Standing points.[4] The 2025–26 Challenger Series consisted of eleven events, of which the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was the seventh. Changes in preliminary assignmentsThe International Skating Union published the initial list of entriants on 27 September 2025.[5]
Required performance elementsSingle skatingMen and women competing in single skating first performed their short programs on Thursday, 2 October.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[9] the short program had to include the following elements: For men: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.[10] For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.[10] Women performed their free skates on Friday, 3 October,[1] while men performed theirs on Saturday, 4 October.[1] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,[9] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[11] Ice danceCouples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on Friday, 3 October.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[9] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s". Examples of applicable dance styles and music included, but were not limited to: pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge.[12] The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.[12] Couples then performed their free dances on Saturday, 4 October.[1] The free dance performance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[9] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.[12] JudgingFor the 2025–2026 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps and spins – were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[13] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, an average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total element score.[14] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components – skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music – and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[15]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[17] The total element score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[18] Medal summaryThe 2025 Denis Ten Memorial champions: Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan (men's singles); Lee Hae-in of South Korea (women's singles); and Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Georgia (ice dance)
ResultsMen's singles
Women's singles
Ice dance
References
Works cited
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