Singles
Historically, countries with deep fields have more World-class skaters than slots to the World Figure Skating Championships. Some skaters who are always left off the podium at their National Championships may start looking around for other countries to represent.
For skaters from the old Soviet Union, the fall of the USSR gave them many options. They could claim citizenship of a former Soviet republic and represent that country, and it is normal to see skaters from the SSRs who formerly skated for Russia.
For skaters from the United States and Canada, it is more typical to see a skater look back to his or her family's country of origin. In previous years, this meant looking back towards Europe, but, more and more, skaters from the United States are looking south towards Puerto Rico and Mexico for countries to represent.
Read more about this topic: Country Changes In Figure Skating