2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2011–12 season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing at six invitational competitions in the fall of 2011. Skaters earned points based on their placement at each event and the skaters who finished in the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final, held in Quebec City, Canada.
The Grand Prix series set the stage for the 2012 European, Four Continents, and World Championships, as well as each country's national championships. The Grand Prix series began on 21 October 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011.
The Grand Prix was organized by the International Skating Union. Skaters competed for prize money and for a chance to compete in the Grand Prix Final. The corresponding series for junior-level skaters was the 2011–12 ISU Junior Grand Prix.
Schedule
Changes
The maximum number of entries at each event was reduced from twelve to ten in singles and from ten to eight in ice dancing. This reduced by twelve the number of available spots in each discipline. The number of spots for pairs had already been reduced to eight and remained at that level.The number of possible events was increased to three for the top six in each discipline at the 2011 World Championships. This had been allowed in the early years of the Grand Prix series but reduced to two later. If all of the skaters accepted, it would reduce by six the number of available spots for other skaters, which combined with the reduction of entries, would result in 18 fewer spots available to other skaters in each discipline, compared to the previous season. The top six were offered a US $10,000 bonus to compete at three events but face a fine if they later withdraw, even for valid medical reasons. About 29% of the 24 skaters/teams opted for three events.
A minimum score requirement was introduced to the Grand Prix series for the first time.
General requirements
Skaters who reach the age of 14 by 1 July 2011 were eligible to compete on the senior Grand Prix circuit.Minimum score requirements were added to the Grand Prix series and were set at three-fifths of the top scores at the 2011 World Championships. Prior to competing in a Grand Prix event, skaters were required to earn the following scores:
The International Skating Union decided that the minimums do not apply to "host picks", i.e. Canadians Adriana DeSanctis and Elladj Balde were allowed to compete at their home country's event, 2011 Skate Canada International, despite failing to reach the minimums at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy.
Assignments
The top six skaters/teams from the 2011 World Championships were seeded and assigned to two events. They also had the option of competing at a third event, receiving a US$10,000 bonus if they chose to do so, with their best two results counting toward qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. There were no substitutions of the seeded positions.Skaters who placed 7–12 at 2011 Worlds were guaranteed two assignments. The remaining spots could be given to skaters who placed in the top 24 on the season's best score or world ranking lists. However, these skaters were not guaranteed any events, even if they had a higher Season's Best score than skaters in the top 12 at Worlds but did not compete at the event due to the three-per-country restriction.
The host country was allowed to assign three skaters/teams of their choosing from their country in each discipline.
Skaters who missed one or more seasons but had placed in the top six at any previous World Championships had the option of getting assignments to the Grand Prix under the "Come-back skaters" clause. They were obliged to commit to two events and could take advantage of this clause only once.
The following skaters have received assignments for one or more Grand Prix events:
Men
Ladies
Pairs
Ice dance
Replacements
A list of alternates was used to call up replacements, in the following order:- Come-back skaters
- Skaters from split teams which had placed in the top 12 at a previous World Championships
- Skaters from the top 24 on the season's best list
- Skaters from the top 24 SB who have only one event
- All other skaters in the top 75 SB
- Winners of selected international competitions
Medal summary
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Skate Canada | Men |  Patrick Chan |  Javier Fernández |  Daisuke Takahashi |
| Skate Canada | Ladies |  Elizaveta Tuktamysheva | Akiko Suzuki |  Ashley Wagner |
| Skate Canada | Pairs | Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov |  Wenjing Sui / Cong Han | Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford |
| Skate Canada | Ice dancing | Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir | Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje |  Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte |
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Cup of China | Men | Jeremy Abbott | Nobunari Oda | Song Nan |
| Cup of China | Ladies | Carolina Kostner | Mirai Nagasu | Adelina Sotnikova |
| Cup of China | Pairs | Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov | Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang | Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch |
| Cup of China | Ice dancing | Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev | Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani |  Pernelle Carron / Lloyd Jones |
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| NHK Trophy | Men | Daisuke Takahashi | Takahiko Kozuka | Ross Miner |
| NHK Trophy | Ladies | Akiko Suzuki | Mao Asada | Alena Leonova |
