Milano‑Cortina Olympians Holly Harris and Jason Chan have capped off their best ever season as an ice dance couple with a 14th‑place finish at the World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.
 
The result marked an improvement on their previous best World Championships finish of 16th, achieved at the 2023 event in Japan.
 
Harris and Chan opened their campaign with a score of 71.12 points in the Rhythm Dance, placing them 16th heading into the Free Dance.
 
They then produced a strong performance in the Free Dance, recording the 15th‑highest score of the round with 108.49 points to finish with a total score of 179.61 and an overall ranking of 14th.
 
Olympic champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France claimed the world title with a commanding score of 230.81 points. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished second on 211.52, while Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik completed the podium in third with 209.20.
 
The season for Harris and Chan also included a silver medal at the final Olympic qualifying event, the ISU Skate to Milano, which secured their place at the Olympic Winter Games, where they finished 18th preceded by their best ever Four Continents Championships result fifth‑place in Beijing.

​​Just when the post-Olympic blues are setting in for Winter Games fans, SBS will offer the cure with its exclusive broadcast of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2026, available both live and on catch-up via SBS On Demand from 25-30 March 2026.
 
Fans can relive all the passion and drama of world-class figure skating competition as the stars of the Milano Cortina Games return to compete for world titles at Prague’s O2 arena, writing the next chapter of the compelling narrative that unfolded on the ice in Italy last month.

​Dual world champion and pre-Olympic favourite Ilia Malinin will seek redemption after his Milano meltdown, while Olympic champion Alysa Liu will hope to extend her astonishing comeback with a second consecutive world crown.
 
Surprise Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan has opted not to compete, but silver and bronze medallists Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato of Japan will provide the highest level of competition for the “Quad God” Malinin.
 
“I'm looking forward to getting myself that ‘redemption competition’, as I like to call it,” Malinin told Olympics.com last week. “I’m definitely looking at that, and I can be satisfied with it if everything goes well.”
 
The entire women’s Olympic podium will compete as Liu faces silver medallist and former world champion Kaori Sakamoto in her swansong competition, while the exciting 17-year-old Ami Nakai will make her world championships debut after winning a breakthrough bronze medal in Milano.
 
Olympic pairs champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan will skip the event, creating an opportunity for Milano Cortina 2026 silver medallists, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia, and bronze medallists, Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany, to contend for a first world title.
 
Meanwhile, the ice dancing competition will see a rematch between France’s gold medal duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, and American silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who will hope to go one better and successfully defend their world title.  
 
Aussies in action
 
Australia’s Olympic representatives Holly Harris and Jason Chan (ice dancing) and Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos-Moore (pairs) will be back on the ice.
 
Harris and Chan are fresh from Australia's best-ever performance in the ice dance at the Olympics (18thplace) and will look to make a further rise up the ranks in Czechia.
 
Golubeva and Giotopoulos-Moore had a rough start to the 2025-26 season as uncertainty around Golubeva’s nationality and injury issues halted their momentum. However they still finished 18th at the Olympics, and will hope to be nearer their best at the world championships, after finishing in the top ten for the past three years.
 
The Sport page on SBS On Demand will provide links to livestream coverage of every competition, as well as extended highlights and full replays, with highlights on social media.
 
SBS’s global sports offering includes the FIFA World Cup 2026™, the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, as well as other cycling Grand Tours, Classics and stage races, Dakar Rally, and ISU Grand Prix figure skating events.
 
