2018-19 Russian & Japanese National Championships: Info & Streaming

The first half of the 2018-19 season comes to a close with two of the toughest National Championships in the world, taking place this week in Saransk, Russia and Osaka, Japan! Here’s a guide on how to watch. This post will be updated as more info appears.

RUSSIAN NATIONALS

The Russian National Championships will take place Dec. 19-23 in Saransk. Russian Nationals is one of the competitions used to decide the European and World teams. The World team is usually announced after the European Championships in January. Age-eligible skaters who qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final can also participate in senior Russian Nationals.

Results & entries (En) | Schedule | Website

SCHEDULE

Moscow Time (UTC+3). Subscribe to our Google Calendar to get all competition times in your own time zone!

• Dec. 20: Men’s SP 14:00; Pairs’ SP 16:50; Rhythm Dance 20:30

• Dec. 21: Ladies’ SP 14:00; Men’s FS 16:50; Free Dance 20:10

• Dec. 22: Pairs’ FS 15:30; Ladies’ FS 18:00

• Dec. 23: Gala 14:00

HOW TO WATCH

Be careful of popups and ads on free streaming sites. We are not responsible for the quality of the streams; we only provide the links. Many streams for major figure skating events have geographical restrictions. In order to unblock streams, consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Free VPN services are available online (eg. Setup VPN), but the most reliable ones usually require a fee.

Fan streams: These fan-run streams may livestream part or all of the event: QQ Live, FS Live. Check the streams when the events are on. The streams should be available worldwide.

Channel 1: Russia’s Channel 1 will livestream the entire competition, including ladies’ practice, and air the ladies’ competition live on TV. Streaming schedule in Moscow Time:

• 12/20: Ladies’ Practice 10:30 (live);Men’s SP 13:55 (live); Pairs’ SP 16:45 (live); Rhythm Dance 20:25 (live)

• 12/21: Ladies’ Practice 07:00 (live); Ladies’ SP 12:55 (live); Men’s FS 16:45 (live); Free Dance 20:05 (live)

• 12/22: Ladies’ Practice 12:10 (live);Pairs’ FS 15:25 (live); Ladies’ FS 17:55 (live)

• 12/23: Medal Ceremonies 12:55;Gala 13:55 (live)

• Official stream

Match Arena: Russia’s Match Arena will air most of the competition and gala live. Broadcast schedule in Moscow Time:

• 12/20: Men’s SP 14:00 (live); Pairs’ SP 16:50 (live); Rhythm Dance 20:30 (live)

• 12/21: Ladies’ SP 14:00 (live); Men’s FS 16:50 (live); Free Dance 20:10 (live)

• 12/22: Pairs’ FS 17:45 (taped); Ladies’ FS 19:45 (live 1 hr 45 min in)

• 12/23: Gala 14:00 (live)

• Unblocked streams: Stream 1, Stream 2, Stream 3, Stream 4, Stream 5, Stream 6

Sportbox: Russia’s Sportbox.ru will stream most of the competition and gala live. The streams are blocked outside of Russia. Broadcast schedule in Moscow Time:

• 12/20:Men’s SP 13:55; Pairs’ SP 16:50; Rhythm Dance 20:30

• 12/21:Ladies’ SP 14:00; Men’s FS 16:50; Free Dance 20:10

• 12/22:Ladies’ FS 19:45 (live 1 hr 45 min in)

• 12/23:Gala 14:00

On demand: If you can’t watch live, videos from the competition will be uploaded online by fans, so you can always catch up later. Search skaters’ names on Youtube and filter by upload date for the latest videos.

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JAPANESE NATIONALS

The Japanese National Championships will take place Dec. 20-25 in Osaka. Japanese Nationals is one of the competitions used to decide the Four Continents, Junior World, and senior World teams. Top finishers from Japanese Junior Nationals in November are also invited to compete at senior Nationals. The Japanese Nationals gala is called “Medalists on Ice”.

Results & entries (Jp) | Results & entries (En) | Schedule | Website | MOI

SCHEDULE

Japan Standard Time (UTC+9). Subscribe to our Google Calendar to get all competition times in your own time zone!

• Dec. 21: Rhythm Dance 15:30; Ladies’ SP 16:25

• Dec. 22: Pairs’ SP 15:30; Men’s SP 16:25

• Dec. 23: Free Dance 15:45; Ladies’ FS 17:05

• Dec. 24: Pairs’ FS 16:00; Men’s FS 17:05

• Dec. 25: Gala 17:00

HOW TO WATCH

Fan streams: These fan-run streams may livestream part or all of the event: QQ Live, FS Live. Check the streams when the events are on. The streams should be available worldwide.

Draws, etc: Fuji TV will livestream the men’s and ladies’ order draws, as well as interviews after the competition, on Youtube. The stream is blocked outside of Japan.

