The Blue Swords Cup () was an annual figure skating competition first organized by the Ice Skating Association of East Germany (), and then by the German Ice Skating Union () after the reunification of Germany. Originally called the DELV-Pokal (Deutscher Eislauf-Verband-Pokal; Cup of the German Figure Skating Club), the first competition took place in 1961 in Dresden. The Blue Swords Cup was held every year from 1961 to 1996, after which point it was incorporated into the new ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.

The Blue Swords Cup was initially designed to allow young skaters the chance to compete internationally. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance, although each discipline was not necessarily held every year. Jan Hoffmann of East Germany holds the record for winning the most titles in men's singles, while Christine Errath and Gabriele Seyfert, both of East Germany, are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles. Manuela Groß and Uwe Kagelmann of East Germany hold the record in pair skating (with four), while Knut Schubert and Heinz-Ulrich Walther, also of East Germany, also won four titles each, but not with the same partners. Two teams are tied for winning the most titles in ice dance: Annerose Baier and Eberhard Rüger of East Germany, and Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov of the Soviet Union.

History

The inaugural edition of the DELV-Pokal (Deutscher Eislauf-Verband-Pokal; Cup of the German Figure Skating Club) was held in 1961 in Dresden, in what was then East Germany. The competition was designed to provide young, up-and-coming skaters the chance the compete at an international event. Beginning in 1968, Meissen Porcelain became the competition's sponsor and the name was changed to reflect that sponsorship. The name Blue Swords refers to the company's logo, which depicts two blue crossed swords against a white background. Meissen Porcelain also sculpted the trophies that were awarded to the champions.

The Blue Swords Cup was held regularly between 1961 and 1996. It began as a senior-level event, but in 1984, the Ice Skating Association of East Germany reset the competition for junior-level skaters only. Banking on the fact that most junior-level skaters had few opportunities to compete internationally prior to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the East German federation hoped this change would drive participation in their event.

The fall of the Berlin Wall occurred while the 1989 Blue Swords Cup was in progress. Members of the U.S. figure skating team flocked to the Potsdamer Platz in East Berlin when crews began dismantling sections of the wall. Like many tourists, skaters were able to collect remnants of the wall as souvenirs. While the skating competition proceeded as normal, many of the East German volunteers at the arena did not return once East Germans were granted entry to West Berlin.

In 1997, the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating – then called the Junior Series – was established by the International Skating Union as a series of international skating competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. The Blue Swords Cup was one of the inaugural events, and has been held numerous times since.

Medalists From 1953 to 1990, Chemnitz was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt.

Men's singles +Men's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1961 Dresden Bodo Bockenauer Károly Ujlaki Mr. Kotek 1962 East Berlin Ralph Borghard Valeri Meshkov 1963 Dresden Bodo Bockenauer Günter Zöller 1964 East Berlin Robert Dureville Ondrej Nepela 1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt Ralph Borghard Robert Dureville 1966 Günter Zöller Marián Filc Reinhard Ketterer 1967 Vladimir Kurenbin Günter Anderl 1968 Valeri Meshkov Vladimir Kurenbin 1969 Vladimir Kovalev Jan Hoffmann 1970 Jan Hoffmann Igor Bobrin Ralf Richter 1971 Bernd Wunderlich Michael Glaubitz 1972 Dresden Konstantin Kokora 1973 Igor Bobrin Ronald Koppelent 1974 Karl-Marx-Stadt Konstantin Kokora Bernd Wunderlich Hermann Schulz 1975 Jan Hoffmann Andrei Yablokov Mario Liebers 1976 East Berlin Konstantin Kokora Mario Liebers Gilles Beyer 1977 Karl-Marx-Stadt Mario Liebers Joachim Ehmann Gerald Schranz 1978 Hermann Schulz Heiko Fischer Torsten Ohlow 1979 East Berlin Jan Hoffmann Mario Liebers Norbert Schramm 1980 Karl-Marx-Stadt Grzegorz Głowania Didier Monge Falko Kirsten 1981 Alexander König Joachim Ehmann Thomas Wieser 1982 Falko Kirsten Fernand Fédronic Didier Manaud 1983 East Berlin Boris Uspenski Falko Kirsten Pierre Seveno 1984 Karl-Marx-Stadt Vladimir Petrenko Rudy Luccioni Daniel Weiss 1985 East Berlin Rudy Galindo Yuriy Tsymbalyuk 1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt Yuriy Tsymbalyuk Rico Krahnert Mirko Eichhorn 1987 East Berlin Ronny Winkler Philippe Candeloro Elvis Stojko 1988 Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk Scott Davis Mirko Eichhorn 1989 Mirko Eichhorn Sergei Minajev Zsolt Kerekes 1990 Chemnitz Dmitri Dmitrenko Jan Kannegiesßer Alexandre Orset 1991 Konstantin Kostin John Bevan Patrick-René Reinhardt 1992 Evgeni Pliuta Cyril Deplace 1993 Naoki Shigematsu Yvan Desjardins Markus Leminen 1994 Gabriel Monnier Jens ter Laak Michael Hopfes 1995 Alexei Yagudin Gabriel Monnier David Jäschke 1996 Evgeni Plushenko Timothy Goebel Vincent Restencourt For results after 1996, see ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany

