New Zealand Figure Skating Championships
The New Zealand Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organised by to the New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Association to crown the national champions of New Zealand. The first New Zealand Championships were held in 1939 on the Manorburn Dam in Central Otago. Early championships were frequently held concurrently with competitions in speed skating and ice hockey. No competitions were held from 1940 to 1945 due to World War II. The championships were cancelled in 1992 when a snowstorm damaged the arena where the competition was to have taken place, and again in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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. Ricky Cockerill and Ivan McDonald are tied for winning the most New Zealand Championship titles in men's singles, while Gay Le Comte and Alexandra Rout are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles. McDonald holds the record in pair skating, although not all with the same partner, and also holds the record in ice dance ; again, not all with the same partner.
History
The first New Zealand Championships were held in 1939 on the Manorburn Dam in Central Otago; Alex W. Robertson won the men's event and Sadie Cameron won the women's event. No competitions were held from 1940 to 1945 due to World War II, and when they returned in 1946, events in pair skating and ice dance were introduced. Early figure skating competitions were held concurrently with competitions in speed skating and ice hockey. Championships were conducted on frozen lakes on the South Island until 1952, when the Centaurus Ice Rink in Christchurch opened. The first indoor rink on the North Island opened in 1964 in Wellington.The championships remained uninterrupted until 1992, when a snowstorm damaged the Alpine Ice Sports Centre in Christchurch, collapsing the roof and leaving the New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Association without a venue. The championships were again cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Association frequently sent a contingent of skaters to Australia to compete at the Australian Figure Skating Championships. Tristan Thode won the men's event at the 2007 Australian Championships, and Alexandra Rout won the women's event in 2008. The reverse is also true: many skaters from Australia have also traveled to New Zealand to compete in the New Zealand Championships. While a guest skater from another country may be able to finish in first place and win the gold medal in a New Zealand event, they do not receive the title of New Zealand Champion; that honour goes to the highest-scoring New Zealand skater.