Skate America

Skate America
Logo of Skate America
StatusActive
GenreISU Grand Prix
FrequencyAnnual
CountryUnited States United States
Inaugurated1979
Previous event2024 Skate America
Next event2025 Skate America
Organized byU.S. Figure Skating
The men's medalists at the 2016 Skate America
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the men's event at the 2016 Skate America: Shoma Uno of Japan (center), Jason Brown of the United States (left), and Adam Rippon of the United States (right)
The women's medalists at the 2015 Skate America
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the women's event at the 2015 Skate America: Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia (center), Gracie Gold of the United States (left), and Satoko Miyahara of Japan (right)
The pairs medalists at the 2014 Skate America
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the pairs event at the 2014 Skate America: Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia (center), Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the United States (left), and Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao of China (right)
The ice dance medalists at the 2018 Skate America
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the ice dance event at the 2018 Skate America: Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States (center), Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy (left), and Tiffany Zahorski and Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia (right)

Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event for the 1980 Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched the Champions Series (later renamed the Grand Prix Series) in 1995, Skate America was one of the five qualifying events. It has been a Grand Prix event every year since.

Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earn points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are invited to then compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Todd Eldredge of the United States currently holds the record for the most wins in men's singles (with five), while Michelle Kwan, also of the United States, holds the record in women's singles (with seven). Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov of Russia hold the record in pair skating (with five), while Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States hold the record in ice dance (also with five).

History

[edit]

Between 1923 and 1971, the Canadian Figure Skating Association and the U.S. Figure Skating Association co-hosted the North American Figure Skating Championships. At this time, medal contenders at the World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympics came from either Europe or North America. The North American Championships allowed Canadian and American skaters the opportunity to compete at a comparable event to the European Figure Skating Championships. The championships were held every other year, with Canada and the United States alternating as hosts, and only skaters from Canada and the United States were eligible to compete.[1]

At a planning meeting held in April 1972 and attended by representatives from both the Canadian and American skating federations, the Canadian delegation announced Canada's plans to withdraw from the North American Championships. With one of the two participating nations out, this effectively marked the end of the championships. The U.S. delegation was unaware at the time that the Canadian Figure Skating Association was already in the planning stages of launching their own international skating competition: the Skate Canada International.[1]

The first iteration of Skate America – then called the Norton Skate – was held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, and was the test event for the 1980 Winter Olympics.[2] Scott Hamilton and Lisa-Marie Allen, both of the United States, won the inaugural men's and women's events, respectively. Sabine Baeß and Tassilo Thierbach of East Germany won the pairs event, and Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay of Hungary won the ice dance event.[2]

Beginning with the 1995–96 season, the ISU launched the Champions Series – later renamed the Grand Prix Series – which, at its inception, consisted of five qualifying competitions and the Champions Series Final. This allowed skaters to perfect their programs earlier in the season, as well as compete against the skaters with whom they would later compete at the World Championships.[1] This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which had been in demand.[1] The five qualifying competitions during the inaugural season were the 1995 Nations Cup, the 1995 NHK Trophy, the 1995 Skate America, the 1995 Skate Canada International, and the 1995 Trophée de France.[3] Skaters earned points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were invited to compete at the 1995–96 Champions Series Final.[4]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a number of modifications were made to the structure of the 2020 Skate America. The competitors consisted only of skaters from the United States, skaters already training in the United States, and skaters assigned to the event for geographic reasons.[5] On September 25, U.S. Figure Skating announced that Skate America would be held without spectators.[6] Attendees at the competition remained in a bubble throughout the duration of the event.[7]

The 2025 Skate America will be held November 14–16 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.[8]

Medalists

[edit]
Ilia Malinin at the 2024 World Championships
Wakaba Higuchi at the 2018 World Championships
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara at the 2024 World Championships
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson at the 2018 Skate America
The reigning Skate America champions: Ilia Malinin of the United States (men's singles); Wakaba Higuchi of Japan (women's singles); Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan (pair skating); and Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain (ice dance)

