2025 CS Cranberry Cup International

The 2025 Cranberry Cup International was a figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating, and the first event of the 2025–26 ISU Challenger Series. It was held at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, in the United States, from August 7 to 10, 2025. Medals were awarded in men's and women's singles, and skaters earned ISU World Standing points based on their results. Roman Sadovsky of Canada won the men's event and Isabeau Levito of the United States won the women's event.

The inaugural edition of the Cranberry Cup International was held in 2021 at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, in the United States.^[1] The 2025 Cranberry Cup was held from August 7 to 10.^[2]

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.^[3] The 2025–26 Challenger Series consisted of eleven events, of which the Cranberry Cup International was the first.^[4] The Cranberry Cup International is held in conjunction with the John Nicks Pairs Challenge – the former hosts the men's and women's events, while the latter hosts the pairs event – and the two competitions constitute U.S. Figure Skating's contribution to the Challenger Series.^[5]

The International Skating Union (ISU) published the preliminary list of entrants on July 22, 2025.^[6][7]

Men and women competing in single skating first performed a short program on Saturday, August 9.^[2] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[12]

Skaters performed their free skates on Sunday, August 10.^[2] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,^[11] and had to include the maximum of 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.^[13]

All of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps and spins – were assigned a predetermined base value and then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from –5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.^[14] Every Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to 5 was assigned a value (a percentage of the element's base value) as shown on the Scale of Values (SOV).^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[15] At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on three program components – skating skills, presentation, and composition – and assigned a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments.^[17] 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 following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.^[18]

Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.^[20] The total elements score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.^[21]

Roman Sadovsky of Canada won his first senior-level gold medal after two solid performances. Stephen Gogolev of Canada also had successful results, including receiving the highest technical score in the free skate, which included two quadruple Salchows and a quadruple toe loop, and ultimately winning the bronze medal. Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia received the silver medal with two solid performances that included a quadruple Lutz and quadruple toe loop in his free skate. Jimmy Ma of the United States had the lead after the short program; however multiple errors in his free skate caused him to ultimately finish in seventh place.^[23]

Isabeau Levito of the United States ultimately won the gold medal despite some issues with her free skate, where she had difficulty with her triple flip-double Axel jump sequence. Likewise, Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan had some difficulties, including under-rotated jumps, but ended up winning the silver medal. Shin Ji-a, four-time World Junior Championship silver medalist, appeared visibly nervous and had several falls in her free skate, but her high quality transitions and spins allowed her to win the bronze medal.^[23]

• "Special Regulations & Technical Rules – Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2024" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 3, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.

• Official website
• 2025 Cranberry Cup International at Skating Scores