The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are an annual

figure skating competition A figure skating competition is a judged sports competition in figure skating. Types of figure skating competitions International International competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) are governed by the union's rules ...

organized by

U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act a ...

to crown the

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

of the United States. The first U.S. Championships were held in 1914 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, and featured the men's, women's, and pairs events. They have been held without interruption since 1920. Ice dance was added as an event in 1936. Skaters may qualify for the national championships by competing at either the Pacific Coast Sectional Finals, Eastern Sectional Finals, Midwestern Sectional Finals, U.S. Ice Dance Finals, or U.S. Pairs Finals. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles,

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

, and

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

at the senior and junior levels. The results of the competition are among the criteria used to determine the American teams to the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, World Junior Championships,

Four Continents Championships The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ISU est ...

, and

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. Roger Turner currently holds the record for winning the most U.S. championships in men's singles (with seven), while

Maribel Vinson Maribel Yerxa Vinson Owen (née Vinson; October 12, 1911 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies' singles and pair skating. As a singles skater, she was the 1932 Olympic bronz ...

and

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

are tied for winning the most championships in women's singles (with nine each). Theresa Weld-Blanchard and Nathaniel Niles hold the record in pair skating (with nine), while

Meryl Davis and Charlie White Davis and White (Meryl Davis and Charlie White (figure skater), Charlie White) are American former ice dancing, ice dancers. The pair are the Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Ice dancing, 2014 Olympic Champion, the Figure skating at ...

, and

Madison Chock Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock (born July 2, 1992) is an American ice dancer. Together with her husband and skating partner Evan Bates, she is a 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the team event, a three-time World champion (2023, 2024 and 2025), ...

and

Evan Bates Evan Bates (born February 23, 1989) is an American ice dancer. With his wife and skating partner, Madison Chock, he is the 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Team event, team event, a three-time World ...

, are tied for winning the most championships in ice dance (with six each). The 2026 U.S. Championships are scheduled to be held from January 5–11 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where the team selections for the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

will be announced.

History

The inaugural championship took place in 1914 in

, and was contested by skaters from both the United States and Canada. Norman Scott of Canada won the men's event as well as the pairs event with his partner,

Jeanne Chevalier Jeanne Chevalier (March 19, 1892 – December 8, 1984) was a Canadian figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the ...

Theresa Weld Theresa ("Tee") Weld Blanchard (August 21, 1893 – March 12, 1978) was an American figure skater who competed in the disciplines of single skating and pair skating. Her pairs partner was Nathaniel Niles. She has been called the "grande dame" of ...

of the United States won the women's event. No competitions were held from 1915 to 1917 due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and again in 1919. The championships returned in 1920 and have been held continuously since. Men's singles, women's singles, and pair skating have been contested since the championships began. Ice dance was added in 1936, incorporating the waltz, fourteenstep, tango, and foxtrot. A live orchestra provided the music. There were no full cancellations of the championships due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as there had been during World War I; only the senior men's events were cancelled in 1944 and 1945, because all but one of the skaters who would have competed had enlisted in the military. Arthur Preusch II, the only remaining senior men's competitor, instead performed in exhibition. Roughly two weeks after the 1961 U.S. Championships, the airplane carrying most of the U.S. national team to the World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

crashed while on approach to

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...

in Belgium. All passengers on board

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, kill ...

were killed, including all of the recently crowned U.S. champions: men's champion

Bradley Lord Bradley Lord (August 22, 1939 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles. He finished fourth at the 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships and then placed sixth at that year's World Figure Sk ...

, women's champion

Laurence Owen Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen (; May 9, 1944 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth. She was the ...

, pairs champions

Maribel Owen Maribel Yerxa Owen (April 25, 1940 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She was the daughter of skaters Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of 1961 U.S. Ladies' Champion Laurence Owen. With pairs partner Dudley ...

and

Dudley Richards Dudley "Dud" Shaw Richards (February 4, 1932 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles and pairs. In singles, he won the bronze medal at the 1953 United States Figure Skating Championships and finished ...

, and ice dance champions

Diane Sherbloom Diane Carol "Dee Dee" Sherbloom (September 21, 1942 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in ice dance. Previously paired with Roger Campbell, she had no intentions of competing at the 1961 United States Figure Skatin ...

and Larry Pierce. Nine-time U.S. champion and coach Maribel Vinson-Owen, mother of both Laurence and Maribel, was on the flight as well. Also killed were men's silver medalist

Gregory Kelley Gregory Eric "Greg" Kelley (May 19, 1944 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles. He won the junior title at the 1959 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and finished ninth at the 1960 World Figure Ska ...

, women's silver medalist

Stephanie Westerfeld Stephanie "Steffi" Westerfeld (October 8, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. Stephanie was the younger daughter of Otto and Myra Westerfeld. Her older sister, Sharon, was also a competitive ice skater but had retired. He ...

, women's bronze medalist

Rhode Lee Michelson Rhode Lee Michelson (March 9, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She placed third at the 1961 U.S. Championships, earning her the chance to compete a month later at the World Championships. A hip injury forced Rhode to ...

, pairs silver medalists

Ila Ray Hadley Ila Ray Hadley (September 18, 1942 – February 15, 1961), was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and ice dance with her brother Ray Hadley, Jr. Hadley was born in Renton, Washington to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty ...

and

Ray Hadley Jr. Ray Ellis Hadley Jr. (October 6, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and ice dance with his sister Ila Ray Hadley. Hadley was born in Seattle, Washington to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty ...

