Wichita, Kansas, has emerged as a prominent host city for figure skating competitions, attracting athletes, fans, and significant economic benefits to the region. This article delves into the various figure skating events held in Wichita, highlighting the championships, athletes, and the overall impact on the city.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates at the 2022 World Championships
U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held from January 20 to 26, 2025, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels. These championships also served as selection criteria for the 2025 Four Continents Championships, 2025 World Championships, and 2025 World Junior Championships.
Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek said that the Championships would be held in Wichita and in the state of Kansas. Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland noted that Figure Skating’s selection of Wichita to host this prestigious competition is an honor for the entire state. Champions were crowned in Wichita in the women’s, men’s, pairs and ice dance events at both the junior and senior levels.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships have the potential for significant economic impact on Wichita, as past events have generated an estimated $8 million in host markets. Figure Skating Championships is not only a win in terms of local economic impact for Wichita but will also be seen by a national audience and will provide a great experience for locals and people in the region,” Howell said.
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Josh Howell, vice president of sports development at Visit Wichita, stated that Figure Skating has selected Wichita as host to this event for the third time. Susie Santo, president and CEO at Visit Wichita, added that they are excited to welcome Figure Skating to the Heart of the Country.
Key Events and Performances
At the senior level:
- Ilia Malinin won the men's event.
- Amber Glenn won the women's event.
- Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov won the pairs event.
- Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the ice dance event.
Ilia Malinin successfully landed a record six quadruple jumps during his free skate, but fell on his quadruple loop. He finished with an overall score 46.82 points higher than silver medalist Andrew Torgashev. Andrew Torgashev won the silver medalist after two excellent performances. Camden Pulkinen won the bronze medal for the second year in a row.
Amber Glenn defeated silver medalist Alysa Liu by a margin of just 1.46 points, which was the second-narrowest victory in the history of the women's event. Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov ended up winning the competition, rallying back from third place with a new personal best in the free skate. Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman also scored a new personal best in the free skate to win the silver medals.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates won their sixth championship title in ice dance, tying the record held by Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Chock and Bates scored nearly 13 points more than silver medalists Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko. Carreira and Ponomarenko won the silver medals for the second year in a row.
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In the junior category:
- Lorenzo Elano won the gold medal in the junior men's event.
- Sophie Joline Von Felten won the junior women's title.
- Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy won the gold medals in junior pairs.
- Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin won the junior ice dance title.
Lorenzo Elano ended up winning the gold medal despite finishing second in both the short program and free skate. Aleksandr Fegan, who won the bronze medal in the junior men's event in 2024, won the silver medal.
Sophie Joline Von Felten delivered a stunning free skate to win the junior women's title. In the process, she also became the first American woman to successfully perform a quadruple Salchow in competition. Skylar Lautowa-Peguero finished in second place after successfully performing seven triple jumps in her free skate. Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy outscored their previous personal best by over 25 points to win the gold medals. Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin won the junior ice dance title. Siblings Elliana and Ethan Peal scored a new total score personal best of 153 points to win the silver medals.
Figure Skating announced their representatives to the 2025 World Championships, 2025 Four Continents Championships, and 2025 World Junior Championships on January 25 and 26, 2025.
Midwestern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships
Wichita, Kansas was selected for a third time to host the Midwestern Skating Championships. President Jolene Taylor of the Wichita Figure Skating club says she is proud to bring this qualifying event back to Wichita. "The Wichita Figure Skating Club is excited to have been awarded the Midwestern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships in 2024.
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To continue growing synchronized skating and provide better opportunities, the Pacific Coast Sectional Championships will be held separate from the Midwest Sectional Championships for the first time since 2006.
A synchronized skating team performing
Economic Impact
The competition will attract more than 127 teams, 1,800 athletes and 350-plus coaches and team personnel to Wichita. In total, the athletes, coaches, competition organizers and fans will generate more than $2.7 million in local economic impact.
Judging and Scoring System
For the 2024-2025 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance - such as jumps, spins, and lifts - were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution. The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, an average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total element score.
At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on three program components - composition, presentation, and skating skills - and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.
Tickets and Additional Information
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in individual sessions, all sessions and weekend passes. Reservations for the exclusive Boitano's Lounge, a ticketed off-ice event featuring meet-and-greet opportunities with athletes, food and curated cocktails by Olympic Champion Brian Boitano, are also available.
Single-Session Tickets are for one discipline on a single day. Weekend Tickets include tickets for all six individual championship sessions Friday through Sunday. All-Session Tickets include tickets for all 17 individual sessions Tuesday through Sunday. All-Session Tickets with Junior Session Opt-out include tickets for all eight championship level events.
Additional information regarding the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita can be found at www.visitwichita.com/usfs-championships.
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