[4] The championships were presumed to be all-male since competitive skating was generally viewed as a male sport.

In 1902, Madge Syers of Great Britain entered the championships and won the silver medal.

[7] The 1930 World Championships in New York City were the first to be held outside Europe and combined all three competitions into one event for the first time.

[citation needed] In 1967, all events at the World Championships, other than compulsory figures and ice dance, were held indoors.

Many skaters need time to rest due to physical and mental exhaustion, and some Olympic medalists choose to cash in on their recent success by turning professional.

[15] Skaters may compete at the World Championships if they represent a member nation of the International Skating Union and are selected by their federation.

Some countries rely on the results of their national championships while others have more varied criteria, which may include success at certain international events or specific technical requirements.

[18] Since 2010, only skaters who have reached minimum technical elements scores (TES) in the short and free programs at a prior international event are allowed to compete at the World Championships.

[19] The short and free scores may be attained at different international events in the ongoing or preceding season.

After an ISU congress voted to eliminate the qualifying rounds, the TES minimums were raised for the 2013 World Championships.

[citation needed] Because of the large number of entries at the World Championships, in some years the event included qualifying rounds for men and women.

Depending on their results at the previous year's competition, some countries are allowed to send a second or third entry.

There are exceptions if skaters are forced to withdraw in the middle of the competition due to a medical emergency or equipment problems – they are not considered as entered for the purpose of entry quotas' determination for next year's competition if they did not start or finish the free segment, but were among the top 10 in the short segment.