Czech Figure Skating Championships
The Czech Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Czech Figure Skating Association to crown the List of [national championships in figure skating|national champions] of the Czech Republic. The first national championships to take place after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia were held in 1994 in Třinec. Currently, the senior-level championships, as well as the junior-level pair skating and ice dance championships, are held in conjunction with the skating federations of Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. Junior-level singles skaters compete in a separate competition that is exclusive to the Czech Republic.
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. Tomáš Verner currently holds the record for winning the most Czech Championship titles in men's singles, while Eliška Březinová holds the record in women's singles. Kateřina Beránková and Otto Dlabola hold the record in pair skating, although Dlabola won another two titles with a different partner. Kamila Hájková and David Vincour hold the record in ice dance.
History
The First Czechoslovak Republic was established in 1918 after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Skating Union of the Czechoslovak Republic was formed in 1922, which brought together both Czech and Slovak skaters. Czech and Slovak skaters competed at the Czechoslovak Figure Skating Championships until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which occurred at the end of the day on 31 December 1992. However, the 1993 Czechoslovak Championships had actually taken place earlier that month. Therefore, the first national championships held in the newly-independent Czech Republic took place in 1994 in Třinec. Jaroslav Dostál won the men's event, Irena Zemanová won the women's event, Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný won the pairs event, and Kateřina [Mrázová |Kateřina Mrázová] and Martin Šimeček won the ice dance event.The Czech Skating Association and the Slovak Figure Skating Association ran independent national championships until the 2006–07 season, when the two associations joined their championships together as one event. The inaugural Czech and Slovak Figure Skating Championships were held in Liberec in the Czech Republic. Tomáš Verner of the Czech Republic won the men's event, while Igor Macypura was the highest ranked Slovak men's singles skater. Ivana Reitmayerová of Slovakia won the women's event, while Nella Simaová was the highest ranked Czech women's singles skater. Kamila Hájková and David Vincour of the Czech Republic were the only entrants in the ice dance event. The Czech Republic and Slovakia alternated as hosts for the combined championships until the 2008–09 season, when Poland joined and the Three Nationals Figure Skating Championships were officially formed. Since Hungary joined during the 2013–14 season, the event has been known as the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. The four nations rotate as hosts, while skaters from the four countries compete together and the results are then split at the end of the competition to form national podiums.