The Polish Figure Skating Championships () are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Polish Figure Skating Association () to crown the national champions of Poland. The first official Polish Championships were held in 1922 in Warsaw and consisted of events in speed skating and figure skating. Since 2014, the senior-level championships, as well as the junior-level pair skating and ice dance championships, have been held in conjunction with the skating federations of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. Junior-level singles skaters compete in a separate competition that is exclusive to Poland.
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. Robert Grzegorczyk currently holds the record for winning the most Polish Championship titles in men's singles (with eight), while Ekaterina Kurakova holds the title in women's singles (also with eight). Two teams are tied for the winning the most titles in pair skating (with nine each): Zofia Bilorówna and Tadeusz Kowalski, and Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek. Siudek also won two additional titles with previous partners.Teresa Weyna and Piotr Bojaà Âczyk hold the record in ice dance (with nine).
Ice skating debuted in Poland in the mid-1800s. The first artificial art rink in Poland was created in 1865 in à Âazienki Park in Warsaw. The Polish Skating Association () was established in 1921 to oversee both figure skating and speed skating. The first edition of the Polish Skating Championships were held the following year in Warsaw; Wà Âadysà Âaw Kuchar won the singles event, while Olga Przeà ºdziemirska and Henryk Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski won the pairs event. No competitions were held in 1925 or 1926. A separate event for women was added in 1930; Barbara Chachlewska was the inaugural women's champion. Competitions were repeatedly interrupted early on, especially during the occupation of Poland during World War II.
In 1957, the Polish Skating Association was divided into two separate associations: one for figure skating () and one for speed skating (). Ice dance was also added to the national championships in 1957; Anna Bursche-Lindnerowa and Leon Osadnik were the first Polish ice dance champions.
Poland currently holds its senior-level championships, as well as its junior-level pairs and ice dance championships, as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, the Czech Skating Association and the Slovak Figure Skating Association ran independent national championships until the 2006âÂÂ07 season, when the two associations joined their national championships together as one event. The Czech Republic and Slovakia alternated as hosts for the combined championships until the 2008âÂÂ09 season, when Poland joined and the Three Nationals Figure Skating Championships were officially formed. The 2009 Three Nationals Championships were held in Tà Âinec in the Czech Republic. Pavel Kaà ¡ka of the Czech Republic won the men's event, while Przemysà Âaw Domaà Âski was the highest ranked Polish men's singles skater. Ivana Reitmayerová of Slovakia won the women's event, while Anna Jurkiewicz was the highest ranked Polish women's singles skater. Guest skaters Stacey Kemp and David King of Great Britain won the pairs event, while Joanna Sulej and Mateusz Chruà Âcià Âski were the highest ranked Polish pairs team. Kamila Hájková and David Vincour of the Czech Republic won the ice dance event, while Joanna Budner and Jan Moà Âcicki were the highest ranked Polish ice dance team. Since the addition of Hungary during the 2013âÂÂ14 season, the event has been known as the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships. The four nations rotate as hosts, while skaters from the four countries compete together and the results are then split at the end of the competition to form national podiums.
Tadeusz Kowalski, nine-time champion in pair skating with his partner Zofia Bilorówna, served as an officer of the Polish Armed Forces during the Soviet invasion of Poland at the start of World War II. He was captured as a prisoner of war and later executed at Kharkiv during the Katyn massacre in 1940.