Men's singles

[edit]
Men's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1979 Lake Placid, New York United States Scott Hamilton United States Scott Cramer East Germany Jan Hoffmann [2]
1980 No competition held
1981 Lake Placid, New York United States Scott Hamilton United States Robert Wagenhoffer United States Brian Boitano [9]
1982 West Germany Heiko Fischer Czechoslovakia Jozef Sabovčík [10]
1983 Rochester, New York United States Brian Boitano West Germany Rudi Cerne United States Bobby Beauchamp [11]
1984 No competition held
1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota Czechoslovakia Jozef Sabovčík United States Brian Boitano Soviet Union Viktor Petrenko [12]
1986 Portland, Maine United States Brian Boitano Soviet Union Viktor Petrenko United States Daniel Doran [13]
1987 No competition held
1988 Portland, Maine United States Christopher Bowman United States Daniel Doran United States Todd Eldredge [14]
1989 Indianapolis, Indiana Soviet Union Viktor Petrenko Canada Kurt Browning [15]
1990 Buffalo, New York Soviet Union Viktor Petrenko United States Christopher Bowman United States Todd Eldredge [16]
1991 Oakland, California United States Christopher Bowman Czech Republic Petr Barna [17]
1992 Atlanta, Georgia United States Todd Eldredge United States Scott Davis United States Mark Mitchell [18]
1993 Dallas, Texas Ukraine Viktor Petrenko United States Brian Boitano Russia Alexei Urmanov [19]
1994 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States Todd Eldredge France Philippe Candeloro France Éric Millot [20]
1995 Detroit, Michigan United States Michael Weiss Russia Alexander Abt [21]
1996 Springfield, Massachusetts Russia Alexei Urmanov Russia Alexei Yagudin [22]
1997 Detroit, Michigan Russia Evgeni Plushenko Russia Alexander Abt [23]
1998 Russia Alexei Yagudin United States Michael Weiss Russia Alexei Urmanov [24]
1999 Colorado Springs, Colorado United States Timothy Goebel Canada Elvis Stojko [25]
2000 United States Timothy Goebel Russia Alexei Yagudin United States Todd Eldredge [26]
2001 Japan Takeshi Honda Russia Alexander Abt [27]
2002 Spokane, Washington France Brian Joubert Russia Alexander Abt United States Matthew Savoie [28]
2003 Reading, Pennsylvania United States Michael Weiss Japan Takeshi Honda China Zhang Min [29]
2004 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania France Brian Joubert United States Ryan Jahnke United States Michael Weiss [30]
2005 Atlantic City, New Jersey Japan Daisuke Takahashi United States Evan Lysacek France Brian Joubert [31]
2006 Hartford, Connecticut Japan Nobunari Oda France Alban Préaubert [32]
2007 Reading, Pennsylvania Japan Daisuke Takahashi Canada Patrick Chan [33]
2008 Everett, Washington Japan Takahiko Kozuka United States Johnny Weir United States Evan Lysacek [34]
2009 Lake Placid, New York United States Evan Lysacek Canada Shawn Sawyer United States Ryan Bradley [35]
2010 Portland, Oregon Japan Daisuke Takahashi Japan Nobunari Oda United States Armin Mahbanoozadeh [36]
2011 Ontario, California Czech Republic Michal Březina Belgium Kevin van der Perren Japan Takahiko Kozuka [37]
2012 Kent, Washington Japan Takahiko Kozuka Japan Yuzuru Hanyu Japan Tatsuki Machida [38]
2013 Detroit, Michigan Japan Tatsuki Machida United States Adam Rippon United States Max Aaron [39]
2014 Chicago, Illinois United States Jason Brown Canada Nam Nguyen [40]
2015 Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States Max Aaron Japan Shoma Uno United States Jason Brown [41]
2016 Chicago, Illinois Japan Shoma Uno United States Jason Brown United States Adam Rippon [42]
2017 Lake Placid, New York United States Nathan Chen United States Adam Rippon Russia Sergei Voronov [43]
2018 Everett, Washington Czech Republic Michal Březina [44]
2019 Las Vegas, Nevada United States Jason Brown Russia Dmitri Aliev [45]
2020 United States Vincent Zhou Canada Keegan Messing [46]
2021 United States Vincent Zhou Japan Shoma Uno United States Nathan Chen [47]
2022 Norwood, Massachusetts United States Ilia Malinin Japan Kao Miura South Korea Cha Jun-hwan [48]
2023 Allen, Texas France Kévin Aymoz Japan Shun Sato [49]
2024 Japan Kao Miura [50]

