Unique Competition on Black Ice Blends Skating with Fine and Decorative Art

Event Will Include Brushes to Blades of Steel Pop-up Museum, Free to the Public

The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) announces that the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships (WFFSC) will return to the Olympic Center in Lake Placid for the third consecutive year on October 8 through 12, 2025. The event will include art exhibitions as well as team and individual competitions, and more. All skating performances and art exhibits are open to the public with complimentary admission.

This international skating event blends the sport of figures and fancy skating with fine art, including performance, decorative, and recording arts, to offer a unique combination of a world-class skating competition and cultural celebration with a festival atmosphere. The not-for-profit World Figure Sport Society (WFSS) was founded in 2015. At the same time, the first-ever World Figure Championship on black ice was held at the historic Olympic Center in Lake Placid. WFSS’s Skating Hall of Fame was also launched that same year, with Dick Button, who famously trained in Lake Placid under coach Gustave Lussi, among many skating legends attending the induction ceremony. This is the third year WFSS is bringing the World Championship event back to Lake Placid, establishing the Olympic Village as the event’s home.

“We are honored and proud to host this remarkable event once again,” says Chadd Cassidy, Olympic Center General Manager and Vice President of Legacy Venues Operations. “This is a unique competition over five days that blends the athleticism of skating with artistry both on and off the ice. That the competitors will perform on black ice elevates this event further, making it both unique and historic and a very fitting event for Lake Placid.”

Olympic skater and WFSS President Karen Courtland Kelly says, “Lake Placid is the home of the Miracle on Ice and home to this new miracle on ice, which is our worldwide cultural, art, sport, and goodwill movement. Our stage is a crystalline stage, one on which skating artists from across the globe come to create beauty together, inspiring the world through fine arts, performing arts, and decorative and recording arts.”

Kelly defines the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships as both a fine art festival and a skating competition in one. “This is an event unlike any other because it elevates and unites skating and art in unprecedented ways,” she says. “It’s the only place one can see competitors blend modern skating techniques with the historic art of fancy figures as they etch patterns on the black ice with their skate blades, just as an artist would do with a pencil or brush.”

Kelly also notes that World Figure Sport welcomes skaters of all ages and abilities, including those with any type of disability, creating an environment in which she says, “anyone can learn to combine the art of skating with art and strive to become a virtuoso and champion.”

In addition to the competition on black ice, the event also includes these features:

      • WFSS’s Brushes to Blades of Steel pop-up museum – open 9 am to 8:45 pm and free to the public throughout the five-day event in Lake Placid. The exhibit celebrates the history and contemporary artistry of figure and fancy skating, particularly the specialized “Black Ice” skating art form.
      • Competitor practice sessions and the filming of competitors and their work on black ice.
      • Skating experiences on black ice with private lessons, workshops for all ages and levels run for 5 days from Wednesday, October 8th to Sunday, October 12th – coaching and ice fees apply.
      • Second Round Worlds Creative Artworks begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. with Fancy Skating Finals from 7 to 9 pm.
      • Inclusive skating is available for all ages and levels, and anyone with any type of disability, including wheelchairs, may take part.
      • World Junior Figure and Fancy Skating Championships (through age 21) are on Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm, culminating in a Juniors Red Carpet Award Ceremony.
      • The International Open for Adults is also on Sunday afternoon.
      • The finale is the Crystal Skating Ball party on Sunday, beginning at 7 pm.

New this year are two important program additions:

      • A Team Fancy Skating Championship with teams of two to 16 participants performing in harmony on black ice. This competition takes place on Sunday, with organizers expecting new choreography set to music to produce new visual effects on the ice.
      • An art contest and gallery featuring submissions related to the following types of art: classical skating, contemporary skating, classical any genre, and any contemporary genre. Artists working in all mediums are encouraged to submit their works prior to the event. Visit this World Figure Sport web page for details on how to submit works of art: https://worldfiguresport.org/gallery-contest/.

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 strives to raise awareness and understanding of the art of skating while also supporting the development of skating artists of all ages and all levels.”

Spectator Admission to the competition at the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships is free of charge, with the exception of the Black Ice Experiences with officials and champions. These are arranged onsite in the 1932 Rink, as well as private skating lessons and workshops on black ice. More event information is available on the Lake Placid Olympic Center website.

Details on all event happenings are available here on the WFSS website. Even though Tickets are free for spectators, attendees should confirm their tickets in advance with this link. Donations are accepted at the door and online at the World Figure Sport website to support the work of the not-for-profit WFSS, including this annual event and skating scholarships.

Media contact: Jaime Collins, [email protected]