How to watch the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships LIVE on SBS:
 
Wednesday, March 25
ISU World Championships - Women Short Program
8:55pm - 2:38am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
Thursday, March 26
ISU World Championships - Pairs Short Program
4:10am - 8:35am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
ISU World Championships - Men Short Program
8:40pm - 2:37am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
Friday, March 27
ISU World Championships - Pair Free Skate and Victory Ceremony
4:20am - 8:27am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
ISU World Championships - Ice Dance Rhythm Dance
8:55pm - 2:37am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
Saturday, March 28
ISU World Championships - Women Free Skate and Victory Ceremony
3:55am - 8:22am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
ISU World Championships - Men Free Skate and Victory Ceremony
10:25pm - 2:25am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
Sunday, March 29
ISU World Championships - Ice Dance Free Dance and Victory Ceremony
4:25am - 8:21am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
Monday, March 30
ISU World Championships - Exhibition Gala
12:25am - 3:10am (AEDT)
LIVE via SBS On Demand
 
IMAGE - Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos-Moore at the O'Brien Icehouse in Melbourne
Photo Copyright - Chris Hocking

​Ticking off everything they set out to do, Ice Dancers Holly Harris and Jason Chan have skated into the history books, becoming the highest-placed Australian Olympic Ice Dancers in history. 

Set to the music Clair de Lune, the couple completed their Games’ debut with a stunning Free Dance that showcased their fluid style and skating skills, with a performance that commentators described as “flawless.”  

​Article courtesy olympics.com.au

“We kept this program from the last season and I think that was the right move,” Chan said. “It gave us time to work on all the little details and it was amazing to be able to put out a program like that and have something that we’re really proud of.”  

“It felt really good,” Harris agreed. “We came here to do a job and we did that and we’re just so happy.”  

Opening with an impressive dance spin, the program featured a difficult step sequence performed on one foot, multiple lifts across the ice, and required choreography elements. 

“It feels like we put everything out there and showed what we’re capable of,” Harris said. ‘It’s amazing to think that all that work before the scenes and all the years of training together ended up with this moment. It’s a dream come true.”  

Scoring 108.64 for a total combined of 176.39, Harris and Chan finished in 18th place, giving them the best result ever achieved by an Australian team. 

“I hope this will inspire other Australians to give ice dance a go, and to encourage skaters who might be thinking about switching disciplines to give it a try,” Harris said. “I started out as a singles skater and I always dreamed of being at the Olympics. I never imagined that I would be an Olympic ice dancer but I’m so glad I tried it out.”  

“The thing with ice dance is that it’s changing and developing all the time and it’s become such an exciting discipline,” said Chan.  

Cheering them on in the stands, were ice dance legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. Dean, who coached Holly at times when she was younger, joked that he’d be happy to take the credit for Harris’s career. 

“Jason actually spotted Christopher during the warmup and he was so excited to see him there,” Harris said. “It’s amazing to think you’re performing for people like that. The whole experience has been amazing.” 

Next, the team will begin training for the World Championships in Prague, but for now they’re hoping to soak up the rest of their Olympic experience. 

“I’m so happy with that I probably won’t sleep tonight,” Chan said. “It just feels so good to achieve everything we set out to do.”  

It’s been twelve years since Australia last featured in Olympic Ice Dancing, but Holly Harris and Jason Chan looked right at home as they took to the Milan stage, with an electric program that earned them a score of 67.75, and a spot in the Free Dance event tomorrow. 

“When we hit our finishing pose, we were really happy with how we skated and I think we need to stay with that feeling,” said Chan. 

Article courtesy olympics.com.au

“Overall I just felt happy and grateful,” said Harris. “My nerves were actually okay and I had this eerie calmness. I felt like I’m where I need to be.”  

Beaming from the moment they skated out onto Olympic ice, the Montreal-based Aussie team, lit up the Milan Ice Skating Arena with a punchy performance that impressed not only the judges, but also the crowd, many of whom were clapping along to the mix of pop tunes from artists like Jennifer Lopez and Anastacia.

“The five-minute warmup felt quite different to normal competitions,” said Harris. “It was very chaotic. The crowd had a lot more energy than we’re used to which was really fun, but it was really high energy and we needed to calm down and settle to focus.” 

The program included intricate step sequences, a synchronised twizzle series – which appeared like side-by-side moving spins that travel across the ice – and a breathtaking lift that changed from rotational to stationary. 

