Preview: World Team Trophy
Teams from six countries will head to Tokyo, Japan for the 2023 World Team Trophy. Nations qualified based on results during the 2022-23 season. This year’s qualifying countries are Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
The ISU World team trophy has been held in Japan every two years since 2009, with the exception being 2011 when the earthquake and tsunami resulted in the event’s cancellation and rescheduling to 2012. Of the seven events, the United States has won the gold four times, with Japan winning twice and Russia standing on top of the podium once. While Team Russia is the current and defending champion, there will be no representatives from the nation in Tokyo. Teams from Canada, France, Japan and the United States have competed at the World Team Trophy since its creation.
The ISU World Team Trophy format is based on a competition consisting of the six (6) best national teams from ISU members with a special provision for the host ISU Member to be included as Qualified Member. Each team is be composed of two men singles skaters, two women singles skaters, one pair and once ice dance team with a total of eight skaters per team.
South Korea is competing in its first World Team Trophy. Because there is no senior ice dance team in Korea, Hannah Lim & Ye Quan, who are the national junior champions and 2023 World junior silver medalists, will make their senior debut in Tokyo. To participate, the team had a new rhythm dance choreographed to “Don’t Go Yet” by Camila Cabello.
Each team nominates a captain who represents the team during the medal giving ceremony. The captains for the 2023 World Team Trophy are as follows:
Japan: Piper Gilles
France: Kevin Aymoz
Italy: Marco Fabbri
Japan: Kaori Sakamoto
Korea: Jun-hwan Cha
U.S.A.: Jason Brown
The following is a list of competitors at this year’s event:
TEAM CANADA
Stephen Gogolev
Keegan Messing
Sara-Maude Dupuis
Madeline Schizas
Deanna Stellato & Maxime Deschamps
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier
TEAM FRANCE
Kevin Aymoz
Adam Siao Him Fa
Lorine Schild
Lea Serna
Camile Kovalev & Pavel Kovalev
Evgenia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud
TEAM ITALY
Daniel Grassl
Matteo Rizzo
Lara Naki Gutmann
Anna Pezzetta
Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii
Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri
TEAM JAPAN
Shun Sato
Kazuki Tomono
Mai Mihara
Kaori Sakamoto
Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara
Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi
TEAM SOUTH KOREA
Jun-hwan Cha
Si-hyeong Lee
Ye-lim Kim
Hae-in Lee
Hye-Jin Cho & Steven Adcock
Hannah Lim & Ye Quan
TEAM U.S.A.
Jason Brown
Ilia Malinin
Amber Glenn
Isabeau Levito
Alexa Knierim & Brandon Frazier
Madison Chock & Evan Bates
SCHEDULE
(all times local to Tokyo, Japan)
Thursday, April 13
14:55 – Opening ceremony
15:50 – Ice dance rhythm dance
17:15 – Women’s short program
19:25 – Men’s short program
Friday, April 14
16:00 – Pairs short program
17:25 – Ice dance free dance
19:00 – Women’s free skate
Saturday, April 15
15:15 – Pairs free skate
16:50 – Men’s free skate
Sunday, April 16
14:00 – Gala exhibition