From Wednesday to Saturday, the world’s best junior figure skaters and ice dancers will take to the ice in Debrecen’s Főnix Arena. Before the World Championships on Monday, the Hungarian competitors presented their programmes to the press in the Training Ice Hall. Even a training session open to the press can bring excitement – on the ice and on the other side of the ice. On Monday, the Hungarian National Skating Federation invited members of the press to the Gyakorló Ice Hall, where the Hungarian participants of the World Junior Championships in Debrecen, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, presented their programmes. And while the youngsters were preparing for their runs, the organisers were also preparing, outside the palanquin, as one of our World Championship starters, József Mózes Berei, was born on this day – 21 years ago. But before the cake and the celebration, the boy everyone calls Pepe and his partner Wilberforce Lily, as well as the Hungarian individual starters of the World Championships, Polina Dzsumanyijazova and Aleksei Vlasenko. The above mentioned excitement was felt especially on Polina, but fortunately everyone warmed up: first the competitors showed some details of their short programmes, and after a short break, the competition started. And then the applause, because – thanks to Mózes Berei of course – there were quite a few people in the stands, including two celebrities: Róbert Szikora and Attila Dolhai, who were cheering for Pepe and his couple as friends of the family. The two have been skating together since October, and they took the only opportunity they had to get the technical score they needed to qualify for the World Championships in Oberstdorf at the end of January. “We still don’t really understand what lies ahead, I think we will be hit by love and hopefully the power of the crowd in Debrecen,” said Mózes Berei, who blew out the candle on the cake with his partner at the end of the event. – At the same time, it’s a bit surreal what we’re going through at the moment, because we’ve achieved a lot in a short time, even things we didn’t think of beforehand. But the best is yet to come, we are looking forward to it!” Polina Dzsumanyijazova , who will be competing in her third World Junior Championships, also spoke about this, of course, and encouraged everyone to “Come to Debrecen!” Alexey Vlasenko, on the other hand, will be making his debut in the heart of the city, his first Junior World Championship. “I’ve been training a lot, I want to run well in Debrecen. I have already competed in the Junior World Cup, but not in the Junior World Championships, this will be my first. It will be exciting, I’m really looking forward to it.” – said Aleksei Vlasenko. You can follow the World Junior Championships from Wednesday to Saturday on the event’s social media page (WHJCH Instagram, WHJCH Facebook event) and on the official website of the competition (https://hunskate.hu/wjch2025/