The Nepela Memorial () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Slovak Figure Skating Association () at the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. The competition debuted in 1993 in honor of Ondrej Nepela, a Slovak figure skater who competed for Czechoslovakia and won the gold medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched the ISU Challenger Series in 2014, the Nepela Memorialat that point called the Ondrej Nepela Trophywas one of the inaugural competitions. The Nepela Memorial has been a Challenger Series event every year since, except for 2020 and 2021, when the competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earn World Standing points based on their results.

Three skaters are tied for winning the most Nepela Memorial titles in men's singles (with two each): Gabriele Frangipani of Italy, Mikhail Kolyada of Russia, and Kensuke Nakaniwa of Japan. Likewise, three skaters are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (also with two each): Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia, Zuzana Paurová of Slovakia, and Júlia Sebestyén of Hungary. Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek of Poland hold the record in pair skating (with two each). Eight teams are tied for winning the most titles in ice dance (also with two each): Agata Błażowska and Marcin Kozubek of Poland, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain, Julia Golovina and Oleg Voyko of Ukraine, Nóra Hoffmann and Maxim Zavozin of Hungary, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain, and Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi of Germany.

History

The inaugural edition of the Nepela Memorialthen called the Ondrej Nepela Memorialwas held in 1993 in Bratislava. The competition is named in honor of Ondrej Nepela, a Slovak figure skater who competed internationally for Czechoslovakia. He was the 1972 Olympic gold medalist, three-time world champion, five-time European champion, eight-time Czechoslovak national champion, and was named the Slovak Athlete of the Century in 2000. He died in February 1989 at the age of 38.

The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union and organized by ISU member nations. The objective is 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. The Ondrej Nepela Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions. When an event is held as part of the Challenger Series, it must host at least three of the four disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance) and representatives from at least ten different ISU member nations. The minimum number of entrants required for each discipline is: eight skaters each in men's singles and women's singles, five teams in pair skating, and six teams in ice dance. Each ISU member nation is eligible to enter up to three skaters or teams per discipline in each competition, although the Slovak Figure Skating Association may enter an unlimited number of entrants in their own event.

In February 2016, the ISU declared that the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, along with the Nebelhorn Trophy, the Finlandia Trophy, and the Golden Spin of Zagreb would constitute a "core group" of Challenger Series events in recognition of their long-standing tradition. The Nepela Memorial has been a Challenger Series event every year since, except for 2020 and 2021, when the competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2026, the ISU announced that the Nepela Memorial would again be included in a core group of Challenger Series events, along with the Nebelhorn Trophy, the Golden Spin of Zagreb, and one competition from either Canada or the United States.

Medalists

CS: Challenger Series event

Men's singles +Men's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1993 Bratislava Michael Shmerkin Zsolt Kerekes M. Viel 1994 Zsolt Kerekes Thierry Cerez Gilberto Viadana 1995 Stanick Jeannette Szabolcs Vidrai Gabriel Monnier 1996 Roman Serov Anthony Liu Matthew Kessinger 1997 Anthony Liu Alexei Kozlov Patrick Schmit 1998 Laurent Tobel Jayson Dénommée Evgeni Pliuta 1999 Thierry Cerez Stanick Jeannette Frédéric Dambier 2000 Vincent Restencourt Dmytro Dmytrenko Silvio Smalun 2001 Stanislav Timchenko Róbert Kažimír Vitaliy Danylchenko 2002 Stéphane Lambiel Stefan Lindemann Gregor Urbas 2003 Naiden Borichev Karel Zelenka 2004 Stefan Lindemann Kevin van der Perren Tristan Cousins 2005 Scott Smith Tomáš Verner 2006 Gregor Urbas Jordan Miller Igor Macypura 2007 Kevin van der Perren Nicholas LaRoche Gregor Urbas 2008 Kensuke Nakaniwa Paolo Bacchini Jamal Othman 2009 Piešťany Viktor Pfeifer 2010 Bratislava Akio Sasaki Kim Lucine Anton Kovalevski 2011 Daisuke Murakami Kevin van der Perren Samuel Contesti 2012 Tatsuki Machida Daisuke Murakami Tomáš Verner 2013 Tomáš Verner Takahito Mura Peter Liebers Stephen Carriere Kim Jin-seo Gordei Gorshkov 2015 CS Jason Brown Mikhail Kolyada 2016 CS Sergei Voronov Kevin Reynolds Roman Savosin 2017 CS Mikhail Kolyada Sergei Voronov Brendan Kerry 2018 CS Keiji Tanaka 2019 CS Dmitri Aliev Matteo Rizzo Deniss Vasiļjevs 2020 Competitions cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 2022 CS Gabriele Frangipani Cha Jun-hwan Deniss Vasiļjevs 2023 CS Nika Egadze Mark Gorodnitsky 2024 CS Daniel Grassl Nikolaj Memola Corey Circelli 2025 CS Kévin Aymoz Matteo Rizzo Daniel Grassl 2026 CS Evgeni Semenenko Daniel Grassl Mikhail Shaidorov