Women's singles

[edit]
Women's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1979 Lake Placid, New York United States Lisa-Marie Allen Italy Susanna Driano United States Sandy Lenz [2]
1980 No competition held
1981 Lake Placid, New York United States Vikki de Vries United States Elaine Zayak Austria Claudia Kristofics-Binder [9]
1982 United States Rosalynn Sumners West Germany Claudia Leistner Finland Kristiina Wegelius [10]
1983 Rochester, New York United States Tiffany Chin United States Jill Frost United States Kelly Webster [11]
1984 No competition held
1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota United States Debi Thomas Canada Tracey Wainman Belgium Katrien Pauwels [12]
1986 Portland, Maine United States Tiffany Chin United States Tonya Harding France Agnès Gosselin [13]
1987 No competition held
1988 Portland, Maine West Germany Claudia Leistner Japan Midori Ito United States Kristi Yamaguchi [14]
1989 Indianapolis, Indiana United States Tonya Harding United States Jill Trenary East Germany Simone Lang [15]
1990 Buffalo, New York United States Kristi Yamaguchi Japan Midori Ito United States Tonia Kwiatkowski [16]
1991 Oakland, California United States Tonya Harding United States Kristi Yamaguchi France Surya Bonaly [17]
1992 Atlanta, Georgia Japan Yuka Sato United States Nancy Kerrigan China Chen Lu [18]
1993 Dallas, Texas Ukraine Oksana Baiul France Surya Bonaly United States Tonya Harding [51]
1994 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania France Surya Bonaly United States Michelle Kwan Russia Irina Slutskaya [20]
1995 Detroit, Michigan United States Michelle Kwan China Chen Lu [21]
1996 Springfield, Massachusetts United States Tonia Kwiatkowski United States Sydne Vogel [22]
1997 Detroit, Michigan United States Tara Lipinski Russia Elena Sokolova [23]
1998 Russia Maria Butyrskaya Russia Elena Sokolova United States Angela Nikodinov [24]
1999 Colorado Springs, Colorado United States Michelle Kwan Russia Julia Soldatova Russia Elena Sokolova [25]
2000 United States Sarah Hughes [26]
2001 Russia Viktoria Volchkova [27]
2002 Spokane, Washington United States Ann Patrice McDonough Ukraine Elena Liashenko [28]
2003 Reading, Pennsylvania United States Sasha Cohen United States Jennifer Kirk Japan Shizuka Arakawa [29]
2004 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States Angela Nikodinov Canada Cynthia Phaneuf Japan Miki Ando [30]
2005 Atlantic City, New Jersey Russia Elena Sokolova United States Alissa Czisny Japan Yoshie Onda [31]
2006 Hartford, Connecticut Japan Miki Ando United States Kimmie Meissner Japan Mao Asada [32]
2007 Reading, Pennsylvania United States Kimmie Meissner Japan Miki Ando United States Caroline Zhang [33]
2008 Everett, Washington South Korea Yuna Kim Japan Yukari Nakano Japan Miki Ando [34]
2009 Lake Placid, New York United States Rachael Flatt Hungary Júlia Sebestyén [35]
2010 Portland, Oregon Japan Kanako Murakami Italy Carolina Kostner [36]
2011 Ontario, California United States Alissa Czisny Italy Carolina Kostner Sweden Viktoria Helgesson [37]
2012 Kent, Washington United States Ashley Wagner United States Christina Gao Russia Adelina Sotnikova [38]
2013 Detroit, Michigan Japan Mao Asada United States Ashley Wagner Russia Elena Radionova [39]
2014 Chicago, Illinois Russia Elena Radionova Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva United States Gracie Gold [40]
2015 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Russia Evgenia Medvedeva United States Gracie Gold Japan Satoko Miyahara [41]
2016 Chicago, Illinois United States Ashley Wagner United States Mariah Bell Japan Mai Mihara [42]
2017 Lake Placid, New York Japan Satoko Miyahara Japan Kaori Sakamoto United States Bradie Tennell [43]
2018 Everett, Washington Russia Sofia Samodurova [44]
2019 Las Vegas, Nevada Russia Anna Shcherbakova United States Bradie Tennell Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva [45]
2020 United States Mariah Bell United States Audrey Shin [46]
2021 Russia Alexandra Trusova Russia Daria Usacheva South Korea You Young [47]
2022 Norwood, Massachusetts Japan Kaori Sakamoto United States Isabeau Levito United States Amber Glenn [48]
2023 Allen, Texas Belgium Loena Hendrickx Estonia Niina Petrõkina [49]
2024 Japan Wakaba Higuchi Japan Rinka Watanabe United States Isabeau Levito [50]

Pairs

[edit]
Pairs event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1979 Lake Placid, New York
  • East Germany
  • United States
[2]
1980 No competition held
1981 Lake Placid, New York [9]
1982 [52]
1983 Rochester, New York [11]
1984 No competition held
1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota [12]
1986 Portland, Maine [13]
1987 No competition held
1988 Portland, Maine
  • Soviet Union
[14]
1989 Indianapolis, Indiana [15]
1990 Buffalo, New York [16]
1991 Oakland, California [17]
1992 Atlanta, Georgia [18]
1993 Dallas, Texas [53]
1994 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [20]
1995 Detroit, Michigan [21]
1996 Springfield, Massachusetts [22]
1997 Detroit, Michigan [23]
1998 [24]
1999 Colorado Springs, Colorado [25]
2000 [26]
2001 [27]
2002 Spokane, Washington [28]
2003 Reading, Pennsylvania [29]
2004 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [30]
2005 Atlantic City, New Jersey [31]
2006 Hartford, Connecticut [32]
2007 Reading, Pennsylvania [33]
2008 Everett, Washington [34]
2009 Lake Placid, New York [35]
2010 Portland, Oregon [36]
2011 Ontario, California [37]
2012 Kent, Washington [38]
2013 Detroit, Michigan [39]
2014 Chicago, Illinois [40]
2015 Milwaukee, Wisconsin [41]
2016 Chicago, Illinois [42]
2017 Lake Placid, New York [43]
2018 Everett, Washington [44]
2019 Las Vegas, Nevada [45]
2020 [46]
2021 [47]
2022 Norwood, Massachusetts [48]
2023 Allen, Texas [49]
2024 [50]

