Polish Figure Skating Championships
The Polish Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Polish Figure Skating Association to crown the List of [national championships in figure skating|national champions] of Poland. The first official Polish Championships were held in 1922 in Warsaw and consisted of events in speed skating and figure skating. Since 2014, the senior-level championships, as well as the junior-level pair skating and ice dance championships, have been held in conjunction with the skating federations of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. Junior-level singles skaters compete in a separate competition that is exclusive to Poland.
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. Robert Grzegorczyk currently holds the record for winning the most Polish Championship titles in men's singles, while Ekaterina Kurakova holds the title in women's singles. Mariusz Siudek holds the record in pair skating, although not all won with the same partner. Teresa Weyna and Piotr Bojańczyk hold the record in ice dance.
History
Ice skating debuted in Poland in the mid-1800s. The first artificial art rink in Poland was created in 1865 in Łazienki Park in Warsaw. The Polish Skating Association was established in 1921 to oversee both figure skating and speed skating. The first edition of the Polish Skating Championships were held the following year in Warsaw; Władysław Kuchar won the singles event, while Olga Przeździemirska and Henryk Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski won the pairs event. No competitions were held in 1925 or 1926. A separate event for women was added in 1930; Barbara Chachlewska was the inaugural women's champion. Competitions were repeatedly interrupted early on, especially during the occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.In 1957, the Polish Skating Association was divided into two separate associations: one for figure skating and one for speed skating. Ice dance was also added to the national championships in 1957; Anna Bursche-Lindnerowa and Leon Osadnik were the first Polish champions.
Poland currently holds its senior-level championships, as well as its junior-level pairs and ice dance championships, as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, 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 national championships together as one 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. The 2009 Three Nationals Championships were held in Třinec in the Czech Republic. Pavel Kaška of the Czech Republic won the men's event, while Przemysław Domański was the highest ranked Polish men's singles skater. Ivana Reitmayerová of Slovakia won the women's event, while Anna Jurkiewicz was the highest ranked Polish women's singles skater. Guest skaters Stacey Kemp and David King of Great Britain won the pairs event, while Joanna Sulej and Mateusz Chruściński were the highest ranked Polish pairs team. Kamila Hájková and David Vincour of the Czech Republic won the ice dance event, while Joanna Budner and Jan Mościcki were the highest ranked Polish ice dance team. Since the addition of Hungary 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.