Bulgarian Figure Skating Championships

The Bulgarian Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Bulgarian Skating Federation to crown the national champions of Bulgaria. The first Bulgarian Championships were held in 1954 in Sofia.
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior, junior, and novice levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. Ivan Dinev currently holds the record for winning the most Bulgarian Championship titles in men's singles, while Evgenia Nikolova holds the record in women's singles. Two teams are tied for winning the most titles in pair skating: Elizaveta Makarova and Leri Kenchadze hold the record in pair skating, although Kenchadze won an additional title with a different partner. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski hold the record in ice dance.

History

There is evidence of skating in Bulgaria as early as 1929 with the establishment of skating clubs and the staging of a public exhibition of figure skating and speed skating. Skating was most common at the Borisova gradina, the oldest and most well-known public park in Sofia. More than 10,000 people participated in ice skating in Sofia. After World War II, progress in skating stalled due to the lack of indoor ice rinks and inadequate equipment. The Bulgarian Skating and Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1949 to oversee figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey in Bulgaria. The first Bulgarian Figure Skating Champions were held in 1954 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. The winners of the inaugural men's and women's events were Georgi Hristov and Elisaveta Ivanova, respectively. Bulgaria joined the International Skating Union in 1967. In 1985, The Bulgarian Skating and Ice Hockey Federation was split to form separate federations for figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey.

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