Inside the senior pairs competition at the 2019 Turin Grand Prix Final
The senior pairs competition at the 2019 ISU Grand Prix Final represented one of the most anticipated segments of the four-day event held at the Palavela in Turin. With six qualifying berths available across the Grand Prix circuit, the world's elite pairings converged on northern Italy to contest two programmes: the short and the free. The discipline demands a rare blend of individual skating skill, trust, and split-second timing, and the Turin stage offered a fitting backdrop for its showcase.
For Australian figure-skating enthusiasts, the event sat comfortably in the local winter sports calendar. The Palavela, originally constructed for the 1960 Winter Olympics and later remodelled, has long been a familiar reference point for fans who follow international competitions from the southern hemisphere. Broadcasts of the Grand Prix Final in 2019 reached Australian viewers during primetime evening hours, giving the community a chance to settle in after work and study the technical nuances of pairs skating together.
The stage: Palavela and the Grand Prix Final tradition
The Palavela arena sits in the Santa Rita district of Turin, a venue with deep roots in winter sport history. Built as the ice stadium for the 1956 Winter Olympics before being remodelled for 2006, the arena holds roughly 12,000 spectators and has hosted countless figure-skating milestones over the decades. For the 2019 Grand Prix Final, the venue was dressed with custom branding, ice-resurfacing equipment, and broadcast infrastructure suitable for a marquee event.
The Grand Prix Final itself carries significant weight in the skating calendar. It brings together the top six teams or individuals across the senior and junior Grand Prix series, competing for medals and a share of the overall season prize purse. For pairs, the field is limited to six entries, which means every programme carries immense pressure. Skaters who qualified through strong performances at events like Skate America, Skate Canada, Cup of China, and the NHK Trophy earned the right to compete on the Turin ice.
Australian audiences have a particular fondness for the Grand Prix Final because of its condensed, championship-style format. Unlike the sprawling Grand Prix series with stops in multiple countries, the Final feels like a concentrated burst of elite skating, something Aussie fans can follow across a single weekend rather than tracking a six-event circuit.
How senior pairs skating works
Senior pairs skating operates under the International Judging System (IJS), which evaluates programmes through two technical scores and a programme component score. Each pair performs a short programme of roughly two minutes and forty seconds, followed by a free skate of around four minutes. The short counts for one-third of the final standings and the free for the remaining two-thirds, rewarding consistency across both segments.
The discipline is unique because it requires two skaters to function as a single unit on the ice. Partners must match edges, align their timing on landings, and project a unified artistic identity. Judges look for unison, the quality of overhead lifts, the height and distance of throw jumps, and the difficulty and execution of side-by-side jumps and spins. Falls and serious errors are heavily penalised, and the technical merit score reflects both the difficulty attempted and the quality of execution.
| Element | What it involves | Judging focus | Common deductions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifts | Group five station holds, carry lifts, rotational carries | Height, speed, fluidity, duration | Falls, low carry positions, free-hand touching the ice |
| Throw jumps | Triple toe loops, triple salchows, throw quadruples | Height, distance, rotation, landing | Under-rotation, two-foot landings, falls on entry or landing |
| Twist lifts | Triple and quadruple rotational lifts | Height, number of rotations, catch position | Split falls, sketchy catches, hand-down landings |
| Side-by-side jumps | Unison jumps by both partners | Identical take-off, rotation, and landing | Mismatched timing, fall by either skater, different jump types |
| Pair spins | Side-by-side and rotational spins | Speed, centring, difficulty of position | Travelling, loss of centring, weak positions |
| Death spirals | Forward and backward rotational spirals | Extension, centring, smoothness | Loss of spiral position, wobbly pivot foot |
The IJS scoring has evolved considerably since the system was introduced in 2004, and the technical panel now uses instant replay to verify rotations and edge calls. This has raised the bar for technical content across all disciplines, and pairs has seen a steady increase in the difficulty of throw jumps and twist lifts over the past decade.