Fuji TV:Fuji TV and related channels will air the singles competitions live. Earlier groups will air on BS Fuji and CS Fuji ONE, later groups will air on regular Fuji TV. Broadcast schedule in JST:

• 12/21: Ladies’ SP 1st half 16:30 (live, BS Fuji & CS Fuji ONE); Ladies’ SP 2nd half 19:00 (live, Fuji TV)

• 12/22: Men’s SP 1st half 16:30 (live, BS Fuji & CS Fuji ONE); Men’s SP 2nd half 19:00 (live, Fuji TV)

• 12/23: Ladies’ FS 1st half 17:00 (live, BS Fuji & CS Fuji ONE); Ladies’ FS 2nd half 19:00 (live, Fuji TV)

• 12/24: Men’s FS 1st half 17:00 (live, BS Fuji & CS Fuji ONE); Men’s FS 2nd half 19:00 (live, Fuji TV)

• 12/26: Gala 00:25 (taped, Fuji TV); Pairs & Dance Recap 02:25 (taped, Fuji TV)

• 12/29: Gala Full Version 12:00 (taped, BS Fuji)

• Unblocked Fuji TV stream

• Subscription services for Japanese TV

On demand:If you can’t watch live, videos from the competition will be uploaded online by fans, so you can always catch up later. Search skaters’ names on Youtube and filter by upload date for the latest videos.

2018-19 Russian National Qualifying Competitions

Over the course of fall, Russian skaters will compete on the Russian Cup Series to qualify to the National Championships in December 2018. This post will explain the Russian Skating Union qualifying structure and provide a list of links and information that will be updated throughout the season.

Reference: Russian Figure Skating Federation

See also: 2018-19 National Figure Skating Competitions

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QUALIFYING STRUCTURE

Russia holds three separate National Championships at the senior, junior, and novice levels. Junior and senior skaters qualify for the Russian National Championships by competing at two of five events in the Russian Cup Series. As in the ISU Grand Prix series, points are allotted to final placements at each competition. Qualifiers are determined by the total number of points earned from two competitions up until the maximum number of competitors per each discipline is filled. In the case of a tie, the tie is broken by combined total scores over the two competitions.

Skaters are granted immediate qualification to Senior Nationals if they have an assignment on the ISU Grand Prix or qualify to the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skaters are immediately qualified for Junior Nationals if they have a ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Skaters who have already qualified for Nationals can still compete at Russian Cup events if they want to, but their placement will not affect their advancement to Nationals.

The maximum number of skaters who can compete at the Senior and Junior National Championships is 18 men, 18 women, 12 pairs, and 15 dance teams. Skaters must be at least 14 years old to compete at the Senior National Championships.

Novice skaters compete in their own national championships in two age groups, junior novice (born 2008 or later) and senior novice (born in 2006-2007).  Novice skaters qualify via regional (“zonal”) competitions or city championships depending on their location, with various quotas of skaters advancing from each. Novice Russian competitions are composed of 3 segments instead of 2: elements, short program and free skate. The elements portion of the competition requires one solo jump, one jump in combination, a combination spin and a step sequence. Each skater is allowed 2 attempts at the jumping passes.

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COMPETITIONS

Russian Cup events are livestreamed by the Russian Figure Skating Federation on Youtube. Keep an eye on our blog for information on watching the National Championships.

First Event

• Website

• Videos / Livestream

• Results

• Time and place: Sep. 14-18, Syzran, Samara Oblast

• Notable entries: Sergei Voronov, Anastasia Gubanova, Anastasia Gulyakova, Serafima Sakhanovich, Victoria Vasilyeva, Sinitsina/Katsalapov, Polishchuk/Shamraev, Kudryavtseva/Spiridonov

Second Event

• Website

• Videos / Livestream

• Results

• Time and place: Oct. 2-6, Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El

• Notable entries: Alena Leonova, Elizaveta Nugumanova, Daria Panenkova, Elena Radionova, Polina Tsurskaya, Anna Scherbakova, Kamila Valieva, Alexander Petrov, Alexander Samarin, Roman Savosin, Kirill Sokolov, Anton Shulepov, Sergei Voronov, Morozov/Bagin

Third Event

• Website

• Livestream / Videos

• Results

• Time and place: Oct. 16-20, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai

• Notable entries: Anastasia Gulyakova, Daria Panenkova, Serafima Sakhanovich, Anna Tarusina, Ksenia Sinitsina, Artur Dmitriev, Roman Savosin, Konkina/Vaknov, Kuts/Mikhailov, Polischuk/Shamraev, Mishina/Galliamov

Fourth Event

• Website

• Livestream / Videos

• Results

• Time and place: Nov. 6-10, Kazan, Tatarstan

• Notable entries: Petr Gumennik, Maxim Kovtun, Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova, Alena Kostornaia, Anastasiia Gubanova, Elizaveta Nugumanova, Victoria Vasilieva, Akhanteva/Kolesov, Panfilova/Rylov, Kostiukovich/Ialin, Efimova/Korovin

Fifth Event

• Website

• Livestream / Videos

• Results

• Time and place: Nov. 20-24, Moscow, Central

• Notable entries: Alexander Petrov, Maxim Kovtun, Egor Rukhin, Vladimir Samoilov, Egor Murashov, Akhanteva/Kolesov, Kostiukovich/Ialin, Poliuanova/Sopot, Anastasia Tarakanova, Anna Tarusina, Kseniya Sinitsyna

Senior National Championships

• Website

• Results

• Time and place: Dec. 19-24, Saransk, Mordovia

• Level and disciplines: Senior men, ladies, pairs, ice dance

Junior National Championships

• Website

• Livestream

• Results

• Time and place: Jan. 31 - Feb. 4, 2019, Perm, Perm Krai

• Level and disciplines: Junior men, ladies, pairs, ice dance

Novice National Championships

• Website

• Livestream

• Results

• Time and place: Mar. 14-18, Tver

• Level and disciplines: Junior novice and senior novice men, ladies, pairs, ice dance