| NHK Trophy | Pairs | Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov | Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran |  Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy |
| NHK Trophy | Ice dancing | Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani | Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje | Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov |
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Trophée Eric Bompard | Men | Patrick Chan | Song Nan |  Michal Březina |
| Trophée Eric Bompard | Ladies | Elizaveta Tuktamysheva | Carolina Kostner | Alissa Czisny |
| Trophée Eric Bompard | Pairs | Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov | Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov | Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford |
| Trophée Eric Bompard | Ice dancing | Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir | Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat | Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte |
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Rostelecom Cup | Men | Yuzuru Hanyu | Javier Fernández | Jeremy Abbott |
| Rostelecom Cup | Ladies | Mao Asada | Alena Leonova | Adelina Sotnikova |
| Rostelecom Cup | Pairs | Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy | Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov | Stefania Berton / Ondřej Hotárek |
| Rostelecom Cup | Ice dancing | Meryl Davis / Charlie White | Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje | Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev |
| Event | Discipline | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Grand Prix Final | Men | Patrick Chan | Daisuke Takahashi | Javier Fernández |
| Grand Prix Final | Ladies | Carolina Kostner | Akiko Suzuki | Alena Leonova |
| Grand Prix Final | Pairs | Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy | Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov | Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov |
| Grand Prix Final | Ice dancing | Meryl Davis / Charlie White | Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir | Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat |
Top Grand Prix scores
Skaters ranked according to total score. The short and free columns break down the total score of a skater's best overall event into the short program and free skating.Men
Top senior Grand Prix scores after six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, NHK Trophy, Trophée Eric Bompard, Rostelecom Cup, and Grand Prix Final.| Rank | Name | Country | Total | Short | Free | Event | Date |
| 1 | Patrick Chan | 260.30 | 86.63 | 173.67 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 2 | Daisuke Takahashi | 259.75 | 90.43 | 169.32 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-13 | |
| 3 | Javier Fernández | 250.33 | 84.71 | 165.62 | Skate Canada | 2011-10-29 | |
| 4 | Yuzuru Hanyu | 245.82 | 79.33 | 166.49 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 5 | Jeremy Abbott | 238.82 | 82.66 | 156.16 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 6 | Takahiko Kozuka | 235.02 | 79.77 | 155.25 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-13 | |
| 7 | Nobunari Oda | 227.11 | 77.65 | 149.46 | Cup of China | 2011-11-05 | |
| 8 | Song Nan | 226.75 | 72.72 | 154.03 | Cup of China | 2011-11-05 | |
| 9 | Michal Březina | 226.35 | 79.01 | 147.34 | Rostelecom Cup | 2011-11-26 | |
| 10 | Artur Gachinski | 222.54 | 81.64 | 140.90 | Cup of China | 2011-11-05 |
Ladies
Top senior Grand Prix scores after six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, NHK Trophy, Trophée Eric Bompard, Rostelecom Cup, and Grand Prix Final.| Rank | Name | Country | Total | Short | Free | Event | Date |
| 1 | Carolina Kostner | 187.48 | 66.43 | 121.05 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 2 | Akiko Suzuki | 185.98 | 66.55 | 119.43 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 | |
| 3 | Mao Asada | 184.19 | 58.42 | 125.77 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 | |
| 4 | Elizaveta Tuktamysheva | 182.89 | 62.04 | 120.85 | Trophée Bompard | 2011-11-19 | |
| 5 | Alena Leonova | 180.45 | 63.91 | 116.54 | Rostelecom Cup | 2011-11-26 | |
| 6 | Alissa Czisny | 179.15 | 57.25 | 121.90 | Trophée Bompard | 2011-11-19 | |
| 7 | Mirai Nagasu | 173.22 | 60.96 | 112.26 | Cup of China | 2011-11-05 | |
| 8 | Adelina Sotnikova | 169.75 | 57.79 | 111.96 | Rostelecom Cup | 2011-11-26 | |
| 9 | Sofia Biryukova | 166.07 | 56.30 | 109.77 | Rostelecom Cup | 2011-11-26 | |
| 10 | Ashley Wagner | 165.65 | 55.88 | 109.77 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 |
Pairs
Top senior Grand Prix scores after six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, NHK Trophy, Trophée Eric Bompard, Rostelecom Cup, and Grand Prix Final.| Rank | Name | Country | Total | Short | Free | Event | Date |
| 1 | Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy | 212.26 | 69.82 | 142.44 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 2 | Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov | 212.08 | 71.57 | 140.51 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 3 | Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov | 197.84 | 65.17 | 132.67 | Rostelecom Cup | 2011-11-26 | |
| 4 | Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov | 184.91 | 59.06 | 125.85 | Trophée Bompard | 2011-11-19 | |
| 5 | Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao | 182.54 | 63.43 | 119.11 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-10 | |
| 6 | Wenjing Sui / Cong Han | 180.82 | 59.23 | 121.59 | Skate Canada | 2011-10-29 | |
| 7 | Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch | 177.43 | 59.60 | 117.83 | Skate America | 2011-10-23 | |
