Korean National Championships Recap + Canadian Nationals and FISU World University Games Previews
It’s Nationals season, and this week, we’re catching up on the Korean National Championships and getting ready for our favorite Canadians to hit the ice. Also, who knew the World University Games would be this stacked?!
Korean National Championships 2025
In the men’s division, Junhwan Cha left no crumbs while winning his ninth national title. 9th!! He was not perfect, but with a fantastic free skate that is definitely the best we’ve seen this season so far, it puts him in great position going into the remainder of his international schedule for the year.
In second, junior skater on the rise, Minkyu Seo, looked to be growing his technique and getting more comfortable with performing. In a similar vein, Seoyong Wi grabbed the bronze and definitely appeared more musical — particularly in his short program — than we’ve seen before.
In the women’s event, the top six was an even split between senior and junior skaters — with Chaeyeon Kim taking her first title with a phenomenal free skate that edged her just past two-time reigning national champ, Jia Shin.
Jia, for her part, looked quite strong here but her material this season hasn’t worked quite as well for her as in previous seasons. Jia will be joining the third and fourth place finishers — twin sisters Yujae and Yuseong Kim — at the Junior World Championships. Headed to Boston Worlds with Chaeyeon will be Ahsun Yun and Haein Lee.
No pairs were eligible to compete at Korean Nationals, and only one dance team — the fabulous Hannah Lim and Ye Quan — competed in dance.
Canadian Nationals Preview
In both the men’s and women’s divisions at the 2025 Canadian Nationals, things are going to be tense. Only one representative will be named to the Boston World team from each of those disciplines — so pressure is the name of the game. If that weren’t enough, whoever gets that one spot for World’s needs to have a top 10 finish to give Canada more than one man or woman on the 2026 Olympic team.
The dance competition promises to provide a different kind of tension as the field is fairly deep, with 2 competitions within the competition. Vying for gold will likely be Piper Gilles & Paul Porrier and Marjorie Lajoie & Zach Lagha. Both teams have had ups and downs this season, and if they are both clean the edge will go to Gilles & Porrier. However, they’ve had some messy programs this season, so anything is possible.
For the bronze, both Lauriault & LeGac and Fabbri & Ayer have a clear shot, with a slight advantage this season going to Fabbri & Ayer.
In the pairs discipline, we’re excited to see Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps fight to defend their title. They had to pull out of the Grand Prix Final due to illness, so fingers crossed they are back at full power and ready to shine.
FISU World University Games
This bi-annual event often sees a few well-known skaters mixed in with collegiate athletes from around the globe, but can sometimes make for a fairly uninteresting competition.
This year, however, the men’s field includes Yuma Kagiyama, Shun Sato, Juhnwan Cha, Mikhail Shairorov, Daniel Grassl, and Sota Yamamoto. So, definitely NOT uninteresting! Especially with only a few more competitions before Worlds, this is going to be a bit of a warm up for that — seeing if Yuma can cross 300, if Mikhail can challenge again, and who else will make us take notice.
In the women’s event, Mone Chiba, Hana Yoshida, Rion Sumiyoshi, Lara Naki Gutman, Seoyeong Wi and others will make this also very much worth watching.
Chapters
0:00 — Intro
2:00 — Korean Nationals 2025 Recap
2:24 — Korean Men’s Competition
6:34 — Korean Women’s Competition
16:56 — Korean Ice Dance
17:57 — Canadian Nationals Preview — Men
22:06 — Canadian Women’s Competition
25:56 — Canadian Ice Dance Competition
34:13 — Canadian Pairs Competition
37:07 — FISU World University Games Preview
42:52 — Gold in our Hearts
44:53 — Wrap-Up
