2024 World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships in Lake Placid, October 9-13
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 essential segment of figure skating competitions, giving the sport its name. Skaters traced the circular patterns on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on circles.
These figures were pivotal to the sport's terminology and crucial to judging a skater's technical ability. Despite being phased out of competitions in the late 20th century, compulsory figures remain a critical foundational skill in figure skating training.
Compulsory figures experience a rebirth.
Peggy Fleming performs compulsory figures in Grenoble, France 1968
Since 2015, when the World Figure Sport Society and the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships & Festival on black ice were founded, more skaters have been 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 creating alignment, core strength, body control, and discipline.
Lake Placid’s Olympic Center is the perfect home for reviving 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, cultural celebration, and festival atmosphere.
From Wednesday, October 9 through Sunday, October 13, witness five 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:
Fine decorative art and recording art exhibit
A day of practice and filming of competitors and their work on black ice
Lessons and workshops for skaters of all levels
Accessible family skating that welcomes people of all abilities
Saturday finals competition
Fancy Sunday evening ball that blends the event’s historical aspects with modernity
Tiffany Awards, bestowing jeweled antique skate blades to winners
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 worldwide to enjoy figures and fancy skating.
Says Kelly, “The event is a unifying force that brings skaters and artists together to celebrate 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 webpage for more information.
