The 2021–22 figure skating season began on July 1, 2021 and ended on June 30, 2022. During this season, elite skaters competed on the ISU Championship level at the 2022 European, Four Continents, World Junior, and World Championships, as well as at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They also competed at elite events such as the Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix series, and the ISU Challenger Series.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Prix Final was cancelled, while parts of the Junior Grand Prix, Grand Prix, and Challenger Series were not held as scheduled. Among the ISU Championships events, the Four Continents Championships were relocated, and the World Junior Championships were postponed and relocated. Due to re-allocations, the Estonian Skating Union hosted three of the four ISU Championships events this season.
Beginning from the 2021–22 season, the International Skating Union officially changed the terminology in all ISU rules and events from "ladies" to "women".
On March 1, 2022, the ISU banned all figure skaters and officials from Russia and Belarus from attending any international competitions due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The ISU acknowledged two key challenges in organizing the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: entry restrictions into host countries and/or return to the home countries and limited air travel options. However, the ISU remained committed to having a full calendar of events with modifications as necessary, and issued the following statement:
On August 5, the ISU announced that due to varying travel and quarantine restrictions during the pandemic, it would consider re-allocation requests for the Junior Grand Prix series on a case-by-case basis according to an outlined criteria of preference. The ISU also said that they would abandon the re-allocation process in the event of an abundance of requests or overly complex requests that would cause logistical issues. In addition, the ISU decided not to implement a JGP ranking for the season and to instead prioritize holding the JGP series safely "with the best possible participation" in light of the pandemic. In October, the ISU announced alternative qualification criteria for the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final.
On August 16, the ISU announced the cancellation of the third Grand Prix event, the 2021 Cup of China, citing the limited number of international flights to China and strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In an attempt to preserve the Grand Prix series, the ISU asked for other ISU members to apply as alternate hosts on the originally scheduled dates. On August 27, the Gran Premio d'Italia was named as the replacement event. On December 2, the ISU announced that the 2021–22 Grand Prix Final would not be able to be held as scheduled in Osaka, Japan and that they were considering the possibility of postponement to later in the season. The event was definitively cancelled on December 17.
On September 13, the Chinese Skating Association announced the cancellation of the 2022 Four Continents Championships for similar reasons as the Cup of China. The ISU again asked for other members to apply as alternate hosts on the originally scheduled dates. After receiving no applications from non-European members, the ISU asked the Estonian Skating Union, the host of the European Championships, to host the Four Continents Championships in the same venue the following week (the originally scheduled dates).
On February 12, the ISU announced that the 2022 World Junior Championships could not be held as planned due to concerns about a surge in omicron variant cases in Bulgaria peaking on the originally scheduled dates, as well as the host nation's restrictive entry requirements. As the 2021 World Junior Championships were already cancelled, the ISU announced that they would evaluate the feasibility of postponing the event until May 2022, if the Bulgarian Skating Federation was willing and other ISU member nations were willing to attend. The final decision was expected to be made at the ISU Council meeting on February 24, but was delayed to allow time to assess the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On February 27, the ISU announced that in light of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the event would potentially be re-allocated. On March 4, the ISU announced that the event would be held from April 13–17 in Tallinn, Estonia, the second ISU Championships event of the season to be re-allocated to the Estonian Skating Union.
ISU member nations' response Due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, as well as varying vaccination requirements, several federations faced issues traveling to certain countries to compete. For example, Russia was unable to send athletes to France for the first two Junior Grand Prix events and required the ISU's re-allocation system to obtain additional quotas at other events. The federation also faced logistical difficulties in obtaining visas for their athletes at both Skate America and Skate Canada. Other federations limited international competitive opportunities for their skaters due to lengthy quarantine periods upon returning home. Both Japan and China did not send any athletes to the Junior Grand Prix, with China also skipping the entirety of the ISU Challenger Series; Japan only sent athletes to the latter events of the Challenger Series. China later also opted not to send any athletes to the World Championships or the World Junior Championships.
Season notes
Age eligibility Skaters are eligible to compete in ISU events on the junior or senior levels according to their age:
Level Date of birth Junior (females in all disciplines; males in singles) Born between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2008 Junior (males in pairs and ice dance) Born between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2008 Senior (all disciplines) Born before July 1, 2006 Rules may not apply to non-ISU events such as national championships.
Changes
If skaters of different nationalities team up, the ISU requires that they choose one country to represent.Date refers to date when the change occurred or, if not available, the date when the change was announced.
Partnership changes