The Bofrost Cup on Ice was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union (). The first iteration was held in 1986 in Frankfurt. When the ISU launched the Champions Series (later renamed the Grand Prix Series) in 1995, the German competition – then called the Nations Cup – was one of the five qualifying events. It remained a Grand Prix event until 2002, after which point it was supplanted by the Cup of China. This event was held under several names, including the Fujifilm Trophy and the Sparkassen Cup on Ice. The last installment of the competition took place in 2004.

Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earned points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were invited to then compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia holds the record for winning the most Bofrost Cup on Ice titles in men's singles (with four), while Maria Butyrskaya, also of Russia, holds the record in women's singles (with three). Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer of Germany hold the record in pair skating (with four), while Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov of Russia hold the record in ice dance (with four).

History Beginning with the 1995–96 season, the International Skating Union (ISU) launched the Champions Series – later renamed the Grand Prix Series – which consisted of five qualifying competitions and the Champions Series Final. This allowed skaters to perfect their programs earlier in the season, as well as compete against the same skaters whom they would later encounter at the World Championships. This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which was in high demand. The five qualifying competitions during this inaugural season were the 1995 Nations Cup, the 1995 NHK Trophy, the 1995 Skate America, the 1995 Skate Canada, and the 1995 Trophée de France. Skaters earned points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were then invited to compete at the Champions Series Final.

The inaugural competition – the 1986 Fujifilm Trophy – was held in Frankfurt. Petr Barna of Czechoslovakia won the men's event, Dianne Takeuchi of Canada won the women's event, Melanie Gaylor and Lee Barkell of Canada won the pairs event, and Lia Trovati and Roberto Pelizzola of Italy won the ice dance event. From 1986 to 1987, the competition was known as the Fujifilm Trophy. There was no event held in 1988. In 1989, the competition – now known as the Nations Cup – moved to Gelsenkirchen, where it remained for the entirety of its run. In 1998, the competition changed its name to the Sparkassen Cup on Ice, and in 2002, it again changed its name, this time to the Bofrost Cup on Ice, in recognition of its sponsor, the frozen foods company Bofrost.

In 2003, the Bofrost Cup on Ice lost its spot in the Grand Prix series after the Chinese Skating Association reached a more lucrative television contract with the ISU, being replaced by the Cup of China on the schedule. Reinhard Mirmseker, then-president of the German Ice Skating Union, tried to convince the ISU that rather than stripping the rights to a Grand Prix event from Germany, they should hold a seventh Grand Prix event instead, or rotate the sixth event among the nations of Europe, but those suggestions were turned down.

Despite losing its spot in the Grand Prix series, the German Ice Skating Union continued to stage the competition anyway, but with a unique format. In lieu of the usual short programs, singles skaters competed in a jumping event, where each skater performed a particular jump or jump combination in a round-robin format and were scored by a panel of judges. After each skater received their score, they had the option of either keeping it, or risk performing the jump again for a potential higher score. Skaters with the lowest average scores were eliminated in each round. Carolina Kostner of Italy praised the format of the event: "This competition was very cool. Every skater had a second chance." Likewise, Joannie Rochette of Canada stated: "This competition is really good. It's exciting and thrilling. I like the combination of a jump competition with a free program." The comparable event for pair teams involved performing throw jumps, side-by-side jumps, and lifts in the same competitive format. Ice dance teams performed their original dances as they would have at a normal competition. All skaters and teams performed their free skates or free dances for the second half of the competition. Although this new format was well received, and the German Ice Skating Union had hoped to continue it as an annual invitational event, the Bofrost Cup on Ice did not continue after 2004.

Medalists

Men's singles +Men's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1986 Frankfurt Petr Barna Alessandro Riccitelli Zhang Shubin 1987 Christopher Bowman Vladimir Petrenko Makoto Kano 1988 No competition held 1989 Gelsenkirchen Petr Barna Viktor Petrenko Paul Wylie 1990 Kurt Browning Todd Eldredge Ronny Winkler 1991 Mark Mitchell Mirko Eichhorn Daniel Weiss 1992 Todd Eldredge Alexei Urmanov Viacheslav Zagorodniuk 1993 Viktor Petrenko Scott Davis Sébastien Britten 1994 Elvis Stojko Shepherd Clark Dmitri Dmitrenko 1995 Viacheslav Zagorodniuk Alexei Urmanov Todd Eldredge 1996 Alexei Urmanov Dmitri Dmitrenko Alexei Yagudin 1997 Elvis Stojko Igor Pashkevich Alexander Abt 1998 Alexei Yagudin Alexander Abt Andrejs Vlascenko 1999 Evgeni Plushenko Guo Zhengxin Matthew Savoie 2000 Timothy Goebel Li Chengjiang 2001 2002 Alexander Abt 2003 Stefan Lindemann Jeffrey Buttle Silvio Smalun 2004 Ben Ferreira Matthew Savoie

Women's singles +Women's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1986 Frankfurt Dianne Takeuchi Fu Caishu Cornelia Renner 1987 Midori Ito Jill Trenary Natalia Gorbenko 1988 No competition held 1989 Gelsenkirchen Tonya Harding Marina Kielmann Patricia Neske 1990 Kristi Yamaguchi Evelyn Großmann Karen Preston 1991 Nancy Kerrigan Marina Kielmann Laëtitia Hubert 1992 Surya Bonaly Tanya Bingert Marina Kielmann 1993 Tanja Szewczenko Oksana Baiul Rena Inoue 1994 Marina Kielmann Elena Liashenko Tanja Szewczenko 1995 Michelle Kwan Maria Butyrskaya Nicole Bobek 1996 Irina Slutskaya Tara Lipinski Vanessa Gusmeroli 1997 Tanja Szewczenko Irina Slutskaya Elena Liashenko 1998 Elena Sokolova Yulia Lavrenchuk Maria Butyrskaya 1999 Maria Butyrskaya Elena Liashenko Irina Slutskaya 2000 Sarah Hughes Tatiana Malinina 2001 Yoshie Onda Angela Nikodinov 2002 Yoshie Onda Fumie Suguri Susanna Pöykiö 2003 Joannie Rochette Susanna Pöykiö Júlia Sebestyén 2004 Jane Bugaeva Constanze Paulinus Annie Bellemare

Pairs +Pairs event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1986 Frankfurt 1987 1988 No competition held 1989 Gelsenkirchen 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Ice dance +Ice dance event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1986 Frankfurt 1987 1988 No competition held 1989 Gelsenkirchen 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Records + Discipline Most titles Skater(s) Years Men's singles 4 1999–2002 Women's singles 3 1999–2001 Pairs 4 1992;1994;1996–97 Ice dance 4 1995–98 5 1992;1995–98

Cumulative medal count Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Total medals

Note

References

External links German Ice Skating Union