The German Figure Skating Championships (German: Deutsche Meisterschaften im Eiskunstlaufen) are a figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of Germany. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
History
Unofficial German Figure Skating Championships were held from 1887 to 1889 in Hamburg. The first official competition was held in Munich in 1891 in the men's category only. In its early years, Germany and the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary had joint championships. The second German champion Georg Zacharias, for example, is from Vienna, as was Gustav Hügel, who won in 1894. The first German Nationals in pairs were held in 1907 in Altona, for ladies in Olmütz in 1911, and for ice dancing in Cologne in 1950. From 1949 to 1990 East and West Germany had separate national championships. In West Germany the winners were called German Champions and are therefore covered in the table below. In East Germany the winners were called GDR Champions (DDR-Meister). The medal winners of the National Championships in East Germany are listed in East German Figure Skating Championships.
In 1921, there was a dispute over eligibility. Pair skater Georg Velisch did not have citizenship of the Deutsche Reich and a protest was introduced to stop him from participating. Citizenship was not mentioned in the rules of the Deutsche Eislauf Verband but the 1921 pair competition was ultimately cancelled. In modern times, skaters without citizenship have competed in the championships.
In 1955, the results of the men's event were wrongly calculated. Months after the championships, referee Werner Rittberger noticed the mistake and awarded Tilo Gutzeit his gold medal.