2025 U.S. Nationals in Wichita, KS & Skate America returns to Allen, TX in 2024

[Sylvia]

USFS' press release today (April 23, 2024):

U.S. Figure Skating Announces 2024-25 U.S. Qualifying Season and International Events Schedule | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

Tickets for 2024 Skate America and the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships will go on sale on the following dates:

U.S. Championships [eta - first time for Nationals ever to be held in in the state of Kansas]:
Thursday, May 16: All-session tickets and hotel packages
Thursday, July 11: Weekend tickets
Thursday, Sept. 19: Championship single-session tickets
Thursday, Dec. 5: Junior single-session tickets

Skate America:
Thursday, June 6: All-session tickets
Thursday, Aug. 1: Single-session tickets


ISU Challenger Series competitions:

2024 Cranberry Cup International (Challenger Series – Singles Only)
Dates: August 8-11, 2024
Location: Norwood, Massachusetts
Venue: Tenley E. Albright Performance Center
Host: The Skating Club of Boston

2024 John Nicks Pairs Challenge International (Challenger Series – Pairs Only)
Dates: Sept. 3-4, 2024
Location: New York, New York
Venue: Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
Host: The Skating Club of New York


Also the 3 final qualifying season competitions were announced:

2025 Eastern Sectional Singles and U.S. Pairs Final
Dates: Nov. 11-17, 2024
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Venue: Tenley E. Albright Performance Center
Host: The Skating Club of Boston

2025 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final
Dates: Nov. 11-17, 2024*
Location: Ogden, Utah
Venue: The Ice Sheet
Host: Wasatch FSC

2025 Midwestern Sectional Singles & U.S. Ice Dance Final
Dates: Nov. 18-24, 2024*
Location: Plano, Texas
Venue: Children's Health StarCenter
Host: Dallas FSC

*The dates of this event will occur within this date range. Exact dates will be finalized closer to the registration deadline.

 

[Rukia]

Well I for one am not complaining about Allen again (although I wonder if that was their original plan).

 

[PRlady]

Well I’m glad I wasn’t planning on going to either.

 

[BlueRidge]

I guess Allen was a good place for SA! Maybe someday I'll go...

 

[Amy L]

SA is a few days earlier than last season, so it won't coincide with my husband's birthday this time. I should really put in an effort to go but gawd I hate planning lol

 

[Baby Yoda On Skates]

And for everyone going to Wichita, I hear the never ending construction on Kellogg finally ended!

 

[sk9tingfan]

Not one single non-stop flights from the NY-NJ-CT airports...

 

[Lanie]

Guess I’m going to Texas and Kansas…

Mini has his fall intercession at the right time, so maybe I will take him with me to SA.

 

[AnnM]

Looks like I'll have extra money to burn in Boston!

 

[Coco]

Cancel those Peoria hotel reservations, lol.

 

[Debbie S]

Well, the Courtyard in Allen is blocked on those dates. Seriously? USFS doesn't need every room in the hotel. So much for convenience.

 

[Karen-W]

Two Challengers - Tallinn Trophy Nov 12-17 and Warsaw Cup Nov 20-24 - fall the same weeks as Sectionals. So, skaters shouldn't expect or hope for assignments to either of those competitions if they have to qualify for Nats through Sectionals/Pairs Final/Ice Dance Final.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I am excited! That is driving distance (will be a long day) for me so I want to go. I drove to Kansas City a few years back and that was not bad at all. Left early and got there well before dark. This is so much easier for me than flying. I live over an hour from the airport so have to take the van and get there EARLY to fly out. It will take all day. Might as well drive.

 

[Frau Muller]

…

U.S. Championships [eta - first time for Nationals ever to be held in in the state of Kansas]:
….

There was a Nationals in Kansas City (Missouri) in 1985. I remember it well!

 

[CassAgain]

USFS/ISU is getting very good at taking my money.

 

[Debbie S]

Sheesh, if USFS was going to go to Kansas, they should have just gone to FL. I mean, it's January. No direct flights, connecting city for SW is either Denver (which seems a tad inefficient) or St. Louis.

 

[Sylvia]

There was a Nationals in Kansas City (Missouri) in 1985. I remember it well!

And more recently in 2017.

ETA:

I am excited!

Glad someone is happy in this thread!

 

[Karen-W]

There was a Nationals in Kansas City (Missouri) in 1985. I remember it well!

Yes - the point still stands - Missouri is not the same state as Kansas, so this is the first time that Nationals are being held in Kansas.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

Maybe I'll go to both Skate America and Nationals. I had planned to go to Skate America last year but had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. Both are within driving distance; Wichita is just over two hours away from me.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I'm fine with Nats in KS if they blast Wichita's finest rock exports, the Embarrassment, in the arena for warm-ups and whatnot.

