2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup

2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup
Logo of the 2025 Kinoshita Group Cup
Type:ISU Challenger Series
Date:September 5 – 7
Season:2025–26
Location:Osaka, Japan
Host:Japan Skating Federation
Venue:Kanku Ice Arena
Champions
Men's singles:
South Korea Cha Jun-hwan
Women's singles:
Japan Mone Chiba
Pairs:
Japan Riku Miura
and Ryuichi Kihara
Ice dance:
Canada Marie-Jade Lauriault
and Romain Le Gac
Previous:
2026 CS Kinoshita Group Cup
Previous CS:
2025 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition
Next CS:
2025 CS Lombardia Trophy

The 2025 Kinoshita Group Cup was a figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Japan Skating Federation, and the third event of the 2025–26 ISU Challenger Series. It was held at the Kanku Ice Arena in Osaka, Japan, from September 5 to 7, 2025. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance, and skaters earned ISU World Standing points based on their results. Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea won the men's event, Mone Chiba of Japan won the women's event, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan won the pairs event, and Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Canada won the ice dance event.

Background

The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and organized by ISU member nations. The objective was to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn ISU World Standing points.[1] The 2025–26 Challenger Series consisted of eleven events, of which the Kinoshita Group Cup was the third.[2] The 2025 Kinoshita Group Cup was held at the Kanku Ice Arena in Osaka, Japan, from September 5 to 7, 2025.[3]

Changes to preliminary assignments

The International Skating Union published the preliminary list of entrants on August 8, 2025.[4][5][6][7]

Date Discipline Withdrew Ref.
August 11 Pairs
  • Armenia
 [8]
August 19 [9]
Women
August 23 [10]
August 26 Pairs [11]
August 29 [12]
Women

Required performance elements

Single skating

Men and women competing in single skating first performed their short program on September 5.[3] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[13] the short program had to include the following elements:

For men: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.[14]

For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.[14]

Women performed their free skates on September 6, while men performed theirs on September 7.[3] The free skate for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,[13] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[15]

Pairs

Couples competing in pair skating first performed their short program on September 6.[3] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[13] the short program had to include the following elements: one pair lift, one double or triple twist lift, one double or triple throw jump, one double or triple solo jump, one solo spin combination with a change of foot, one death spiral, and a step sequence using the full ice surface.[16]

Couples performed their free skates on September 6.[3] The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes,[13] and had to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one has to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.[17]

Ice dance

Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on September 6.[3] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[13] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s".[18] Examples of applicable dance styles and music included: pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge. The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.[18]

Couples then performed their free dances on September 7.[3] The free dance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[13] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.[18]

Judging

Skaters were judged according to the required technical elements of their program (such as jumps and spins), as well as the overall presentation of their program, based on three program components (skating skills, presentation, and composition). Each technical element in a figure skating performance was assigned a predetermined base point value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from −5 to +5 based on the quality of its execution.[19] Each Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to +5 was assigned a value as indicated on the Scale of Values.[20][21] For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.00 points, and a GOE of +3 was worth 2.40 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of +3 earned 10.40 points.[20] The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a Total Elements Score.[22] At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on the five aforementioned program components and assigned each a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments.[23] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the chart below; the results were added together to generate a total Program Component Score.[24]

Program component factoring[25]
Discipline Short program
or Rhythm dance		 Free skate
or Free dance
Men 1.67 3.33
Women 1.33 2.67
Pairs 1.33 2.67
Ice dance 1.33 2.00

Deductions were applied for certain violations, such as time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[26] The Total Elements Score and Program Component Score were then added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[27]

Medal summary

Cha Jun-hwan at the 2025 World Championships
Mone Chiba at the 2024 World Championships
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin at the 2024 World Championships
Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac at the 2018 Grand Prix de France
The 2025 Kinoshita Group Cup champions: Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea (men's singles); Mone Chiba of Japan (women's singles); Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan (pair skating); and Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Canada (ice dance)
Medalists
Discipline Gold Silver Bronze
Men South Korea Cha Jun-hwan Japan Kazuki Tomono United States Tomoki Hiwatashi
Women Japan Mone Chiba Japan Kaori Sakamoto Japan Saki Miyake
Pairs
Ice dance

Results

Men's singles

Men's results[28]
Rank Skater Nation Total SP FS
1st place, gold medalist(s) Cha Jun-hwan  South Korea 253.31 1 87.76 1 165.55
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kazuki Tomono  Japan 236.78 2 85.08 5 151.70
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tomoki Hiwatashi  United States 236.71 4 83.62 3 153.09
4 Sōta Yamamoto  Japan 233.91 3 84.98 6 148.93
5 Tatsuya Tsuboi  Japan 231.19 9 79.82 4 152.37
6 Lee Jae-keun  South Korea 226.53 7 82.41 7 144.12
7 Aleksa Rakic  Canada 221.18 10 78.73 8 142.45
8 Kao Miura  Japan 219.17 6 82.49 10 136.68
9 Lee Si-hyeong  South Korea 218.56 13 62.86 2 155.70
10 Jimmy Ma  United States 218.52 5 83.52 11 135.00
11 Haru Kakiuchi  Japan 203.83 11 65.67 9 138.16
12 Goku Endo  United States 198.20 12 65.24 12 132.96
13 Shunsuke Nakamura  Japan 188.12 8 79.34 13 108.78
14 Tao MacRae  Great Britain 159.84 14 54.59 14 104.95

