Skate America

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: Skate Canada.^[1]

The first iteration of Skate America – then called the Norton Skate – was held at the Olympic Center Arena in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, and was the test event for the 1980 Winter Olympics.^[2] Test events are held prior to the Olympics to test the readiness and infrastructure of the venues to be used.^[3] 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 International Skating Union (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 same skaters whom they would later encounter at the World Championships. This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which was in high demand.^[1] The five qualifying competitions during this inaugural season were the 1995 Nations Cup, the 1995 NHK Trophy, the 1995 Skate America, the 1995 Skate Canada, and the 1995 Trophée de France.^[4] Skaters earned points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were then invited to compete at the Champions Series Final.^[1]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 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 – that is, in a cluster made up exclusively of individuals who have been thoroughly tested and unlikely to spread infection, "quarantined from the population of the city of Las Vegas" – throughout the duration of the event.^[7]

The 2026 Skate America is scheduled to be held from October 22 to 25 in Everett, Washington.^[8]