Women's singles +Women's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1961 Dresden Gabriele Seyfert Helga Zöllner Alena Pokorná 1962 East Berlin Eva Grožajová Gabriele Seyfert Heidemarie Steiner 1963 Dresden Gabriele Seyfert Diana Clifton-Peach 1964 East Berlin Jana Mrázková Beate Richter 1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt Beate Richter Hilde Überlacher 1966 Martina Clausner Beate Richter 1967 Beate Richter Sybille Stolfig 1968 Sonja Morgenstern Eva Kriegelstein Christine Errath 1969 Simone Gräfe 1970 Christine Errath Simone Gräfe 1971 Christine Errath Anita Johansson Marina Titova 1972 Dresden Steffi Knoll Marion Weber 1973 Anett Pötzsch 1974 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1975 Petra Wagner 1976 East Berlin Anett Pötzsch Marion Weber Carola Weissenberg 1977 Karl-Marx-Stadt Natalia Strelkova Gabriela Voica 1978 Katarina Witt Sonja Stanek Kerstin Wolf 1979 East Berlin Anett Pötzsch Katarina Witt Carola Weissenberg 1980 Karl-Marx-Stadt Svetlana Frantsuzova Janina Wirth 1981 Katarina Witt Anna Kondrashova Carmen Hartfiel 1982 Janina Wirth Petra Schruf Kerstin Wolf 1983 East Berlin Beatrice Gelmini Marion Krause 1984 Karl-Marx-Stadt Inga Gauter Natalia Skrabnevskaya Evelyn Großmann 1985 East Berlin Natalia Gorbenko Inga Gauter Cornelia Renner 1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt Inga Gauter Tanja Krienke Alina Pisarenko 1987 East Berlin Karen Preston Atsuko Suda Kathleen Fenske 1988 Tanja Krienke Tisha Walker Stephanie Ferrer 1989 Robyn Petroskey Tanja Krienke Kaisa Kella 1990 Chemnitz Maria Jerdzizkaja Marie-Pierre Leray Kumiko Koiwai 1991 Anna Rechnio Stephanie Fiorito Susanne Mildenberger 1992 Tanja Szewczenko Astrid Hochstetter Yuko Fukuya 1993 Irina Zayats Kateřina Beránková Astrid Hochstetter 1994 Tara Lipinski Yulia Lavrenchuk Masayo Oishi 1995 Sydne Vogel Elena Pingacheva Fumie Suguri 1996 Elena Pingacheva Angela Nikodinov Veronika Dytrt For results after 1996, see ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany

Pairs +Pairs' event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1961 Dresden 1962 East Berlin 1963 Dresden 1964 East Berlin 1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 Dresden 1973 1974 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1975 1976 East Berlin 1977 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1978 1979 East Berlin 1980 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1981 1982 1983 East Berlin 1984 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1985 East Berlin 1986 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1987 East Berlin 1988 1989 1990 Chemnitz No pairs competitors 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 For results after 1996, see ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany

Ice dance +Ice dance event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1962 East Berlin 1963 Dresden 1964 East Berlin 1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt 1966 1967 1968 1969 No ice dance competitions 1991 Chemnitz 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 For results after 1996, see ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany

Records

+ Discipline Most titles Skater(s) Years Men's singles 6 1970–73;1975;1979 Women's singles 5 1971–75 1961;1963–66 Pairs 4 1970;1972–73;1975 1976;1981–83 1963;1965–67 Ice dance 3 1963;1965–66 1967–69

Cumulative medal count Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Total medals

Notes

References

External links

German Skating Union