“We’re happy with the performance, and we qualified which is what we set out to do,” said Harris. “I don’t think the scores were what we were looking for but that’s out of control and we couldn’t have skated a lot better.”  

The team will now focus on Wednesday’s free skate program – a beautiful routine set to Clair de Lune, which they’ve carried over from last season. 

‘I’m really looking forward to skating the free,” said Chan. “It feels like a privilege to be out there and get that opportunity, and we’ve really worked hard on developing the program with a lot of new details and moments.”  

It will also give them a chance to showcase their full skating abilities, with a longer program allowing extra elements including a dance spin and several stunning lifts. 

For now, the pair can soak up the success of their Games debut, declaring they’re finally able to call themselves Olympians  

“It’s surreal to say that, to call myself an Olympian,” said Harris. “But now I feel like I can do it. I’m an Olympian. It’s amazing.”  ​

Ice dance duo Holly Harris and Jason Chan have delivered the strongest Four Continents performance of their careers, finishing fifth at the Championships in Beijing, China.
 
The pair produced near‑personal‑best scores in both segments of the competition, opening with 68.33 points in the rhythm dance—the fifth‑highest score of the round.
 
In the free dance, Harris and Chan continued their impressive form, earning 108.75 points, the sixth‑best score among all competitors.
 
Their combined total of 177.08 points secured a final ranking of fifth place, surpassing their previous best Four Continents finish of seventh last year.
 
Also competing for Australia at the Four Continents in the Pairs event was Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore, who finished in 11th place in their first major competition of the season. The pair were ranked eighth after the short program with a score of 59.27, but fell to 11th after the free skate with a score of 82.68, giving them a total score of 141.95 points.
 
Harris and Chan along with Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore will now head to Italy for their Olympic Games debut.

Australian Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan have continued their strong recent form with another silver medal performance at the ISU Figure Skating Challenger Series Trialeti Trophy in Tbilisi, Georgia, their first medal at a Challenger series event.
 
Harris and Chan are on a high following their silver medal performance in September at the Olympic qualifying event in Beijing, China, where they secured a place for Australia in the Ice Dance at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games with career best scores.
 
In Tbilisi, Harris and Chan set a new personal best score of 110.96 points in the free dance, and 69.88 in the rhythm dance, putting them in second place overall on 180.84 points.
 
In first place was Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Georgia on 203.39 with French couple Loïcia Demougeot and Théo le Mercier in third on 178.09 points.
 
Harris and Chan commented after the event.
 
Harris: "We were aiming for a medal indeed, we don’t focus on it too much though. We ultimately just want to improve off the last competition and stay focused on ourselves. Today’s skate was pretty good, it was technically better than the Olympic qualifier.”
 
Chan: "After Worlds when we came so close to qualifying, we knew that we had to be ready really early for the Olympic season. So it was purely strategically for the September qualifier. We decided to keep the free dance something familiar so that we could really focus on the rhythm dance." 
 
The next event on the schedule for Harris and Chan will be the ISU Challenger PGE Warsaw Cup in Poland, where they will also be joined by Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasiia Golubeva in the pairs event on November 19-23.
 
Giotopoulos Moore and Golubeva have been training this month at the O'Brien Icehouse in Melbourne’s Docklands.

Figure Skating pair Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore have secured an Olympic quota place for Australia in the pairs event at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics after a ninth place finish at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, USA.
 
The pair started the event in great form, with a career best score of 66.73 in the short program, the eighth best score of the round.
 
In the final free skate program, they had another great skate scoring a season’s best 122.51, the ninth highest of the round.
 
The combined total score of 188.24 gave them a final ranking of ninth, securing a place for Australia at the Milano-Cortina games.
 
Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan have come heartbreakingly close to also securing a quote place, missing out by one spot after finishing 19th, and will have to attend an Olympic Qualification event later this year to secure a quota for Australia in 2026.
 