Ice dance

[edit]
Ice dance event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1979 Lake Placid, New York [2]
1980 No competition held
1981 Lake Placid, New York [9]
1982 [10]
1983 Rochester, New York [11]
1984 No competition held
1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota
  • Soviet Union
[12]
1986 Portland, Maine
  • Canada
  • Jo-Anne Borlase
  • Scott Chalmers
[13]
1987 No competition held
1988 Portland, Maine [14]
1989 Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Canada
[15]
1990 Buffalo, New York [16]
1991 Oakland, California [17]
1992 Atlanta, Georgia [18]
1993 Dallas, Texas [19]
1994 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [20]
1995 Detroit, Michigan [21]
1996 Springfield, Massachusetts [22]
1997 Detroit, Michigan [23]
1998 [24]
1999 Colorado Springs, Colorado [25]
2000 [26]
2001 [27]
2002 Spokane, Washington [28]
2003 Reading, Pennsylvania [29]
2004 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [30]
2005 Atlantic City, New Jersey [31]
2006 Hartford, Connecticut [32]
2007 Reading, Pennsylvania [33]
2008 Everett, Washington [34]
2009 Lake Placid, New York [35]
2010 Portland, Oregon [36]
2011 Ontario, California [37]
2012 Kent, Washington [38]
2013 Detroit, Michigan [39]
2014 Chicago, Illinois [40]
2015 Milwaukee, Wisconsin [41]
2016 Chicago, Illinois [42]
2017 Lake Placid, New York [43]
2018 Everett, Washington [44]
2019 Las Vegas, Nevada [45]
2020 [46]
2021 [47]
2022 Norwood, Massachusetts [48]
2023 Allen, Texas [49]
2024 [50]

Records

[edit]
Todd Eldredge at the 2010 Stars on Ice
Michelle Kwan at the 2002 U.S. Championships
Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto at the 2008 Skate America
From left to right: Todd Eldredge of the United States has won five Skate America titles in men's singles; Michelle Kwan of the United States has won seven Skate America titles in women's singles; and Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States have won five Skate America titles in ice dance.
Records
Discipline Most titles
Men's singles 5 1992;
1994–97
[54]
Women's singles 7 1995–97;
1999–2002
[55]
Pairs Soviet Union & Russia 5 1990;
1992;
1994–95;
1997
[56]
Ice dance 5 2003–05;
2007;
2009
[57]

Cumulative medal count

[edit]

Men's singles

[edit]
Total number of Skate America medals in men's singles by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States26211764
2 Japan97420
3 Russia24915
4 France2338
5 Soviet Union1214
6 Czechoslovakia1113
7 Czech Republic1102
8 Ukraine1001
9 West Germany0202
10 Canada0156
11 Belgium0101
12 China0011
 East Germany0011
 South Korea0011
Totals (14 entries)434343129

Women's singles

[edit]
Total number of Skate America medals in women's singles by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States23251361
2 Japan87722
3 Russia641020
4 South Korea2013
5 France1225
6 West Germany1102
7 Belgium1012
 Ukraine1012
9 Canada0202
10 China0112
 Italy0112
12 Austria0011
 East Germany0011
 Estonia0011
 Finland0011
 Hungary0011
 Sweden0011
Totals (17 entries)434343129

Pairs

[edit]
Total number of Skate America medals in pairs by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia1351230
2 United States7171337
3 Canada67518
4 China65516
5 Germany5027
6 Soviet Union43310
7 Japan1102
8 East Germany1012
9 Czech Republic0213
10 France0101
 Poland0101
 Ukraine0101
13 Latvia0011
Totals (13 entries)434343129

Ice dance

[edit]
Total number of Skate America medals in ice dance by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States2610945
2 Russia48618
3 France46515
4 Italy35210
5 Soviet Union2518
6 Canada131115
7 Ukraine1102
8 Great Britain1034
9 Hungary1001
10 Israel0213
11 Lithuania0123
12 Czech Republic