The 2013 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2012–13 season. It was held at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan on February 6–11. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.

Qualification The competition was open to skaters from a non-European member nation of the International Skating Union who reached the age of 15 before July 1, 2012. The corresponding competition for European skaters was the 2013 European Figure Skating Championships. Unlike the European event, national associations at Four Continents are all allowed up to three entries in each discipline, regardless of how their skaters placed at the previous year's event. Member nations select their entries based on their own national criteria. Entries were required to achieve a minimum technical elements score (TES) at an international event prior to the Four Continents Championships. The minimum TES for each discipline and segment were:

Minimum technical scores (TES) Discipline Short Free Men 25.00 45.00 Ladies 20.00 36.00 Pairs 20.00 36.00 Ice dancing 18.00 28.00 Must be achieved at an ISU-recognized international event in the ongoing or preceding season. SP and FS scores may be attained at different events.

Entries A total of 85 skaters from 13 nations participated at the event, including 23 in men's singles, 20 in ladies' singles, 8 pairs teams, and 13 ice dancing teams.

Country Men Ladies Pairs Ice dancing Brendan Kerry David Kranjec Brooklee Han Chantelle Kerry Danielle O'Brien / Gregory Merriman Elladj Balde Kevin Reynolds Andrei Rogozine Amélie Lacoste Kaetlyn Osmond Julianne Séguin Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Paige Lawrence / Rudi Swiegers Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir Song Nan Wang Yi Yan Han Li Zijun Zhang Kexin Peng Cheng / Zhang Hao Wang Wenting / Zhang Yan Yu Xiaoyang / Wang Chen Jordan Ju Crystal Kiang Melinda Wang Ami Parekh Yuzuru Hanyu Takahito Mura Daisuke Takahashi Mao Asada Kanako Murakami Akiko Suzuki Emi Hirai / Marien de la Asuncion Bryna Oi / Taiyo Mizutani Cathy Reed / Chris Reed Abzal Rakimgaliev Denis Ten Reyna Hamui Pilar Maekawa Moreno / Leonardo Maekawa Moreno Christopher Caluza Michael Christian Martinez Melissa Bulanhagui Lejeanne Marais Kim Jin-seo Kim Min-seok Lee June-hyoung Park Yeon-jun Max Aaron Richard Dornbush Ross Miner Christina Gao Gracie Gold Agnes Zawadzki Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir Felicia Zhang / Nathan Bartholomay Madison Chock / Evan Bates Meryl Davis / Charlie White Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani Misha Ge Anna Nagornyuk / Viktor Kovalenko Total entries 23 20 8 13

Withdrawals Two-time World champions and Olympic silver medalists Pang Qing / Tong Jian and ice dancers Huang Xintong / Zheng Xun withdrew from the pairs and ice dancing events respectively. China did not replace either team. On January 31, South Korea's Kim Hae-jin withdrew from the ladies' event and was not replaced. On February 1, Brazil's Isadora Williams withdrew from the ladies' event and Brazil did not replace her, leaving the country without any entries at the competition. On February 4, American Adam Rippon withdrew from the men's event and the U.S. called up Richard Dornbush to take his place. Ronald Lam from Hong Kong also withdrew from the men's event and was not replaced, leaving Hong Kong without an entry. Alexa Scimeca / Chris Knierim of the United States withdrew from the pairs' event a day before the start of the competition and were not replaced.

Schedule Official training sessions occurred at the Osaka Pool and the main venue from February 6 throughout the competition period.

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9).

Date Start Discipline Event Friday, 8 February 13:20 Ice dance Short dance 16:00 Pairs Short program 18:00 Opening ceremony 18:30 Men Short program Saturday, 9 February 13:40 Ladies 17:55 Men Free skate Sunday, 10 February 12:50 Pairs 15:30 Ladies 20:15 Ice dance Free dance Monday, 11 February 15:00 Exhibition gala

Overview Olympic and two time world ice dancing champions Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir were the only defending Four Continents champions entered in the 2013 event. 2012 men's champion Patrick Chan elected not to compete in order to prepare for the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, Canada as well as allowing his fellow Canadian skaters to compete. 2012 ladies' champion Ashley Wagner did not defend her title for the same reason. China's Sui Wenjing / Han Cong did not defend their pairs title due to injury.

Competition recap Short programs / Short dance Ice dancing The competition began with the short dance with Canada's Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir winning the segment with a score of 75.12 with a 0.44 point advantage over training partners from the United States Meryl Davis / Charlie White. Despite scoring higher in the presentation score and most of the elements, a small stutter in their non-touching step sequence from White allowed the Canadians, who earned a level four for the non-touching step sequence to edge ahead.

In an interview following the short dance, Moir commented that they were pleased with their performance to Anthony Hopkin's "The Waltz goes on".

