The 2012/2013 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating continues Friday with the Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris, France. The Trophée Bompard is the fifth of six events in the series. The skaters compete for a global prize money of US $ 180, 000 per individual event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and receive points according to their placements.

49 skaters representing 13 ISU members are competing this week in Paris. European Champions Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA), Four Continents Champion Ashley Wagner (USA), two-time World bronze medalists Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (RUS) and others compete in their second Grand Prix event and for a spot in the Grand Prix Final.

Pechalat/Bourzat lead the Ice Dance competition. Following their win at Cup of China, the French are now looking for a second gold medal on the circuit. Competition should come from Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte (ITA) and Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko (RUS) who took silver and bronze at Skate Canada and have a chance to qualify for the Final as well. Also competing are Julia Zlobina/Alexei Sitnikov (AZE), Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN), Pernelle Carron/Lloyd Jones (FRA), Ekaterina Pushkash/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS) and Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA).

Wagner comes with a gold medal from Hilton Hhonors Skate America to Paris and wants to book her ticket to Sochi. Cup of China silver medalist Julia Lipnitskaia (RUS) and Skate America bronze medalist Christina Gao (USA) have good chances to advance to the Final as well. Defending Trophee Bompard Champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS) hopes to improve on her fourth-place finish from Skate Canada.

The Men's event seems wide open. U.S. Champion Jeremy Abbott (USA), 2012 European bronze medalist Florent Amodio, multiple European Champion Brian Joubert (FRA), Tomas Verner (CZE) and Takahito Mura (JPN) all have a shot at the podium in Paris. Also in the mix is defending Trophee Bompard silver medalist Nan Song (CHN).

In the Pairs event, Skate Canada silver medalists Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford (CAN) and Cup of China silver medalists Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (RUS) have the best chances to qualify for the Final with a podium finish here in Paris. Other contenders include Skate Canada bronze medalists Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek (ITA), Cup of China bronze medalists Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov (RUS), Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres (FRA) and Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang (CHN).

For full entries and results please refer to www.isu.org.

The schedule of Trophee Eric Bompard is as follows:
Friday, November 16: Pairs, Men and Ladies Short Program, Short Dance
Saturday, November 17: Pairs, Men and Ladies Free Skating, Free Dance
Sunday, November 18: Exhibition Gala