The first selection match for the national figure skating team for the 2024-2025 season will be held at the indoor ice rink in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province from the 1st to the 3rd of next month.
Major players such as figure skating men’s single star Cha Jun-hwan (Korea University), female single ace Shin Ji-ah (Youngdong Middle School), Lee Hae-in (Sehwa Girls’ High School), and Kim Ye-rim (Dankook University) will compete fiercely.
Players will determine the final ranking by summing the results of the 2023 KB Financial National Men’s and Women’s Figure Skating Presidential Ranking Competition, the first national team selection match, and the results of the second selection match and the 78th National Men’s and Women’s Figure Skating Championships to be held in January next year.
A total of 12 players, including four male singles and eight female singles, will be selected for the next season. The criteria for selecting national team members for team events such as ice dance will be determined later.
The first round of selection also has a ticket to the 2024 International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Championships to be held in Shanghai, China, in January next year. Up to the top three men’s and women’s singles, pairs and ice dances will be eligible to compete.
The results of this selection match are hard to predict. The same goes for the men’s single, which Cha Joon-hwan won every year. This is because Cha Jun-hwan’s physical condition is not normal.
Cha Jun-hwan injured his right ankle ahead of the opening of this season and gave up participating in the 5th ISU Senior Grand Prix from the 18th to the 20th due to severe pain.
My current physical condition is not that good either. However, if Cha Jun-hwan does not participate in this tournament, he will lose his qualification as a national team player, so he decided to go ahead with the participation despite the pain.
The national team selection match will feature a large number of young athletes who have played an active role in this season’s Junior Grand Prix.
Lim Joo-heon (Surigo) and Kim Hyun-kyum (Hang High School), who won one gold medal and one silver medal each in two junior Grand Prix competitions, will challenge Cha Jun-hwan’s stronghold.
In the women’s single, all major players seeking to recover their pride will step up.
You Young, who lost the Taegeuk mark last year due to his poor performance in the national team selection match, is seeking to make a comeback for the first time in a year.
Lee Hae-in and Kim Ye-rim, who failed to win medals due to sluggish performances in this season’s Grand Prix series, will also stand in front of domestic fans.
Shin Ji-ah, who stood on the silver board from the standpoint of a challenger last year, will compete in this tournament as the defending champion.
The men’s and women’s senior short programs will be held on December 2 and the free skate on December 3.
The only ice dance group participates in Im Hae-na-Quan Ye (Gyeonggi General) group. 토토사이트