The couple opened with a score of 63.84 points in the rhythm dance, putting them in 18th and through to the top-20 free dance.
 
In the free dance, the couple scored 104.94 in the 19th highest score of the round, for a combined score of 174.78 and final ranking of 19th.
 
The skaters will be able to compete for additional Olympic quota places at the ISU Qualifying Competition in Beijing, China in late September 2025.
 
Quotes from Giotopoulos Moore and Golubeva (Courtesy of Golden Skate)


Giotopoulos Moore: “We’re definitely happy to have reached the end of this season and to have gotten through it fairly well today. Anastasia, I think, is a little upset about some small mistakes, but overall, we’re just happy to be done with this season.”
 
Golubeva: “Yeah, it was definitely a tough season. We missed a lot of competitions, but luckily, we’re healthy again now.”
 
Both shared that they feel really sad about letting go of this free program. “I loved it so much,” Golubeva said. “I think it’s our Favorite program that we’ve ever skated together.”

The prestigious ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships were held in Seoul, Korea, over the weekend, where Australia achieved top-10 finishes in both the pairs and ice dance events.
 
In the pairs skating, Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore made a great start in the short program, recording a personal best score of 65.36 points, the sixth highest score of the round.
 
The final free skate program saw the pair score the seventh highest score of the round with 113.40, and a combined score of 178.76 for a final ranking of sixth.
 
“I am really happy, at Skate Canada earlier in the season we set our seasons best, and now to beat that again in our second comp wea re really happy with that” said Giotopoulos Moore after the short program.
 
Holly Harris and Jason Chan also had personal best score in the opening rhythm dance program, scoring 108.75 points in seventh place.
 
In the final free dance, the couple scored 69.37, and a combined total of 178.12 points to be ranked seventh overall, which is also their highest ever finish at the Four Continents.
 
In the women’s singles event Australian skaters Maria Chernyshova finished 21st and in the men’s singles Darian Kapitch was 18th and Douglas Gerber 20th.
 
The next major event is the ISU World Championships will take place this year in Boston, USA, from March 25-30.

The 2024 Australian Figure Skating Championships took place from November 29 to December 6 at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne, with the highlight being the performance of OWIA Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan.
 
Senior Results
 
Senior Dance

1. Holly Harris/Jason Chan (VIC)
2. Romy Malcolm/Kobi Chant (QLD)
3. Samantha Udell/Zach Churton (VIC)

Women

1. Hana Bath (WA)
2. Maria Chernyshova (NSW)
3. Sienna Kaczmarczyk

Men

1. Darrian Kaptich (QLD)
2. Julio Potapenko (NSW)
3. Dougless Gerber (SA)
   

Link for full results: https://results.iceskatingvictoria.org.au/live/FSM/AFSC24/

Pairs skaters Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore made history,  claiming Australia’s first ever medal at the prestigious International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix series, whilst competing in the Skate Canada event in Halifax, Canada.
 
The two-time World Junior Championship medallists made a great start to the event, recording a career best score of 64.81 points in the opening short program which put them in third place after the opening round.
 
In the final free skate event, the pair scored 121.33 points, giving them a final ranking of third with a total score of 186.14 points to secure Australia’s first ever medal at the ISU Grand Prix series, improving on their two fourth place finishes in the previous season.
 
Taking the win in their home event were 2024 World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada on 197.33, with Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan in second.
 
“We feel honoured and very proud to be able to say that we claimed the first ever Grand Prix medal for Australia, hopefully it’s the first of many” said the 22-year-old Giotopoulos Moore from Sydney.
 
“Being our first competition of the season it was quite challenging both physically and mentally, we are a little bit disappointed with our performance as we know it’s not the best we could’ve done, but we accept what it is and are ready to train hard and improve on the mistakes we made.”

