2023 World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships in Lake Placid, October 5-8
Experience the fascinating display of compulsory figures and fancy skating at Lake Placid’s historic Jack Shea Arena.
Beth Woronoff’s creative figure at the 2019 World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships in Vail. Photo courtesy: KAREN COURTLAND KELLY/ WORLDFIGURESPORT.ORG
For many years, compulsory figures were an important segment of figure skating competitions and gave the sport its name. They were the circular patterns that skaters traced on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles.
These figures were pivotal to the sport's nomenclature and were a crucial aspect of judging a skater's technical ability. Despite being phased out of competitions in the late 20th century, compulsory figures remain an important foundational skill in figure skating training.
Compulsory figures experience a rebirth.
Peggy Fleming Peggy Fleming peforms compulsory figures in Grenoble, France 1968
Since 2015, with the founding of the World Figure Sport Society and the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships & Festival on black ice, more skaters are training and competing in figures. More coaches are learning the new methods developed by World Figure Sport to teach them to skaters, as some skaters and coaches believe that figures give skaters an advantage in developing alignment, core strength, body control, and discipline.
Lake Placid’s Olympic Center is the perfect home for the revival of this iconic sports competition.
Today, this international skating event blends the sport of figure skating with fine art, including performance, decorative, and recording skills, to offer a unique combination of a world-class skating competition and cultural celebration with a festival atmosphere.
From Thursday, October 5th through Sunday, October 8th, witness four days of exciting World Figure & Fancy Skating events.
According to Olympic skater and WFSS President Karen Courtland Kelly, “It’s unlike any other sporting event because it elevates and unites skating, jewels, and art as never seen before. The World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships is as much a fine art festival as a skating competition.
“During their routines, the artists blend skating techniques with the historic art of fancy figures by etching patterns on the ice with their skate blades, just as another artist would with a pencil or brush, and the patterns they produce are easily seen on the black ice.”
In addition to the competition on black ice, the event also includes these additional features:
Dorothy Hamill’s antique jeweled skate blade exhibition and pop-up museum inside the entrance to the 1932 Jack Shea Arena
Competitor practice sessions and filming of competitors and their work on black ice
Skating experiences on black ice with lessons and workshops for all ages and levels
The Fine Art on Ice World Finals competition is on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., and the Fancy Skating Art of Movement World Finals Saturday evening from 7 to 9 p.m.
World Junior Figure and Fancy Skating Championships (through age 21) on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
Official inclusive skating practice on Sunday morning and after 3:15 p.m. for all ages and levels and anyone with any type of disability, including wheelchairs
Awards ceremony Sunday at 5 p.m.
Crystal Skating Ball and Lake Placid Skaters Reunion beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, featuring the Art of the Olympians Cocktail Party and the Roy Blakey Collection exhibit
Skating legends from the past and performing artists from the present all come together at these Championships for an experience that fuses the historic and contemporary, paving the way for present-day audiences the world over to enjoy figures and fancy skating.
Says Kelly, “The event is a unifying force that brings skaters and artists together in a celebration of culture, art, and sport. The World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships lift the art of skating while also supporting the development of skating artists of all ages, all levels, and all nationalities. Through scholarships, we provide skating experiences for everyone regardless of their life challenges, and in this way, we pass on the skills and knowledge from elite artists to a whole new generation of performers.”
Check out the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships and Festival on Black Ice website for more information.
While you’re there, enjoy these other nearby venues and attractions.
