Preview: 2022 Grand Prix Final
by Matteo Morelli
Turin’s Palavela, the prestigious venue that hosted the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, is ready to welcome all the qualified junior and senior athletes to this season’s Grand Prix Final. This will be the first time in three years that the final will take place, after both the 2020 and 2021’s events got cancelled due to Covid-19.
The last Grand Prix Final in 2019 took place at the same venue that it is coming back to this year, with two of the six senior teams (Gilles & Poirier and Chock & Bates) attending two consecutive finals at the same place.
The six qualified teams will bring a range of different strengths and unique programmes to the ice. Let’s look at them individually.
Qualified teams – Senior
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Canada – 30 points
Gilles and Poirier won gold at both Skate Canada and Grand Prix of Espoo, Finland. They are one of two teams to have qualified with 30 points and enter this final with the highest scores earned so far in this season. Their Evita programme has been on their ‘to skate’ list for more than a decade, and it has so far seen high intensity and presentation that convinced judges and audiences.
Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, Italy – 30 points
Guignard and Fabbri won both Grand Prix de France and Sheffield, and will be heading to their twentieth Grand Prix event of their career. They will put all they have into this final, trying to win a medal in their home country. This year, they present a free dance that has a mysterious feel to it, something they have never done before and are deeply enjoying.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen, Canada – 28 points
Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen won a silver medal at Grand Prix de France, but managed to earn the highest score of their career at NHK Trophy and win their first Grand Prix gold. They are going to attend their second Grand Prix Final, dancing on their flamenco based free which includes Laurence’s already iconic skirt moves.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, USA – 28 points
Chock and Bates won skate America and placed second at Japan’s NHK Trophy, just a fraction of a point from the winning team. Between the two competitions, they have changed their free programme’s theme and costumes to focus on the relationship between fire and air. They will be going back to Turin after having won a silver medal there at the 2019 GPF.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, GB – 26 point
Fear and Gibson reach the first Grand Prix Final of their career, after winning silver at both skate Canada and Grand Prix of Sheffield. They will present their free dance based on ‘Born this way’ by Lady Gaga, a buzzing programme that is already one of the audience’s favourites this season.
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, USA – 26 points
Hawayek and Baker won silver at both Skate America and Grand Prix of Espoo. They also head to their second Grand Prix Final, taking their ethereal free dance that really suits their style and that they interpret with a lot of intensity.
Qualified Teams – Junior
Following a total of seven grand prix events and many new junior teams showcasing their skills, these top six teams qualified for the final:
- Kateřina Mrázková and Daniel Mrázek, Czech Republic – 30 points
- Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont, Canada – 30 points
- Hannah Lim and Ye Quan, South Korea – 28 points
- Darya Grimm and Michail Savitskiy, Germany – 28 points
- Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez, Great Britain – 26 points
- Célina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux, France – 24 points
Event info: Teams have official practices on Wednesday, December 7. The rhythm dance kicks off on Friday, December 9, with the junior starting from 3:00pm (CET) and the senior from 7:50pm (CET); the free dance occurs on Saturday, December 10, starting with the junior competition from 6:20pm (CET) and the senior competition at 7:40pm (CET).