The ISU Grand Prix series commenced in 1995, Australia had medalled previously at the Skate Canada Event wen it was a part of the ISU Challenger Series, with Stephen Carr and Danielle McGrath claiming bronze in 1992.
 
The pair will next compete at the Finlandia Trophy ISU Grand Prix event in Helsinki, Finland, on November 15-17.
 
Also competing for Australia at the ISU GP in Canada were Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan, who finished in tenth place.

Australia has competed at the 2024 ISU Figure Skating World Championships in Montreal, Canada, with Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasiia Golubeva competing in the pairs and Holly Harris and Jason Chan in the ice dance event.

In the pairs event, Giotopoulos Moore and Golubeva finished in tenth place, just falling short of their eighth place performance at last year's event.

In the opening short program, they scored 63.75 points to put them in eleventh place. The pair then improved in the free skate, with the ninth best score of the round with 119.36 points.

The combined total score came to 182.71 points and a final ranking of tenth.

In the ice dance event, Harris and Chan scored 71.44 in their opening rhythm dance, their highest score of the season, putting them in 16th place.

The ice dance couple then had the 19th ranked score in the free dance of 103.34 points, giving them a combined total of 174.78 points and a final ranking of 17th.

Australian figure skaters have competed at the prestigious International Skating Union Grand Prix events in October, with the pair of Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore competing in the Skate Canada event in Vancouver, Canada, and ice dancers Holy Harris and Jason Chan in the Skate America in Allen, TX, USA.

Making their senior Grand Prix debut in Vancouver in pair skating, Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore finished an impressive fourth overall, after placing third in both the short program and free skate with a total score of 179.61 points, less than two points behind the bronze medal team of Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise from Italy on 181.42.

In first place was Canadian pair Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps on 214.64 with Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary in second place with 187.78 points.

At the Skate America in Allen, Texas, Holly Harris and Jason Chan finished in tenth place with a total score of 156.98 points.

2023 World Champion’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the USA took the win with a total score of 212.96 points, with Canadian’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha in second on 196.99, with French skaters Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud rounding out the podium in third.

Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore will compete in their second ISU Grand Prix event of the season at the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan, on November 24-26.

Australian figure skating pair Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasiia Golubeva have recorded an incredible eighth place at their first ever senior World Championship event in Saitama, Japan.

After finishing in the silver medal position at the past two Junior World Championships, the pair showed they are ready to compete against the very best in the world, to record Australia's best World Championship result since Anthony Liu finished seventh in 2002.

The pair started off in the short program scoring 61.85 points to be ranked in 11th place, with just one mistake holding them back from a higher score.

In the free skating final event, the pair had an unbelievable performance to score a personal best 127.52 points, the fifth highest of the round, moving them up into eighth place with a total score of 189.47, also a career best.

In first place was Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan with 222.16, with Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the USA in scoring 217.48 in second, and Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii in third with 208.08.

Also representing Australia at the World Championships was Holly Harris and Jason Chan in the ice dance.

The couple reached the top-20 free dance final skate with a 16th place performance in the short program scoring 64.80.

In the free dance, the couple improved to have the 15th best performance of the round, scoring a career best 104.67 points, giving them a final ranking of 16th overall with a total score of 169.47.

Australian Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan have finished eighth at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, USA, matching their previous best result at the event.

Competing in the opening rhythm dance, the couple scored 60.71 points and ranked ninth, with a fall impacting their score.

The couple had a much improved final free dance performance, recording a career best score of 101.98 points, the seventh best of all competitors.

With a total combined score from both combined programs of 162.69 points, the final ranking for the couple was eighth place, finishing behind event winners Madison Chock and Evan Bates of America with a score 220.81.

Also in action for Australia at the Four Continents was India Nette and Eron Westwood who finished in 11th in the ice dance, Vlada Vasilev who placed 18th in the women's singles, and Darian Kapitch who also placed 18th in the men's singles.

The ISU 2023 World Figure Skating Championships will be held in Saitama, Japan, from March 20–26.

