December 7, 2017
CITIZEN Supports ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series 2017/18 Celebrating 35 Years as an Official ISU Sponsor
Embodying the spirit of “Better Starts Now” as the ISU’s longest-running sponsor
TOKYO, Japan, December 7, 2017—CITIZEN is celebrating three and a half decades of tradition as the longest-running sponsor of the International Skating Union (ISU), leading up to the company’s 100-year anniversary in 2018. Following the successful Skate Canada event in October 2017, CITIZEN is the official sponsor of six competitions in the 2017/2018 season, including the upcoming Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2017/2018 at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan on December 7-10, 2017, and concluding with the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 in Milan, Italy, March 19-25, 2018.
Each year since 1982, CITIZEN has continued as an official sponsor of the ISU, the only international governing body for competitive ice skating recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to administer figure skating and speed skating events worldwide. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final culminates the top six qualifiers in each discipline from the six previous competitions within the series, bringing together world champions and athletes from around the world, competing at both the junior and senior levels.
"Congratulations to CITIZEN for being the longest-running official sponsor of the International Skating Union,” said 2014 Olympic Gold Medalists and two-time World Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White. “As athletes we spend our days working towards technical perfection and precision. As artists, we strive to achieve style, class, sophistication and elegance on the ice. It is fitting, then, for the ISU to continue a partnership with a company whose products so beautifully reflect this delicate balance. Thank you, CITIZEN for your continued support."
In 2018, CITIZEN will also be celebrating the 100-year anniversary of its founding. The company will continue to challenge itself in its never ending strive for excellence, as communicated in its brand statement: “Better Starts Now,” which is the simple belief that no matter who you are or what you do, it’s always possible to make something better—and the time to start is now. As the sport of figure skating continually pushes the boundaries of physical and artistic excellence through its athletes, this sense of determination to always do better, is akin to the innovation and precision that CITIZEN pursues in all its products.
CITIZEN is the official corporate sponsor of the following ISU competitions.
| 2017/2018 Season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 27-29, 2017 | ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Skate Canada International |
Regina, Canada |
| Dec. 7-10, 2017 | ISU Junior & Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final |
Nagoya, Japan |
| Jan. 15-21, 2018 | ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2018 | Moscow, Russia |
| Jan. 22-27, 2018 | ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2018 | Taipei City, Taiwan |
| March 5-11, 2018 | ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| March 19-25, 2018 | ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 | Milan, Italy |
About CITIZEN WATCH
CITIZEN WATCH is a true manufacture d'horlogerie with a comprehensive manufacturing process that extends from creating a watch’ s individual components to its final assembly. The company operates in more than 130 countries around the world. Since its founding in 1918, CITIZEN have held the belief of “Better Starts Now” — that is, no matter who you are and what you do, it is always possible to make something better, and now is the time to start doing it. Sharing this belief, we have made watches, invented and improved technologies and explored the future of watches such as our proprietary light-powered Eco-Drive technology and state-of-the-art satellite-synchronised timekeeping.