By Maura Sullivan Hill, Team FSO contributing writer
The final stop on the 2025-26 Grand Prix Series is this weekend in Helsinki, Finland, from Nov. 21-23, 2025. Several skaters will be looking to punch their ticket to the Grand Prix Final, which takes place in Nagoya, Japan from Dec. 4-7, 2025.
The skaters will take the ice at Helsinki Ice Hall, which also hosted this event in 2024. Skating Finland, the governing body of figure skating in the country, has hosted an event called Finlandia Trophy since 1995. From 2014-2023, the competition was part of the early-season Challenger Series of international competitions. Finland was added as a stop on the Grand Prix Series in 2022, and at first, the country hosted both the Finlandia Trophy and the Grand Prix of Finland. In 2024, Skating Finland decided to host only the Grand Prix event going forward, and gave it the name Finlandia Trophy.
Men
The men’s field at Finlandia features multiple World medalists looking to secure a spot in the Final.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, a four-time World Medalist, won gold at NHK Trophy earlier this season and will look for another gold medal here to earn his spot in the Final.
France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, the 2024 World Bronze Medalist, will also challenge for the podium. He started his season slowly with a fifth-place finish at Lombardia Trophy, but earned silver on home ice at Grand Prix de France.
A podium finish from either of these men will ensure their spots in the Grand Prix Final.
Team USA’s Jason Brown will take the ice for the second week in a row, after finishing fourth at Skate America last weekend. The usually rock-solid Brown had some unstable landings on his jumps in the free skate, but said after his performance that he is still working on the pacing of his program and is looking forward to performing again this weekend in Finland.
Crowd favorite Jimmy Ma will also compete for Team USA in Finland alongside Brown.
Latvia’s Deniss Vasiljevs continues his season here in Finland after a 10th place finish at Cup of China. He is currently competing without a coach after leaving his longtime coach Stephane Lambiel.
Roman Sadovsky and Stephen Gogolev of Canada finished seventh and eighth, respectively on home ice at Skate Canada. Keep an eye on this competition within the competition, because Canada only has one men’s entry for the 2026 Olympics, and both these skaters are vying to earn it.
Event Info: The men’s short program is Friday, Nov. 21, from 3:30-4:59 pm local time (8:30 am-9:59 am ET). The men’s free skate is Saturday, Nov. 22, from 2:15-4:02 pm local time (7:15 am-9:02 am ET).
WOMEN
Amber Glenn of the United States has once again started out her season undefeated, winning both Nebelhorn Trophy and the Cup of China. Another gold medal here would lock up her spot at the Grand Prix Final, which she won last year, the first American woman to do so since 2010.
But it won’t be an easy path to gold. Mone Chiba of Japan is in the hunt for her second win on the Grand Prix this season, after winning Skate Canada powered by a personal best free skate and total score.
As long as they both make the podium, Glenn and Chiba will qualify for the Final.
Loena Hendrickx continues her comeback from injury in Finland. She’s won a pair of bronze medals this season – one at NHK Trophy and the other at the Olympic qualifying competition in Beijing, earning Belgium a second women’s spot at the 2026 Games. With just a bronze on the Grand Prix series this season, she’d be a long shot for the Final, but a top finish here could impact others’ chances.
Bradie Tennell will join Glenn for Team USA at this event. She finished fourth at her first Grand Prix, Skate Canada, and will look to improve on that finish here to contribute to her body of work for the U.S. Olympic Team selection process. Tennell, the 2018 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist and a two-time U.S. Champion, appears back to form after dealing with nagging injuries for several seasons.
Japan’s Rion Sumiyoshi has had a strong start to her season amongst a deep field of Japanese women trying to make the Olympic team. She won Lombardia Trophy and also earned bronze at Grand Prix de France, the first event of this year’s Grand Prix Series. A good performance in Finland will help Sumiyoshi’s quest for the Olympics.
Event Info: The women’s short program is Friday, Nov. 21, from 5:25-6:54 pm local time (10:25-11:54 am ET). The women’s free skate is Saturday, Nov. 22, from 5:30-7:17 pm local time (10:30am-12:17 pm ET).
PAIRS
The 2025 World Silver Medalists, Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, lead the pairs field in Finland. They finished second at Skate Canada behind 2024 World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who struggled a bit last season in the wake of their Worlds triumph. Here, Hase and Volodin will aim for gold to earn a spot in the Final.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea of Team USA earned bronze at Skate Canada and there’s opportunity for a second Grand Prix medal in this field of eight pairs. 2025 U.S. Champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov will join their teammates in Finland. They earned bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy early in the season and were fifth at NHK Trophy.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada finished fourth at Skate Canada behind two of the teams competing here, Hase/Volodin and Kam/O’Shea, but will be in the medal hunt. Italians Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini, who placed fifth at Cup of China, will also take the ice in Finland this weekend. They started their season with two appearances on the Challenger Series, at Nebelhorn Trophy and Lombardia Trophy, where they earned the silver medal.
Event Info: The pairs short program is Friday, Nov. 21, from 2-3:04 pm local time (7-8:04 am ET). The pairs free skate is Saturday, Nov. 22, from 12:30-1:46 pm local time (5:30-6:46 am ET).
ICE DANCE
For a preview of the dance event, visit ice-dance.com.
Event Info: The rhythm dance is Friday, Nov. 21, from 7:20-8:38 pm local time (12:20-1:38 pm ET). The free dance is Saturday, Nov. 22, from 7:40-9:11 pm local time (12:40-2:11 pm ET).
Matteo Morelli with be on site in Helsinki, reporting for This Week in Skating, Ice-Dance.com, and Figure Skaters Online. Follow along here and on social media for his coverage!