| 8 | Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford | 176.62 | 61.06 | 115.56 | Trophée Bompard | 2011-11-19 | |
| 9 | Caydee Denney / John Coughlin | 175.40 | 59.62 | 115.78 | Skate America | 2011-10-23 | |
| 10 | Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran | 172.09 | 57.89 | 114.20 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 |
Ice dancing
Top senior Grand Prix scores after six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, NHK Trophy, Trophée Eric Bompard, Rostelecom Cup, and Grand Prix Final.| Rank | Name | Country | Total | Short | Free | Event | Date |
| 1 | Meryl Davis / Charlie White | 188.55 | 76.17 | 112.38 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-11 | |
| 2 | Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir | 183.84 | 71.01 | 112.83 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-11 | |
| 3 | Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat | 169.69 | 68.68 | 101.01 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-11 | |
| 4 | Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje | 166.07 | 66.24 | 99.83 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-11 | |
| 5 | Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev | 163.52 | 65.73 | 97.79 | Cup of China | 2011-11-05 | |
| 6 | Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani | 160.55 | 65.53 | 95.02 | Grand Prix Final | 2011-12-11 | |
| 6 | Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte | 154.87 | 61.92 | 92.95 | Skate Canada | 2011-10-30 | |
| 8 | Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov | 149.48 | 61.83 | 87.65 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 | |
| 9 | Nelli Zhiganshina / Alexander Gazsi | 136.12 | 55.69 | 80.43 | NHK Trophy | 2011-11-12 | |
| 10 | Madison Chock / Evan Bates | 135.10 | 51.24 | 84.67 | Skate Canada | 2011-10-30 |
Prize money and Grand Prix Final qualification points
The top finishers earned prize money, as well as points toward qualifying for the Grand Prix Final, according to the chart below.After the last event, the 2011 Cup of Russia, the six skaters/teams with the most points advanced to the Grand Prix Final. If a skater or team competed at three events, their two best results counted toward the standings. There were seven tie-breakers:
- Highest placement at an event. If a skater placed 1st and 3rd, the tiebreaker was the 1st place, and that beats a skater who placed 2nd in both events.
- Highest combined total scores in both events. If a skater earned 200 points at one event and 250 at a second, that skater would win in the second tie-break over a skater who earned 200 points at one event and 150 at another.
- Participated in two events.
- Highest combined scores in the free skating/free dancing portion of both events.
- Highest individual score in the free skating/free dancing portion from one event.
- Highest combined scores in the short program/original dance of both events.
- Highest number of total participants at the events.
Qualification standings
Bold denotes Grand Prix Final qualification.| Points | Men | Ladies | Pairs | Ice dance |
| 30 | Patrick Chan | Elizaveta Tuktamisheva | Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov | Meryl Davis / Charlie White Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir |
| 28 | Mao Asada Carolina Kostner Akiko Suzuki | Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani | ||
| 26 | Daisuke Takahashi Jeremy Abbott Michal Březina Javier Fernández | Alissa Czisny | Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao | Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje |
| 24 | Yuzuru Hanyu Song Nan Takahiko Kozuka | Alena Leonova | ||
| 22 | Adelina Sotnikova | Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch | Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte | |
| 20 | Mirai Nagasu Ashley Wagner | Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov Sui Wenjing / Han Cong Stefania Berton / Ondrej Hotarek | Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov | |
| 19 | ||||
| 18 | Adam Rippon |  Viktoria Helgesson | Amanda Evora / Mark Ladwig |  Isabella Tobias / Deividas Stagniūnas Nelli Zhiganshina / Alexander Gazsi |
| 17 | Nobunari Oda | |||
| 16 |  Kevin van der Perren Ross Miner | Caydee Denney / John Coughlin | Pernelle Carron / Lloyd Jones Madison Chock / Evan Bates Ekaterina Riazanova / Ilia Tkachenko | |
| 15 | ||||
| 14 | Richard Dornbush Artur Gachinski  Denis Ten | Kanako Murakami Haruka Imai | ||
| 13 | ||||
| 12 | Samuel Contesti |  Kiira Korpi | Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze Jessica Dubé / Sébastien Wolfe | Huang Xintong / Zheng Xun |
| 11 |  Elene Gedevanishvili Ksenia Makarova | |||
| 10 | ||||
| 9 | Andrei Rogozine | Sofia Biryukova Zhang Kexin Maé-Bérénice Méité | Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov |  Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland |
| 8 | Konstantin Menshov | Amelie Lacoste | ||
| 7 | Florent Amodio Tomáš Verner | Christina Gao Agnes Zawadzki | Katarina Gerboldt / Alexander Enbert | Lorenza Alessandrini / Simone Vaturi Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill |
| 6 | ||||
| 5 | Alexander Majorov Daisuke Murakami | Caroline Zhang | Yu Xiaoyu / Jin Yang Tiffany Vise / Don Baldwin Dong Huibo / Wu Yiming Ashley Cain / Joshua Reagan | Ekaterina Pushkash / Jonathan Guerreiro Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue Lynn Kriengkrairut/ Logan Giulietti-Schmitt Yu Xiaoyang / Wang Chen |
| 4 | Kevin Reynolds Sergei Voronov Tatsuki Machida Douglas Razzano | Cynthia Phaneuf Sonia Lafuente | ||
| 3 | Armin Mahbanoozadeh Wu Jialiang Romain Ponsart | Geng Bingwa Joelle Forte Yretha Silete Sarah Hecken |