The Skating Club of Boston is a not-for-profit

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 ...

based in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

. Founded in 1912, it is one of the oldest skating clubs in the United States, and a founding member of

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 ...

, the governing body for the sport in the United States. The Club's mission is to advance participation, education and excellence in skating for people of all ages, abilities and means. The Club has over 800 active members and offers a variety of programs for the public, reaching another 2,000 children and adults. The club built its own rink in

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as " ...

in 1938 and remained there until moving to the Norwood facility in 2020. In addition, in a public private partnership with the City of Boston's Parks & Recreation Department, the Club manages the programming and facilities for The Frog Pond located at

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

on a year-round basis.

Facility

The club's current facility, located on University Avenue in Norwood, Massachusetts, officially opened to the public in September 2020, delayed from June 2020 due to 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 facility features three rinks including the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center, a 2,500-seat Olympic-sized arena named for the Olympic champion and Club member. Two of the club's three rinks are used exclusively for figure skating, a rarity as most skating rinks are shared between figure skating and hockey. In addition to the ice surfaces, the club's facility is home to a gym, sports rehabilitation and off-ice conditioning center, dance studio, café, and academic center. Also within the facility is Home Ice, a store for skate fitting, sharpening, and apparel.

Club activities

Like many other skating clubs in North America, The Skating Club of Boston includes many social and volunteer activities along with skater development and athlete training. These include special dinners acknowledging volunteers, awards banquets celebrating skater achievements and competitions, and special exhibitions supporting community programs and athlete development. The Club supports a junior activities program encouraging leadership and community activities with its junior members. The Boston Open is held annually in September and attracts skaters from across New England. Every spring the club showcases its many talented skaters in

Ice Chips O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album ''Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popula ...

, the longest continuous run of any skating carnival in the world. In addition to the skaters training for local, national, and world competitions, the Club programming includes several of its own

Theatre On Ice Ice Theatre (also known as Theatre on Ice, TOI, and Ballet on Ice) is a branch of figure skating that merges technical jumps and spins with choreography, ice dancing, pairs moves, synchronized skating, and theater to tell a story or act out an ...

teams and provides a high performance skating program for youth interested in accelerated training, both on and off the ice. The club is affiliated with Team Excel, a

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 ...

organization. The Club has hosted the

United States Figure Skating Championships The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organized by U.S. Figure Skating to crown the national champions of the United States. The first U.S. Championships were held in 1914 in New Haven, Connecticut, ...

seven times, most recently in January 2014. In 2016, the Club hosted the ISU

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

, a first for the city of Boston. The Club also hosted the 2011 U.S. U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships and the 2013

ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships (WSSC) are the world championships for the sport of synchronized skating. Held since 2000, the World Synchronized Skating Championships is an annual event organized by the International Skating Union ...

Notable members

A partial list of notable skaters who have trained at or represented The Skating Club of Boston include: Marissa Castelli Simon Shnapir 2013 U

Tenley Albright Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and ...

Sherwin Badger Sherwin Campbell Badger (August 29, 1901 – April 8, 1972) was an American figure skater who competed in singles and pairs. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 29, 1901, and died on April 8, 1972, in Sherborn, Massachusetts. In 1918 ...

* Theresa Weld Blanchard *

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 ...

Juliana Cannarozzo Juliana Cannarozzo (born August 27, 1989) is an American former competitive figure skater and actress. She won two gold medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. Personal life Juliana Cannarozzo was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in ...

Stephen Carriere Stephen Carriere (born June 15, 1989) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2007 World Junior champion, 2006 JGP Final champion, and 2008 U.S. national bronze medalist. During his career, he has won two Grand Prix medals, ...

* Marissa Castelli * Shepherd Clark *

Louann Donovan Louann Donovan (born September 26, 1986) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 Nebelhorn Trophy champion and competed in two World Junior Championships, placing as high as sixth. Career Donovan initially played ice ...

Christina Gao Christina Gao (born March 7, 1994) is an American former figure skater. She is the 2012 Skate America silver medalist, the 2009 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and the 2009 U.S. Junior bronze medalist. Personal life Christina Gao was ...

Lorraine Hanlon Lorraine Hanlon Comanor (born in 1946) is an American retired figure skater who competed in ladies singles. She is the 1963 U.S. national champion. After retiring from ice skating, Hanlon went on to attend medical school and practiced as an anes ...

Emily Hughes Emily Anne Hughes (born January 26, 1989) is an American former figure skater. She is the 2007 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2007 Four Continents silver medalist and 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 2007 U.S. national sil ...

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 ...

Jennifer Kirk Jennifer Anne "Jenny" Kirk (born August 15, 1984) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2000 World Junior champion and the 2002 Four Continents champion. Early life Jennifer Kirk was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Prio ...

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 ...

Emmy Ma Emmy Ma (born January 19, 2001) is a Taiwanese Americans, Taiwanese-American former competitive figure skater. Representing Chinese Taipei, she is the 2021 International Challenge Cup silver medalist and Chinese Taipei Figure Skating Championship ...

