European Figure Skating Championships: How to watch and the Scottish skaters vying for medals
It is the first time a major figure skating championships has been held in the UK for more than a decade
The European Figure Skating Championships are taking place in Sheffield this week for the first time in more than 13 years - just weeks before skaters take to the ice in Milan for the Winter Olympics.
Great Britain’s Winter Olympic team - including three Scottish skaters - will all be competing at the event at Sheffield Arena, one of the main international figure skating competitions on the season’s calendar.
Who to watch out for
In ice dance, eight-time British champions Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will be hoping for a spot on the podium.
Gibson, who is from Prestwick, and partner Fear, have won medals at Europeans for the past three years - earning a silver medal in 2023 and 2024 and bronze in 2025.
This year, the ice dance field has been disrupted by a new team, Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier-Beaudry. Cizeron is a former Olympic medallist with his former partner, Gabriela Papadakis, while Fournier-Beaudry won eight Grand Prix medals with her former partner, Nikolai Sorensen. The pair, along with Gibson and Fear and Italian duo Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, who have had a disappointing season so far, will be jostling for the top spot on the podium.
Two-time Junior Grand Prix silver medallists Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez from Guildford will also be competing in the ice dance category.
The ice dance competition begins with the rhythm dance on Friday at 12pm. The free dance final will take place on Saturday at 6.30pm.
Pairs
Dundee-based pairs skaters Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby, five-time British national champions, finished ninth at last year’s European Figure Skating Championships and will be hoping to improve on that this year.
They have had a good start to their competitive season. Selected to compete at Grand Prix event Skate Canada International, the pair placed eighth of the eight pair teams in the short program after missing their opening jump. However, a strong free skate saw them place fourth in that segment and move up to sixth place overall.
The pairs competition is the first event in the championships, with the short programme scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday. The free skate will take place on Thursday at 7pm.
Women
Kristen Spours, who trains in Swindon, will be competing in the women’s event, which kicks off at 5pm on Wednesday. Nina Povey, who trains at nearby Ice Sheffield will also compete. The free skate will conclude the women’s segment of the competition on Friday at 6pm.
Men
Edward Appleby, from Romford, will be the only British competitor in the men’s segment of the championships. He will start his competition on Thursday at 1pm. If he qualifies for the free skate, he will conclude his competition on Saturday at 1pm.
Where to watch?
- International Skating Union YouTube (available in the UK): Watch on the Skating ISU YouTube channel (live and on catch-up).
- BBC: Selected coverage will be available via BBC platforms (availability can vary by session — check BBC listings for the most up-to-date schedule).
Winter Olympics
Once Europeans is over, the teams will be gearing up for the Winter Olympics, where the figure skating event begins on 6 February.
Both Gibson and Fear and Bekker and Hernandez have won spots to compete in ice dance in Milan in the first time Great Britain will field two ice dance couples at a Games for the first time in over a decade. Kristen Spours will compete in the women’s category, while Vaipan-Law and Digby will take part in the pairs competition.
Alongside their individual events, the team will also join forces to compete in the team event, where they are joined by Edward Appleby.
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