Australian figure skaters Holly Harris and Jason Chan have claimed victory at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

In a field of 14, the ice dance couple had the highest routines in both the rhythm dance and free dance programs to score 178.16 points in total

Competing in her sixth World Championships, two time Olympian Kailani Craine has finished in 22nd place in Montpellier, France.

Craine advanced to the free skate in 22nd place, after scoring 56.64 points in the short program.

In the free skate, she received a score of 105.11 from the judges, giving her a total score of 161.75, and remained in 22nd for her final ranking.

Also representing Australian in Montpellier, were the ice dance couple of Holly Harris and Jason Chan.

Harris and Chan recorded a World Championship personal best finish of 18th place, after scoring 64.91 in the rhythm dance and 95.01 in the free dance,giving them a total score of 159.92 points.

2018 NSWIS Olympian Kailani Craine has just fallen short of qualifying for the free program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing in 26th place.

The 22-year-old from Newcastle scored 56.86 points in the opening short program at the World Championships, missing out on the 24-woman-final by just two spots in 26th place.

The women's podium was was an historic clean sweep for Russia, with 16-year-old Anna Shcherbakova taking victory with Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva in second place and Aleksandra Trusova in third.

In the Ice Dance event, Australia was represented by Holly Harris and Jason Chan who also just fell short of advancing to finals.

The Ice Dance couple finished the rhythm dance program in 24th place, missing out by four places for the free dance in their World Championship debut.

Victory in the ice dance also went to Russia, with the team of Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov in first, with Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue of the USA in second and Canadian pair Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier rounding out the podium in third.

Unfortunately two time Olympian Brendan Kerry was unable to compete in the men's due to an injury sustained earlier in the season.

IMAGE: Kailani Craine at the World Championships in Stockholm

The Australian Figure Skating community is very excited for our team at the upcoming ISU World Figure Skating Championships being held in Montreal, Canada, later this month.

Our team almost covered every discipline, however the very recent and unexpected split of our Junior World & Junior Grand Prix Pair Champions has left a hole in the team.

This year’s Championship will feature for the first time ever the ISU World Skating Awards with our ice princess, Olympian Kailani Craine nominated in the best costume category. Kailani will compete in the ladies division alongside two time Olympian Brendan Kerry in the mens.

In the ice dance division we have a brilliant new couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan competing in their first World Championship.  

Be sure to tune in for what promises to deliver fantastic performances from our team.

Next year, for the first time ever, Ice Skating Australia will host the prestigious ISU Four Continents Championships in Sydney at Olympic Park Feb. 9-14, 2021.

These Championships will feature the top ranked skaters from US, Canada, Japan, China and Australia in the important pre Winter Olympic year.

Article courtesy of Peter Lynch/Ice Skating Australia

IMAGE: Australian National Champions and our representative at the World Championships, Kailani Craine, Brendan Kerry, Holly Harris and Jason Chan  © Michael Santer Photography

Olympians Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine have continued to extend their impressive list of national titles, after both claimed victory at the Australian Figure Skating Championships at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne.

The two skaters have had an impressive decade as Australia's leading Figure Skating athletes, highlighted by two Olympic Games appearances for Kerry, with Craine becoming an Olympian for the first time in 2018.
 
Kerry took out his eighth national title in impressive fashion, scoring 216.11 points, to finish ahead of James Min and Damian Kaptich.

In the Senior Ladies, Craine won her sixth national title, with a comprehensive win ahead of Yancey Chan and Ashley Colliver.
 
Holly Harris and Jason Chan won their first national Senior Ice Dance title, finishing ahead of last years winners Chantelle Kerry & Andrew Dodds in second, with Matilda Friend and William Badaoui rounding out the podium in third.
 
Unfortunately Pairs skaters Harley Windsor and Ekaterina "Katya" Alexandrovskaya were unable to compete, due to an injury sustained by Alexandrovskaya in training prior to the competition.

