Australian Figure Skating Championships
The Australian Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organised by Ice Skating Australia to crown the List of [figure skating competitions|national champions] of Australia. The first official Australian Championships were held in 1931 in Sydney as a joint event organised when the skating federations of Victoria and New South Wales merged to form the Australian National Council of Ice-Skating. For years, championships alternated between Sydney and Melbourne. The Australian Championships have been interrupted twice during their history: from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the Impact of [the COVID-19 pandemic on sports#Figure skating|COVID-19 pandemic].
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, ice dance, and synchronized skating at the senior and junior levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. Brendan Kerry and Cameron Medhurst are tied for winning the most Australian Championship titles in men's singles, while Joanne Carter holds the record in women's singles. Danielle Carr and Stephen Carr hold the record in pair skating, while Danielle O'Brien and Gregory Merriman hold the record in ice dance.
History
Prior to 1931, figure skating in Australia was overseen by two independent organisations – the National Ice-Skating Association of Australia and the National Ice-Skating Association of New South Wales – and each held their own respective championship events. In 1931, the two federations merged to form the Australian National Council of Ice-Skating, and they held Australia's first national championship event in figure skating in Sydney. Jack Gordon won the men's event, Myrie Reid won the women's event, Miss A. Maxwell and Robert Jackson won the pairs event, and Jackson also won the ice dance event with Phyllis Turner. Since then, Sydney and Melbourne alternated as hosts until 1976, when the championships were finally held in a new location: Brisbane.Australia frequently sent a contingent of skaters to New Zealand to compete at the New Zealand Figure Skating Championships. Brian Meek and Margaret Doolan won the men's and women's events in 1976, respectively; Edwina Sloman and Bill Hewison won the pairs event in 1966; Stephen Carr won the men's event in 1987; Rebecca Khoo and Evgeni Borounov won the ice dance event in 2000; and Sarah-Yvonne Prytula won the women's event in 2003. The reverse is also true: many skaters from New Zealand have also traveled to Australia to compete in the Australian Championships. Tristan Thode of New Zealand won the men's event at the 2007 Australian Championships, and Alexandra Rout won the women's event in 2008. While a guest skater from another country may be able to finish in first place and win the gold medal in an Australian event, they do not receive the title of Australian Champion; that honour goes to the highest-scoring Australian skater.
The Australian Championships have twice been interrupted: from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic on sports#Figure skating|COVID-19 pandemic].