The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. It has occasionally served as the final qualifying event for the Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched the ISU Challenger Series in 2014, the Nebelhorn Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions. The Nebelhorn Trophy has been a Challenger Series every year since. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earn ISU World Standing points based on their results.
Nobunari Oda of Japan holds the record for winning the most Nebelhorn Trophy titles in men's singles (with three). Four skaters are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (with two each): Alissa Czisny of the United States, Carolina Kostner of Italy, Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada, and Irina Slutskaya of Russia. Two teams are tied for winning the most titles in pair skating (with four each): Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia, and Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany, although Savchenko has won an additional two titles with other partners. In addition, Minerva Fabienne Hase of Germany has won four Nebelhorn Trophy titles in pair skating, but with two different partners. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain hold the record in ice dance (with three).
The Nebelhorn Trophy debuted in 1969 and is named after the nearby Nebelhorn mountain. Early on, it was paired with a now-defunct French event â the Grand Prix International St. Gervais â to form the Coupe des Alpes, with many of the same skaters participating in both events. A team trophy was occasionally presented to the country with the highest combined placements across both competitions.
The Nebelhorn Trophy has often been used by the International Skating Union to experiment with new judging and scoring systems for figure skating. In 1972, the ISU announced a new set of rules for single skating: skaters now had to perform three compulsory figures, a short program of compulsory moves, and the free skating program. The 1972 Nebelhorn Trophy was the first competition to feature these new requirements. The 1997 competition was used as the test event for a new system whereby each skater or team was ranked in comparison to the skaters or teams who had already competed. The 2002 Nebelhorn Trophy was used to test the new ISU Judging System, designed in reaction to the scandal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, while the event's results were still determined using the existing 6.0 system. The 2003 Nebelhorn Trophy was the first international skating competition to use the ISU Judging System to determine the official results. The 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy served as the final qualifying event for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as did the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy for the 2014 Olympics, and the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014 as a series of international figure skating competitions, sanctioned by the International Skating Union and organized by ISU member nations. The objective is 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. The Nebelhorn Trophy was one of the inaugural events, and in February 2016, the ISU declared that the Nebelhorn Trophy, along with the Ondrej Nepela Memorial, the Finlandia Trophy, and the Golden Spin of Zagreb, would constitute a "core group" of Challenger Series events in recognition of their long-standing traditions. The Nebelhorn Trophy has been a Challenger Series event every year since. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy did take place, but with extensive social distancing guidelines and procedures for the athletes and coaches in attendance, and without spectators.