The event was a great showcase of Australian Figure Skating, with strong participation and crowds over the week at the O'Brien Icehouse facility.
 
Podium Images ©  Michael Santer Photography

Australia’s largest, strongest and youngest Junior Worlds Figure Skating team in recent history will compete at the Junior World Figure Skating Championships in Taipei this week.  
 
Contesting the Ladies, Men, Dance and Pair titles will be Holly Harris (14), James Min (16), ice dancers Matilda Friend (17) and William Badoui (18) and pair skaters Harley Windsor (20) and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya (17).
 
The rise of pair skaters Windsor and Alexandrovskaya has them tipped as genuine medal contenders.  
 
After winning Australia’s first gold in a Junior Grand Prix and backing it up with a fifth place in the Junior Final and performing high-quality high-level triple throws and twists in their first season, the expectations of the indigenous Sydney-sider and his Moscow-born partner are high.
 
“Last year when we started I could not expect the result we had,” Alexandrovskaya said of their performances so far. “Australia is not a figure skating country. But this (the pairing) has worked.”
 
“We are going for a medal but we have to skate clean to do it,” Windsor said. 

National Junior Men’s Champion James Min is no stranger to world competition who already has two World Junior Championships under his belt (placing 31st and 27th).
 
The engaging Adelaide teenager, who is the eldest son of Cambodian refugees, weighs just 44kgs – but is accomplishing multiple triple jump combinations and what he lacks in stature he makes up for in performance skills and execution.
 
“The key is on-going development,” said coach Richard Laidlaw who has taught Min since his first days on the ice.  
 
“He has a good jumping technique now. All the triples are in place and we will continue to develop quads next season. For now though, it is about doing what he can do well,” Laidlaw said.
 
Min is much more focussed on the process rather than the outcome.
 
“I’m doing clean run throughs and my fitness is great,” he said. “I am obsessed over my lutz at the moment because it’s not 100 percent where I want it to be every day.”
 
“I just need to focus on what I need to do in the moment. Think about the process and not the outcome and do what I do in training.”
 
At 14, Holly Harris is the youngest in the Australian team but has impressed in her debut junior international season placing 11th in her first Junior Grand Prix (Germany) and collecting a silver medal in Riga, Latvia late last year with mature performances, technically and artistically, that belie her tender years.
 
Harris, who trains most of the year in Colorado Springs with her mum Karen looking after her whilst her father and siblings remain in Sydney, is a talent to watch for the future.
 
Coach Tom Zakrajsek confirmed Harris’ potential.
 
“Holly has been working very hard and training very thoroughly to prepare for World Juniors,” Zakrajsek said.
 
“I feel fortunate to be coaching her as she is a young talent with a bright future. She has very specific goals for the event regarding personal bests and she will using her first appearance at theses championships to gain experience so that she can springboard to greater achievements over the next few years.”

For ice dancers Matilda Friend and William Badaoui, its’ another week, another country and another comp.
 
Junior Worlds closes a long and demanding season for duo, who in February, competed back to back in the Four Continents Championship in PyeongChang and the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan.
 
Baddoui says competing at the Asian Winter Games, where they finished in 6th place with two new PBs, has given them a big confidence boost.
 
"Just the scale and level of competition at Asian Winter Games, everything feels a little bit easier when you come out of a competition that big," he said.
 
"Experiencing something that was so close to an Olympics, which is our ultimate goal, gave us new motivation and drive." Friend said.
 
The Junior and Senior Ice Dance national champions goal for Junior Worlds is to earn a high enough ranking after their short dance to make it through to the free dance , which both acknowledge will require a flawless skate and top effort given the calibre of the 31 teams competing.
 
"But we're also looking for a PB and to improve our ranking from last year,” they said.
 
The Junior World Figure Skating Championships will be held from Wednesday March 15 to 18 in Taipei and begin with the men’s short program on Wednesday followed by the Pairs short.