Women's singles +Women's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1993 Bratislava Mojca Kopač Emília Nagy Tatiana Malinina 1994 Irena Zemanová Julia Lautowa Mlle Pierot 1995 Krisztina Czakó Vanessa Gusmeroli Julia Lautowa 1996 Svetlana Bukareva Tsvetelina Abrasheva Angela Nikodinov 1997 Sabina Wojtala Mojca Kopač Tatiana Plusheva 1998 Zuzana Paurová Christina Riedel 1999 Sabina Wojtala Nina Sackerer 2000 Galina Maniachenko Amber Corwin Sabina Wojtala 2001 Júlia Sebestyén Julia Lautowa Mojca Kopač 2002 Carolina Kostner Sarah Meier Júlia Sebestyén 2003 Galina Maniachenko Júlia Sebestyén Julia Lautowa 2004 Viktória Pavuk Jenna McCorkell Zuzana Babiaková 2005 Júlia Sebestyén Alissa Czisny Amber Corwin 2006 Megan Williams-Stewart Júlia Sebestyén Ivana Reitmayerová 2007 Júlia Sebestyén Michelle Boulos Jenna McCorkell 2008 Ivana Reitmayerová Tuğba Karademir Sarah Hecken 2009 Piešťany Mutsumi Takayama Kerstin Frank Isabelle Pieman 2010 Bratislava Haruka Imai Valentina Marchei Patricia Glescic 2011 Maé-Bérénice Méité Shoko Ishikawa Léna Marrocco 2012 Jenna McCorkell Monika Simančíková Eliška Březinová 2013 Haruka Imai Nikol Gosviani Christina Gao Roberta Rodeghiero Joshi Helgesson Ashley Cain 2015 CS Evgenia Medvedeva Anna Pogorilaya Maria Artemieva 2016 CS Maria Sotskova Yulia Lipnitskaya Mariah Bell 2017 CS Evgenia Medvedeva Rika Hongo Elena Radionova 2018 CS Rika Kihira Elizabet Tursynbaeva Stanislava Konstantinova 2019 CS Alexandra Trusova Kaori Sakamoto Kim Ha-nul 2020 Competitions cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 2022 CS Isabeau Levito Lara Naki Gutmann Lee Hae-in 2023 CS Kim Chae-yeon Lee Hae-in Madeline Schizas 2024 CS Yun Ah-sun Mariia Seniuk Lara Naki Gutmann 2025 CS Lara Naki Gutmann Anna Pezzetta Sarina Joos 2026 CS Kim Yu-seong Lee Hae-in Olivia Lengyelová

Pairs The pairs' event at the 2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy was not considered a Challenger Series event, because the minimum required number of entrants in the event was not met.

+Pairs' event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze No pairs competitions prior to 1996 1996 Bratislava 1997 1998 1999 No other competitors 2000 2001 2002 No other competitors 2003 No pairs competitions 2004 No other competitors No pairs competitions 2007 No other competitors 2008 No pairs competitions 2009 Piešťany 2010 Bratislava No pairs competitions 2011 2012 2013 2014 No pairs competitions 2016 CS 2017 CS 2018 2019–25 No pairs competitions 2026 No other competitors

Ice dance +Ice dance event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Bratislava No ice dance competitors 1995 1996 1997 1998 No other competitors 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 No ice dance competitors 2004 2005 2006 No ice dance competitors 2007 2008 2009 Piešťany 2010 Bratislava 2011 2012 2013 2015 CS 2016 CS 2017 CS 2018 CS 2019 CS 2020 Competitions cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 2022 CS 2023 CS 2024 CS 2025 CS 2026 CS

Records

+ Discipline Most titles Skater(s) Years Men's singles 2 2022–23 2017–18 2008–09 Women's singles 2 2015;2017 1998–99 2005;2007 Pairs 2 1997;2000 Ice dance 2 2016–17 1997;1999 2023–24 2001–02 2009–10 2018–19 2025–26 2008;2011

Cumulative medal count Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Total medals

References

External links Ondrej Nepela Memorial at the Slovak Figure Skating Association Ondrej Nepela Memorial at Skating Scores