Technical elements: throws, twists, and lifts explained
For newcomers to the discipline, understanding the differences between throws, twists, and lifts can be daunting. Each element has its own scoring category and its own set of difficulty multipliers. A thorough breakdown of how these elements are constructed, scored, and appreciated can be found in the detailed guide on pairs free skate elements, which walks readers through the technical panel's perspective.
Throw jumps are launched by the male partner and landed by the female skater, often after a dramatic entry spiral or spread eagle. They generate some of the highest technical scores in pairs skating because the male partner can assist the rotation, allowing the female to land more challenging jumps than she might manage solo. Twists, by contrast, are a rotational lift where the man lifts the woman by her waist and sets her into the air with a twisting motion before catching her at the waist on the way down. Lifts are overhead or rotational carries that require the woman to hold a specific position for a minimum number of revolutions.
The 2019 Final featured pairs who had spent the early season refining these elements. By December, teams had typically settled into their programme music, choreography, and technical layouts, using the Final as a measuring stick against their closest rivals. For Australian coaches and choreographers who often travel to work with international teams, the Turin competitions provide an opportunity to study the latest trends in pairs construction.
The teams and their season stories
The six pairs who qualified for the 2019 Grand Prix Final had each navigated a demanding autumn schedule. Most had competed at two Grand Prix events, chasing qualifying scores and finishing positions high enough to earn a Final berth. The Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong arrived as defending champions, having dominated the previous season's competitions with their technically demanding programmes and effortless unison. Their presence guaranteed a benchmark for the rest of the field.
The Russian school was well represented, with teams emerging from the country's deep talent pipeline. Russian pairs are known for their dramatic artistry and their willingness to push technical boundaries, often attempting the most difficult throw jumps and lift variations on the circuit. Their rivalry with the Chinese teams has defined the modern era of pairs skating, and Turin promised another chapter in that contest.
European entries from France and other skating nations added stylistic variety. French pairs in particular have brought a theatrical flair to the discipline, blending dramatic choreography with athletic lifts. North American teams, often emerging from the US Figure Skating development pipeline, rounded out a competitive field that showcased the global reach of the sport.
Following the competition from Australia
Australian figure-skating fans have a unique relationship with northern hemisphere competitions. The time difference means that major events like the Grand Prix Final often fall into the early evening or primetime slot for east coast viewers, which suits the local viewing habits of sports-mad Australians. Many fans gather at rinks such as the Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney or the Olympic Ice Skating Institute in Melbourne to watch major competitions together, turning a solo viewing session into a community event.
The Australian figure-skating community is small but passionate. Local rinks run learn-to-skate programmes that feed into competitive pipelines, and a handful of Australian pairs have historically represented the country at World Championships and Winter Olympics. While the senior international podium is dominated by teams from larger skating nations, Australian coaches and choreographers frequently contribute to the success of teams from other countries, lending their expertise to programmes that eventually appear on circuits like the Grand Prix Final.
Good on the organisers for staging a Final that felt both intimate and grand. The Palavela's scale, combined with the focused nature of the six-team field, created an atmosphere where every element mattered. Aussie fans watching from living rooms and rink lounges could feel the tension as cleanly as those in the arena.
Viewing recommendations for pairs skating fans
A few details can make the difference between a casual viewing and a more informed appreciation of senior pairs skating.
- Listen for the timing between partners on side-by-side jumps. Even a fraction of a second mismatch can be visible to trained eyes.
- Note the entry and exit of throw jumps. The setup spiral often tells you how much difficulty the team is willing to attempt.
- Watch the catch position on twist lifts. A clean catch above the head scores significantly higher than a lower catch.
- Pay attention to the unified body lines during death spirals. Centring and extension are critical.
- Follow the team through both the short and free programmes. Consistency across two days usually predicts the medal standings.
- Consider the programme component scores alongside the technical scores. Pairs skating is judged as both an athletic and artistic discipline, and the artistic impression can swing close finishes.
Book your travel early if you plan to attend a future Final in person, and check the official event website for the latest information on schedules, ticketing, and athlete announcements. The Grand Prix Final remains one of the most concentrated displays of pairs skating anywhere in the calendar, and the Turin edition set a high bar for events that followed.