# ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating

The ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating is a figure skating team competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. The World Team Trophy was held for the first time in Tokyo, Japan, from April 16 to 19, 2009. Traditionally, the competitive skating season had concluded with the World Championships.
The new event was announced at a news conference during the 2008 World Championships, in the hope of encouraging countries to develop top figure skaters in all disciplines. Each country sends two men, two women, one pair, and one ice dance entry.

## Competition and participants

Selected skaters from the six countries with the best results during the season compete in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance in a team format. The participating countries in the inaugural event were (in descending order of finish) the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Russia, and China. The Japan Skating Federation paid the global prize money for the ISU World Team Trophy in 2009. The total prize money in 2009 was US$1,000,000, the highest ever in an ISU event, with $200,000 awarded to the winning country. In 2015, the qualifying countries (in descending order of qualification) were Russia, the United States, Japan, Canada, France, and China, with the United States taking the title. Prize money was once again US$1,000,000.

## Reactions

In 2009, there were reports that some of the participating skaters did not wish to take part in the event. Canadian ice dancer Scott Moir was quoted as saying that although the event was fun, skaters had been pressured to attend. U.S. ice dancer Tanith Belbin told an interviewer that she and partner Benjamin Agosto had not been aware of the event until after the 2009 World Championships. Evan Lysacek, who had won the World Championship shortly before the World Team Trophy, was quoted in the same article as saying he was excited and looking forward to competing in Japan as part of the American team, referring to the event as "icing on the cake".
In 2012, skaters expressed more enthusiasm about competing at the World Team Trophy. Daisuke Takahashi referred to the competition as "a lot of fun", while Scott Moir said it was turning into an exciting event, especially considering a team event would be contested at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The fact that this event is held after all major competitions forced many athletes to not attend in order to not risk injuries or fatigue after a long season. The event is also not in a similar format as the Olympics: ice dance and pairs events only count as two events each and individual competitions for four events, thus favoring teams and nations who are not well fulfilled in ice dance and pairs events. The lowest ranked ice dancers and pairs are also awarded 7 points, marginalizing the point difference toward the winners who are awarded only five more points for a maximum of twelve points.

## Results

ISU World Team Trophy - Results :
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2009 | Tokyo | United States Jeremy Abbott Evan Lysacek Rachael Flatt Caroline Zhang Caydee Denney / Jeremy Barrett Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto | Canada Patrick Chan Vaughn Chipeur Cynthia Phaneuf Joannie Rochette Jessica Dubé / Bryce Davison Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir | Japan Takahiko Kozuka Nobunari Oda Miki Ando Mao Asada Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran Cathy Reed / Chris Reed |
| 2011 | Event cancelled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Event cancelled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Event cancelled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Event cancelled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami |
| 2012 | Tokyo | Japan Takahiko Kozuka Daisuke Takahashi Kanako Murakami Akiko Suzuki Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran Cathy Reed / Chris Reed | United States Jeremy Abbott Adam Rippon Gracie Gold Ashley Wagner Caydee Denney / John Coughlin Meryl Davis / Charlie White | Canada Patrick Chan Kevin Reynolds Amélie Lacoste Cynthia Phaneuf Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir |
| 2013 | Tokyo | United States Max Aaron Jeremy Abbott Gracie Gold Ashley Wagner Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir Madison Chock / Evan Bates | Canada Patrick Chan Kevin Reynolds Gabrielle Daleman Kaetlyn Osmond Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje | Japan Takahito Mura Daisuke Takahashi Mao Asada Akiko Suzuki (no pairs team) Cathy Reed / Chris Reed |
| 2015 | Tokyo | United States Max Aaron Jason Brown Gracie Gold Ashley Wagner Alexa Scimeca / Chris Knierim Madison Chock / Evan Bates | Russia Maxim Kovtun Sergei Voronov Elena Radionova Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov Elena Ilinykh / Ruslan Zhiganshin | Japan Yuzuru Hanyu Takahito Mura Satoko Miyahara Kanako Murakami Ami Koga / Francis Boudreau-Audet Cathy Reed / Chris Reed |
| 2017 | Tokyo | Japan Yuzuru Hanyu Shoma Uno Wakaba Higuchi Mai Mihara Sumire Suto / Francis Boudreau-Audet Kana Muramoto / Chris Reed | Russia Mikhail Kolyada Maxim Kovtun Evgenia Medvedeva Elena Radionova Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev | United States Jason Brown Nathan Chen Karen Chen Ashley Wagner Ashley Cain / Timothy LeDuc Madison Chock / Evan Bates |
| 2019 | Fukuoka | United States Nathan Chen Vincent Zhou Mariah Bell Bradie Tennell Ashley Cain / Timothy LeDuc Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue | Japan Keiji Tanaka Shoma Uno Rika Kihira Kaori Sakamoto Riku Miura / Shoya Ichihashi Misato Komatsubara / Tim Koleto | Russia Andrei Lazukin Alexander Samarin Sofia Samodurova Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Natalia Zabiiako / Alexander Enbert Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov |
| 2021 | Osaka | Russia Mikhail Kolyada Evgeni Semenenko Anna Shcherbakova Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Anastasia Mishina / Aleksandr Galliamov Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov | United States Jason Brown Nathan Chen Karen Chen Bradie Tennell Alexa Knierim / Brandon Frazier Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker | Japan Yuzuru Hanyu Shoma Uno Rika Kihira Kaori Sakamoto Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara Misato Komatsubara / Tim Koleto |
| 2023 | Tokyo | United States Jason Brown Ilia Malinin Amber Glenn Isabeau Levito Alexa Knierim / Brandon Frazier Madison Chock / Evan Bates | South Korea Cha Jun-hwan Lee Si-hyeong Kim Ye-lim Lee Hae-in Cho Hye-jin / Steven Adcock Hannah Lim / Ye Quan | Japan Shun Sato Kazuki Tomono Mai Mihara Kaori Sakamoto Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara Kana Muramoto / Daisuke Takahashi |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 3 | Russia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | South Korea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | Totals (5 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |

## Participating nations

Participating nations :
| Team | 2009 | 2012 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | Total |
| Canada | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 8 |
| China | 6th | – | 5th | 5th | 5th | – | – | – | 4 |
| France | 4th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 8 |
| Italy | – | 6th | – | – | – | 6th | 4th | 4th | 4 |
| Japan | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 8 |
| Russia | 5th | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | – | 7 |
| South Korea | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2nd | 1 |
| United States | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 8 |