Women's singles

Women's results[29]
Rank Skater Nation Total SP FS
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mone Chiba  Japan 216.59 1 73.11 1 143.48
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kaori Sakamoto  Japan 203.54 4 65.25 2 138.29
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Saki Miyake  Japan 196.79 2 70.29 5 126.50
4 Rinka Watanabe  Japan 189.55 8 57.73 3 131.82
5 Bradie Tennell  United States 187.18 5 64.52 8 122.66
6 Mako Yamashita  Japan 183.81 12 52.40 4 131.41
7 Lee Hae-in  South Korea 183.48 7 59.39 7 124.09
8 Hana Yoshida  Japan 180.62 11 55.41 6 125.11
9 Yun Ah-sun  South Korea 173.51 9 57.35 9 116.16
10 Madeline Schizas  Canada 172.40 3 66.57 10 105.83
11 Wakaba Higuchi  Japan 159.13 6 59.43 11 99.70
12 Sonja Hilmer  United States 144.67 10 55.72 13 88.95
13 Eliška Březinová  Czech Republic 140.68 13 50.05 12 90.64
14 Maria Chernyshova  Australia 110.97 14 43.42 14 67.55

Pairs

Pairs' results [30]
Rank Team Nation Total points SP FS
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Japan 222.94 1 79.94 1 143.00
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Georgia 212.90 2 75.32 2 137.58
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Japan 192.77 3 66.27 3 126.50
4  United States 167.25 4 59.64 4 107.61
5  Netherlands 158.24 5 56.47 5 101.77
6  Philippines 141.14 6 51.60 6 85.94

Ice dance

Ice dance results[31]
Rank Team Nation Total points RD FD
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Canada 197.90 1 76.40 1 121.50
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  United States 193.51 2 76.24 2 117.27
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  United States 176.27 3 68.77 3 107.50
4  South Korea 172.16 4 66.99 4 105.17
5  Canada 169.38 5 66.69 5 102.69
6  Japan 161.06 6 62.81 6 98.25
7
 Canada 154.03 7 60.29 7 93.74
8
  • Daniela Ivanitskiy
  • Matthew Sperry
  Finland 131.15 8 51.40 8 79.75

References

  1. ↑ "Challenger Series". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Kinoshita Group Cup 2025". Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on September 1, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "ISU Challenger Series in Figure Skating 2025/26 – Kinoshita Group Cup" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  4. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Men". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Women". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Pairs". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Ice dance". International Skating Union. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  8. ↑ "🇦🇲 Karina Akapova / Nikita Rakhmanin have withdrawn from Kinoshita Group Cup". August 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  9. ↑ "🇷🇸 Antonina Dubinina and 🇦🇺 Anastasia Golubeva / Hektor Giotopoulos Moore have withdrawn from Kinoshita Group Cup". August 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ "🇰🇷 Young You has withdrawn from Kinoshita Group Cup". X. Anything GOEs. Archived from the original on 10 December 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "🇭🇺 Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko have withdrawn from Kinoshita Group Cup". August 26, 2025. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  12. ↑ "🇨🇾 Stefania Yakovleva and 🇨🇦 Kelly Ann Laurin / Loucas Ethier have withdrawn from Kinoshita Group Cup". Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 S&P/ID 2024, p. 82.
  14. 1 2 S&P/ID 2024, p. 106.
  15. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 110–111.
  16. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, p. 119.
  17. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, p. 122.
  18. 1 2 3 "Communication No. 2704: Ice Dance Requirements for Technical Rules, Season 2025/26" (PDF). International Skating Union. August 8, 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 32, 83–84.
  20. 1 2 "Communication No. 2707" (PDF). International Skating Union. 1 July 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  21. ↑ "Communication No. 2705" (PDF). International Skating Union. 7 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  22. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 15–16.
  23. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 84–85.
  24. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 16–17.
  25. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, p. 17.
  26. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, pp. 18–19.
  27. ↑ S&P/ID 2024, p. 20.
  28. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Men". September 7, 2025. Archived from the original on September 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  29. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Women". September 6, 2025. Archived from the original on September 6, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  30. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Pairs". September 7, 2025. Archived from the original on September 6, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  31. ↑ "ISU CS Kinoshita Group Cup 2025 – Ice dance". September 7, 2025. Archived from the original on September 6, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.

Works cited

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