British Figure Skating Championships

The British Figure Skating Championships are held annually to crown the national champions of Great Britain. Skaters compete 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. The event is organized by British Ice Skating, the sport's national governing body.
John Page currently holds the record for winning the most British championships in men's singles (with eleven). In addition, Page and his partner Ethel Muckelt hold the record in pair skating (with nine). Jenna McCorkell holds the record in women's singles (with eleven). Three teams are tied for winning the most championships in ice dance (with seven each): Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson; Sinead Kerr and John Kerr; and Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
The championships were originally called the Swedish Challenge Cup and were inaugurated by the National Skating Association of Great Britain in 1903, but were not established as the British Championships until 1904. The Swedish Challenge Cup had been presented to Great Britain on behalf of the Stockholm General Skating Club (Swedish: Stockholms Allmänna Skridskoklubb) by Viktor Balck, the then-president of the International Skating Union.
In the beginning, the British Championships were explicitly for skating in the international style, versus the English style, which had once been the standard in Great Britain. The international style incorporated ballet and dance movements with skating and was championed by early British skaters like Edgar Syers and Henry Yglesias. The English style, on the other hand, was much more rigid and formal, and focused on the tracing of elaborate special figures. The International Skating Union had adopted the international style as the standard for all international competitions in 1897. Separate English style championships continued in Great Britain, but they were not recognized as the official British Championships.
Although figure skating at the time was dominated by men, women were not barred from competing in the championships. The very first competition in 1903 was won by Madge Syers. Pair skating was added to the championships in 1921. A separate category for women was established in 1927. Kathleen Shaw, the winner of the inaugural women's event, stated: "It is much fairer now that there is a championship for women as well as for men... It is possible that ice skating will become more popular now that women are allowed their own championship."
The British Championships were open to skaters from members of the British Commonwealth; skaters from Australia, Canada, and South Africa occasionally competed.
No competitions were held between 1915 and 1920 due to World War I, or between 1940 and 1945 due to World War II. The 2021 British Championships were also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ice dance became a championship event in 1937, although the ice dance competitions were for years held separately from the other events. From 1951 to 1987, the British Ice Dance Championships were held annually at the Nottingham Ice Stadium in Nottingham.