Danish Figure Skating Championships
Status	Active
Genre	National championships
Frequency	Annual
Country	Denmark
Inaugurated	1912
Organized by	Danish Skating Union

The Danish Figure Skating Championships (Danish: Danske mesterskaber i kunstskøjteløb) are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Danish Skating Union (Danish: Dansk Skøjte Union) to crown the national champions of Denmark.^[1] The first Danish Championships were held in 1912 in Copenhagen. Early competitions featured events in single skating, pair skating, and speed skating, and were sporadic for the first several decades, since the mild winters did not provide suitable ice surfaces for competitive skating. The construction of indoor ice rinks in the late 1950s allowed for more permanence and stability in training, and since 1960, the Danish Championships have only been interrupted once: in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels, although each discipline may not necessarily be held every year due to a lack of participants. There has not been competition in pair skating in Denmark since 1965. Per Cock-Clausen holds the record for winning the most Danish Championship titles in men's singles (with thirteen). Cock-Clausen was 51 years old when he won his last championship title in 1963.^[2] Anisette Torp-Lind holds the record in women's singles (with seven). Ayoe Bardram and Alf Refer hold the record in pair skating (with six), although Refer won an additional three titles with other partners. Refer was 54 years old when he won his last championship title in 1965.^[3] Vivi Poulsen and Kurt Poulsen hold the record in ice dance (with six).

History

The first Danish Championships were held in January 1912 in Copenhagen,^[4] and the Danish Skating Union was established in December 1912 as a federation of three Copenhagen skating clubs. Early competitions featured events in single skating, pair skating, and speed skating, and were sporadic for the first several decades. Only five championships were held between 1912 and 1939, since mild winters did not provide suitable ice surfaces for competitive skating.^[1] No competitions were also held between 1943 and 1945 owing to the German occupation of Denmark during World War II.^[5] In 1957, Danish champion Per Cock-Clausen reported: "In Denmark, the winter has been very mild... There were only a couple of days in December [1956] and one or two in March when skating has been possible on the lakes."^[6] The first indoor ice rinks in Denmark opened in Esbjerg and Østerbro in 1959; within eight years, eleven rinks in Denmark had been constructed: six on the Jutland peninsula and five in Copenhagen. Indoor ice rinks allowed skating to be practiced year round and the Danish Skating Union hired professional instructors.^[1] Ice dance debuted as a championship event in 1964,^[7] while pair skating last appeared in 1965.^[3] Since 1960, the Danish Championships have only been interrupted one time, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancellation in 2021.^[8]

Senior medalists

From left to right: Justus Strid, seven-time Danish champion in men's singles; Karina Johnson, four-time Danish champion in women's singles; and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen, three-time Danish champions in ice dance

Junior medalists

Records

Notes

References

External links

• Danish Skating Union
• Danish National Championships at Skating Scores