, pairs bronze medalists Laurie Hickox and William Hickox, ice dance silver medalists Dona Lee Carrier and Roger Campbell, and ice dance bronze medalists Patricia Dineen and Robert Dineen, in addition to fourteen family members, coaches, and skating officials who were accompanying the team. Out of respect, the 1961 World Championships were cancelled the next day. Beginning with the 1988 U.S. Championships, pewter medals have been awarded to the fourth-place finishers in each event.

Compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

, which had been a required element of men's and women's single skating since the championships began, were retired after the 1990 U.S. Championships, although they continued as a separate event for men and women from 1991 to 1999, when they were retired altogether. On January 6, 1994, one day before she was scheduled to compete at the 1994 U.S. Championships,

Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skating, figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 19 ...

was struck above the knee by an assailant wielding a baton, and was forced to withdraw from the competition. Subsequent investigations determined that the assailant had been hired by the ex-husband of fellow skater

Tonya Harding Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater and boxer, and reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons w ...

, with the intention of preventing Kerrigan from competing at the U.S. Championships and the upcoming

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

. Although Harding had originally won the women's event at the 1994 U.S. Championships,

later stripped her of that title. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the 2021 U.S. Championships were still held, albeit in a sealed arena with no live audience present. The sound of an audience was piped into the arena, seats were filled with fan cutouts, and the athletes' friends and families could be seen cheering them on via strategically-placed monitors. Three days after the 2025 U.S. Championships, a group of twenty-eight skaters, coaches, and family members flying to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, were killed when their airplane collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. Coaches

Evgenia Shishkova Evgenia Vasilievna Shishkova (; 18 December 1972 – 29 January 2025) was a Russian figure skating coach and competitor. With her husband Vadim Naumov, she was the 1994 world champion and the 1995–96 Champions Series Final champion. Shishk ...

and

Vadim Naumov Vadim Vladimirovich Naumov (; 7 April 1969 – 29 January 2025) was a Russian pair skater. With his wife Evgenia Shishkova, he was the 1994 world champion and the 1995–96 Champions Series Final champion. Naumov died on 29 January 2025, w ...

, the parents of U.S. skater Maxim Naumov, who had just won the pewter medal in the senior men's event, were among those killed.

Qualifying

Qualification for the U.S. Championships begins at one of nine regional competitions. The regions are New England, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Upper Great Lakes, Eastern Great Lakes, Southwestern, Northwest Pacific, Central Pacific, and Southwest Pacific. The top four finishers in each regional advance to one of three sectional competitions (

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, and

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

). Skaters who place in the top four at sectionals advance to the U.S. Championships. Skaters can also receive

byes In cricket, a bye is a type of extra. It is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batter and the ball has not hit the batter's body. Scoring byes Usually, if the ball passes the batter without being deflected, th ...

to the competition. Skaters can earn the right at the U.S. Championships without qualifying through a sectional championship by accomplishing any of the following: # Placing first through fifth in each discipline at the previous U.S. Championships at the senior level # Winning a medal at the previous

(e.g., the 2009 World Championships were the previous World Championships for the 2010 U.S. Championships) # Winning a medal at the previous

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

(e.g., the 2006 Winter Olympics were the previous Olympic Games for the 2010 U.S. Championships) # Qualifying for the

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final – originally known as the Champions Series Final – is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). It is the culminating event of the Grand Prix Series. Meda ...

Regions and sections

* Eastern Section **

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont ** North Atlantic: New Jersey; New York;

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

** South Atlantic: Delaware; District of Columbia; Florida; Georgia; Maryland; North Carolina; Pennsylvania (excluding Erie); South Carolina; Virginia; West Virginia;

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

* Midwestern Section ** Eastern Great Lakes: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan (

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

), Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee (excluding Chattanooga) ** Southwestern: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas (including

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

and

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

), Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas City ** Upper Great Lakes: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan (

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

), Minnesota, Missouri (excluding Kansas City and St. Joseph), North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin * Pacific Coast Section ** Central Pacific:

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah ** Northwest Pacific: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming ** Southwest Pacific: Arizona,

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

The Championship Series

During the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

and 2021–22 seasons, the traditional qualification system was replaced with the Championship Series due to the impact of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on figure skating. The 2021 U.S. Championship Series took place in a virtual format from November 10 through December 6. The top scorers from the series in junior and senior men's singles, women's singles, and pair skating, as well as junior ice dance, advanced to the 2021 U.S. Championships. All senior ice dance teams who registered for the in-person qualifying season also advanced to the championships. The 2022 U.S. Championship Series was a series of eight competitions held from October 4 through November 20.

National Qualifying Series

Beginning with the 2022–23 season, regional competitions were combined to form a series of competitions running from mid-July to early October: the National Qualifying Series. Skaters with the top scores within the National Qualifying Series then qualify for a National Qualifying Series Finals competition ( Pacific Coast Sectional Finals, Eastern Sectional Finals, Midwestern Sectional Finals, U.S. Ice Dance Finals, or U.S. Pairs Finals). The top juvenile, intermediate, and top novice skaters are invited to the National High Performance Development Camp, while top novice, junior, and senior skaters advance to the U.S. Championships.

Senior medalists

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Junior medalists

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Compulsory figures

Competitions in

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

were held for the last time at the 1999 U.S. Championships in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Men's figures (senior level)

Women's figures (senior level)

Men's figures (junior level)

Women's figures (junior level)

Records

References

External links

U.S. Figure Skating

U.S. Figure Skating: Champions of the United States

U.S. National Championships
at Skating Scores {{National Figure Skating Championships

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Figure skating in the United States