 

[Carolla5501]

Who had Wichita on their bingo card LOL!

 

[MacMadame]

So much for them being in the same state as each other.

Two Challengers - Tallinn Trophy Nov 12-17 and Warsaw Cup Nov 20-24 - fall the same weeks as Sectionals. So, skaters shouldn't expect or hope for assignments to either of those competitions if they have to qualify for Nats through Sectionals/Pairs Final/Ice Dance Final.

I would say it's the other way around. USFS will send skaters to those events to guarantee they get to Nationals as they have done in the past.

 

[Sylvia]

Promo video: https://twitter.com/VisitWichita/status/1782852049463382368 & https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6HZlpyucbR/

Visit Wichita is a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) - effective and early local marketing (like in Columbus, Ohio) will be the key to filling the seats with local fans:

2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, KS

Get all the details about the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships happening January 20-26, 2025, at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, KS.

www.visitwichita.com

 

[Gayo]

Sheesh, if USFS was going to go to Kansas, they should have just gone to FL. I mean, it's January. No direct flights, connecting city for SW is either Denver (which seems a tad inefficient) or St. Louis.

St. Louis looks like the best bet for us from BWI.

 

[Karen-W]

I would say it's the other way around. USFS will send skaters to those events to guarantee they get to Nationals as they have done in the past.

Not likely. The skaters/teams the USFS wants to guarantee make it to Nats will already have byes - either by Top 5 placement this past season or due to having at least 3 GP/JGP/Challengers already. Best bet - maybe one or two pairs teams get assigned to Warsaw Cup in addition to having to compete at the Pairs Final the week before. There won't be any dance teams assigned to Warsaw Cup and I'd be surprised if any men or women are assigned to Tallinn Trophy or Warsaw Cup unless they already have a Nats bye (ie - Jason Brown or a JGPF qualifier who is senior age-eligible like Sanchez).

 

[Sylvia]

DING DING DING! @once_upon in the original Nationals speculation thread on March 26:

I thought about Wichita since it has hosted US Adult Nationals. But population is ~650,000. It has a smaller airporrt

March 27 in the same thread:

Other Midwest states with multiple large metro areas - Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus) or even Indiana if you count Indianapolis and then the Chicago suburbs on the Indiana side of the state line. Kansas has not just the KC suburbs but also Wichita. Oklahoma is kind of borderline between Midwest and South but there's both Tulsa and OKC.

The 2024 Midwestern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships (hosted by Visit Wichita and the Wichita Figure Skating Club) was held January 24-27 at INTRUST Bank Arena - the arena's website has their 2025 Nationals event page up: https://www.intrustbankarena.com/skating
Also posted on their social media accounts today: https://twitter.com/INTRUSTarena/status/1782848491980521648 & https://www.instagram.com/p/C6HXa3luhk3/

INTRUST Bank Arena

𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧: The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are headed to Wichita January 20 - 26, 2025! U.S. champions will be crowned in Wichita in the women’s, men’s, pairs and ice dance events at...

www.facebook.com

 

[mtnskater]

I’m thinking about Witchita…direct flights from Denver available. Doesn’t sound too exciting, but I thought Columbus might be a dud and it was fantastic from the event venue to the crowds to the nearby excellent restaurants and shopping. Ticket prices better not be outrageous though.

Definitely no to Skate America, but I’ve only really attended when it has been in Colorado Springs

 

[Sylvia]

NBC news station in Wichita has the story+video:

‘This is where Olympians are born,’ Wichita to host U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Visit Wichita announced Tuesday that INTRUST Bank Arena will be hosting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2025.

www.ksn.com

It’s the first time the competition is held in the state of Kansas, and it will be from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26, 2025.
“U.S. Figure Skating’s selection of Wichita to host this prestigious competition is an honor for the entire state,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “While these elite athletes showcase their talent on the ice, Kansas will be on full display to the skating community around the world.”

This 5-minute video (embedded at the bottom of the article) shows USFS CEO Tracy Marek making the announcement in Wichita today: https://www.ksn.com/video/wichita-to-host-u-s-figure-skating-championships/9631293/

ETA:

CBS' local station in Wichita also had a TV news report today with Tracy Marek speaking in the arena:

U.S. Figure Skating Championships coming to Wichita

Visit Wichita and INTRUST Bank Arena will announce that Wichita was selected as a host city for a “prestigious, national sporting event.

www.kwch.com

ABC station in Wichita: https://www.kake.com/story/50703139/wichita-to-host-us-figure-skating-championships

 

[peibeck]

My lied to me!

 

[Frau Muller]

Yes - the point still stands - Missouri is not the same state as Kansas, so this is the first time that Nationals are being held in Kansas.

I wasn’t trying to argue…underlined Missouri. Just finding some joy…and my connection to history! First of Boitano’s four straight sr wins.