Jimmy Ma Jimmy Ma (born October 11, 1995) is an American figure skater. He is the 2025 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2025 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, 2021 Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, the 2018 ...

Gretchen Merrill Gretchen Merrill (November 2, 1925 – April 22, 1965) was an American figure skater. Gretchen was a six-time (1943–1948) United States Figure Skating Championships, U.S. national champion and thrice placed second in 1941, 1942 and 1949. S ...

* Mark Mitchell *

Suna Murray Suna Murray (born April 16, 1955, in Tallahassee, Florida) is an American former figure skater. She twice won a bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Murray coaches at the Skating Club ...

Ross Miner Ross Miner (born January 24, 1991) is an American skating coach and retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2012 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents bronze medalist, 2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix, JGP Final bronze med ...

* Nathaniel Niles * Albertina Noyes *

John Misha Petkevich John Misha Petkevich (born March 3, 1949, in Minneapolis) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1971 U.S. national champion and North American champion. He placed 6th at the 1968 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1972 Winter Olympics. His ...

* Simon Shnapir * Yasmin Siraj * Scott Smith * Joan Tozzer * Suzanne Davis * Roger F. Turner *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Paul Wylie Paul Stanton Wylie (born October 28, 1964) is an American figure skater, and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in men's singles skating. Personal life Wylie was born on October 24, 1964, in Dallas, Texas, to Bob Wylie (a geophysicist) and B.L. ...

Notable former coaches at the club include

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 ...

, 1994 ISU World Figure Skating Pair Champions, who were killed in the crash of

American Eagle flight 5342 On January 29, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ700 series, Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 (operated by PSA Airlines as American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle) and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black H ...

, along with teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane and their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane.

Theatre On Ice of Boston

The Skating Club of Boston's Theatre On Ice program proudly supports five full competitive teams. Theatre On Ice is a discipline of skating focusing on originality, costuming, artistry, musicality, and choreography. It promotes the team as a whole and is a great way to learn artistic and performance skating. The adult

ice theatre Ice Theatre (also known as Theatre on Ice, TOI, and Ballet on Ice) is a branch of figure skating that merges technical jumps and spins with choreography, ice dancing, pairs moves, synchronized skating, and theater to tell a story or act out an ...

team, Imagica of Boston, swept the gold medals (in the National Freeskate, International Choreographic Exercise, and International Freeskate events) at the 2008 and 2009 International/National Theatre on Ice competitions, and are the 2013 Nation's Cup Gold Medalists. Imagica of Boston is directed by Tasney Mazzarino. ACT I of Boston, is The Skating Club of Boston's Senior Theatre On Ice team. They are the 2013 U.S. National Theatre on Ice Gold Medal Champions. They have been selected to be one of three U.S. Senior Theatre On Ice teams to represent the U.S in Paris, France at the Nations Cup, International Interclub Ballet On Ice Competition in April 2015. ACT I of Boston is made up of a strong variety of skaters many of which have toured with

Disney On Ice Walt Disney's World on Ice is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. division under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure ska ...

. The Ovation of Boston team consists of skaters 9 years or older, preliminary free skate level and above. Encore of Boston competes across the country, developing their theatrical and performance skating. The Center Stage of Boston team is the 2015 United States National Champions.

The Skating Academy

The Skating AcademyThe Skating Academy
/ref> is the learn-to-skate school operated by The Skating Club of Boston, offering group lessons to children and adults at the Norwood facility with additional programs in several locations, including Brighton,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Beverly,

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...

, Dedham, Foxboro, the Boston Common Frog Pond, Boston’s North End,

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

and

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

. The Academy has over 2,000 students, and utilizes the Basic Skills curriculum of

and

USA Hockey USA Hockey is a national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United S ...

Ice Chips

is The Skating Club of Boston’s annual figure skating show and the longest running club-produced ice show in the world. The show has showcased the world’s most outstanding figure skaters, including national, international and Olympic champions. The show encompasses a cast of over 480 skaters, including singles, pairs, ice dance, synchronized skating teams and Theatre On Ice teams. Since its inception, it has served as a showcase for the best figure skating talent in the world. Ice Chips has paved the way for figure skating shows, bringing figure skating to the forefront of American entertainment and securing Boston as the center of figure skating in the United States. The Skating Club of Boston is proud to have donated revenues from the shows to various charities over the last 80 years including: *

Boston Children’s Hospital Boston Children's Hospital (formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2013) is the main pediatric training and research hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. It is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatric ...

* Make-a-Wish Foundation * Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts

References

The great competitive legacy of the SC of Boston

External links

The Skating Club of Boston's Official Web Site

The Skating Academy's Official Web Site

Team Excel Synchronized Skating

The Boston Common Frog Pond Official Web SiteIce Chips
{{United States figure skating clubs Figure skating clubs in the United States Sports in Boston Clubs and societies in Boston 1912 establishments in Massachusetts Sports organizations established in 1912