"The biggest thing for us today was – it felt like the seasons best skate. So no matter what the score was, that's always the best feeling. Ever since we've been young that's really the feeling we chase. If we feel we are together, it feels like a strong performance, if the coaches are happy with it - that's the big thing", Moir remarked.

Davis / White too said that they were pleased but a little disappointed with their Giselle short dance.

"I think it was a really good performance today. It was a step up in a lot of aspects. Technically it wasn't what we were aiming for. We had a couple of little mistakes here and there which certainly you can't get away at this point. We're looking to execute everything perfectly at this point of the season, but I think we've made some improvement in a lot of other areas. Despite the little mistakes we are headed into the right direction and we're feeling good", Davis said.

American national silver medalists Madison Chock / Evan Bates scored 65.44, leaving them in third place, 2.18 points ahead of American bronze medalists, Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani. Japan's Cathy Reed / Chris Reed were the highest ranked home team, finishing in sixth place with 53.97, 0.27 points ahead of Canada's Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams.

Pairs The short dance was followed by the pairs short program. Canadian champions Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford successfully executed a side-by-side triple lutz and throw triple lutz in their La Bohème routine to take first place with 70.44, 4.11 points ahead of fellow skaters and Canadian silver medalists Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch.

"To break that 70 points barrier, not too many teams have done that, it feels incredible", Radford shared. "We kind of discovered especially after last Nationals the more pressure that's on, the better we seem to skate. Coming in here we knew that we have a great chance to finally have a gold medal after all these silver medals. We came in with a fighting attitude as opposed to trying to ride the wave from Nationals", he added.

Moore-Towers was also very pleased with their program but said the pair wished to clean up some small errors before the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario.

American champions Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir had an error ridden program faulting on their triple twist, side by side spins and throw triple salchow to finish in third with 53.06, trailing second by 13.27 points. There were no Japanese teams in this event. China's highest ranking team was Peng Cheng / Zhang Hao in fifth place with 52.46 points, after doubling a side-by-side triple toe and making an error on the throw triple loop.

Men The men's short program followed the pairs' short. Hometown favourite Yuzuru Hanyu won the short program, successfully executing a quadruple toe loop and a triple axel but singling his triple lutz in combination to earn 87.65 for his Parisian Walkways routine, 2.57 points in front of China's Yan Han who skated a technically flawless program.

In the interview after the short program, Hanyu expressed his disappointment.

"I do not feel good about my performance. I think I missed the Lutz because my timing was a bit fast. I did not feel the pressure from being the national champion. I did not focus on winning or losing to Daisuke (Takahashi) or Takahito (Mura), and I was focusing on my own performance."

China's Yan was greatly surprised by what he accomplished in the short program, considering that he did not assume that he would be a medal contender.

"I am very pleased with what I did. I did all my elements. I don't have a special goal for this event, this being my first (international) senior competition. I don't expect a medal or anything, I am here to learn. Today's result won't put pressure on me. I just want to show what I can do in practice in the free skating and want to do all my elements", Yan explained.

Despite American skater Richard Dornbush placing his hand down on the triple axel, his quadruple toe loop and triple lutz-triple toe loop combination earned him 83.01 points and a third-place finish for his "With or without you" program. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi had an error ridden program to be left in fourth place with 82.62. China's Song Nan finished fifth with 81.18. Kevin Reynolds was the highest ranked Canadian in the short program, under rotating his quadruple salchow and quadruple toe loop to lie in sixth with 78.34 points.

Ladies The ladies' short program saw Japan's Mao Asada perfectly execute her triple axel, which has been absent since the previous Olympic season. The technical and artistic strength she displayed in her routine to the "I've got rhythm" variations by Gershwin propelled her into the lead with 74.49, 8.84 points clear of Akiko Suzuki, who scored 65.65.

"This is the first time I landed my triple Axel in my short program this season. I was in good condition since I came here. The moment I jumped I was 99 percent sure I was going to land it (triple Axel). My condition has been going up since Nationals. It is exactly one year till the Sochi Olympic Games, and I would like to skate my best there. I would like to bring this confidence into my free skating tomorrow", Asada said.

In the press conference, Suzuki expressed a sigh of relief that her "Kill Bill" routine was clean.

"I was able to feel like "I finally made it". I have been struggling with jumps this season, and I had tough time making my best towards the competitions. I didn't have 100% confidence in the triple-triple but my coach and I went through practices to make me strong mentally", the Grand Prix Final bronze medalist commented. "(In the Free Skating) I would like to skate like a "flying bird" and I hope my skate will make the audience smile", she added.

The Japanese ladies clean swept the short program with Kanako Murakami earning 64.04 and a third-place finish. Christina Gao was the highest of the American skaters, landing in fourth place with 62.34. China's Zhang Kexin was the highest ranked skater from her nation, earning 57.56 and a sixth-place finish.

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