The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society is the oldest

figure skating club A figure skating club is a local organization of figure skaters, often centered on a single ice rink. Typical club activities include arranging practice ice time, hosting test sessions and competitions, and producing an annual ice show in which c ...

in the

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 ...

History

The predecessor organization, called "The Skater's Club of the City and County of Philadelphia", was founded in 1849, and merged with the assets of the Humane Society of Philadelphia in 1861. The latter organization was patterned after the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning. Hi ...

; the original purpose of the club was to patrol outdoor skating areas around the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, such as the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

, in order to rescue skaters who had fallen through the ice. Club regulations still require members to carry a reel of stout twine for lifesaving purposes while skating outdoors. In 1921, the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society was one of the seven original clubs which formed the

United States Figure Skating Association 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 ...

. It is one of the few clubs in the United States that owns its own rink, located in

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Ardmore is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) spanning the border between Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery counties in the U.S. ...

, which opened in 1938. Today, the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society retains its traditions of both on and off-ice social events and activities while offering year-round recreational and competitive figure skating. Notable skaters who have represented the club over the years include

Dick Button Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-Euro ...

, Scott Hamilton, and ice dance partners

Kimberly Navarro Kimberly Navarro (born April 26, 1981) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With partner Brent Bommentre, she is the 2008 Four Continents bronze medalist and a two-time (2008 & 2009) U.S. national bronze medalist. Personal life Nav ...

and Brent Bommentre.

Competitions

PSC&HS hosts two annual competitions.

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

in September and Boots and Blades in April. Challenge Cup is a

US 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 an ...

National Qualifying Series event first held in 1982. It includes singles and ice dance events from No Test to Senior levels. Boots and Blades is a non-qualifying competition for skaters at the Snowplow Sam to Preliminary test levels; it also includes solo dance and showcase events. The club periodically hosts the Philadelphia Areas Figure Skating Championships (commonly known as "All-Areas") on behalf of The Association of Philadelphia Area Figure Skating Clubs. The

Eastern Adult Sectional championships were held at PSC&HS in March 2020.

Synchronized skating teams

PSC&HS has several adult and junior

synchronized skating Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork. This complex sport orig ...

teams that compete as Philly Spirit. The three junior teams are known as the Philly Spirit Starlets.

References

External links

*
Philly Spirit Synchronized Skating
{{Authority control Figure skating clubs in the United States Sports venues in Philadelphia 1849 establishments in Pennsylvania Clubs and societies in Philadelphia