2026 U.S. Nationals - St. Louis!

At the airport for my flight home. My Uber driver described in vivid detail how her kids are sick with the flu and were up all night puking. I guess I shouldn't have asked her how she was. Glad I had a mask on. At least she found the hotel and got me here without taking me into the next state.

But anyway, it was a great week of skating! Nats is always my favorite event....hard to believe it's been 25 years since I attended my first one in 2001 (this year was my 16th). While there are always heartbreaking moments, esp in an Olympic year (Jason... 😭 ), it is always a joy to watch skaters give their best performances and feed off the energy in the arena. The final groups of women, dance and men (except Jason :() put this Nats up there with the best....thank you, skaters!

Now back to the real world for a few more weeks, and then Milan!
 
This was my first skating competition in many years and first domestic event (I'd say first event ever, but I did attend a 4CC's in Taipei years ago); I have to say, skating fans are so nice! Everyone was so polite and easy to navigate with/around in the arena, at the hotel and walking in the city. I'm not an overly outgoing person and I found myself having conversations with literally everyone I sat next to, walked with, etc. Also as a female attending alone, I appreciated that it was easy to find clusters of people to walk back to the hotel with.

The skating was also great! Jason broke my heart but there were so many good moments as well.
 
Many thanks to @Wyliefan for posting this Jan. 11th St. Louis Public Radio photo story by Brian Munoz in the 2026 U.S. Nationals forum that should be cross-posted here, IMO :) - America's top figure skaters dazzled St. Louis. I left with a new love for the sport.: https://www.npr.org/sections/the-pi...st-louis-i-left-with-a-new-love-for-the-sport
As with any assignment that drops me into an unfamiliar world [...] I approach my assignment with a deep sense of curiosity. When I meet someone new, I tend to pepper them with the same questions: What should a newcomer know? How long have you been doing this? What do you love most about it?
The skaters, staff, volunteers and fans were generous in indulging me. What I found was a community that is fiercely competitive — and deeply loving.
Click to expand...
 
I attended the sessions on Friday and Saturday and really enjoyed it. Having attended Boston Worlds last year as well, there was some interesting comparisons.

I live close enough to St Louis that I could drive in - the arena area was pretty easy to access, and there was plenty of inexpensive parking nearby. There wasn't a ton of places to eat near the arena (at least not in the fast casual price range I was looking for), but luckily I had my car. I didn't eat anything in the arena, so can't comment on that. Although I did not like how they split up the free skates, the schedule did make it easy to get into the arena for each session (much better than Boston).

I liked the added touches that have been implemented since last year--the skater introductions, LED screens, etc. I also enjoyed Adam as a post-skate interviewer and Rusty co-host (honestly he was much better than Ashley & Ben last year). I was also very impressed with the crowd size - 15,000+ on Friday night and 13,000+ Saturday per the press conference from yesterday. Of course part of that was being the Olympic year, but I wonder if enough momentum could be built to get St Louis in a regular Nationals rotation. There is a smaller arena nearby that could be an option if USFS doesn't want to pay for Enterprise Center.
 
Spikefan said:
I ran into Adam and told him I thought he was doing awesome in the KnC. He was glad to hear he was setting the right tone. I plan to let USFS know they were great and everyone around me enjoyed them.
Click to expand...

Adam’s sense of humor and quick wit worked so well for the situation, and he did such a great job even when an athlete had a less than ideal skate. It wasn’t cringe at all.

Now can we get Ben in front of a camera or on air somewhere more important than the world feed into the void? He’s also a natural on the camera and such a warm presence.
 
Spikefan said:
I ran into Adam and told him I thought he was doing awesome in the KnC. He was glad to hear he was setting the right tone. I plan to let USFS know they were great and everyone around me enjoyed them.
Click to expand...

That's great! I wish I had taken the fan survey they were promoting, but I never scanned the QR code. I'm hoping they'll send out an email follow-up soon asking for feedback.
 
Arrived home from St. Louis today and still in awe! This was my third Olympic year nationals (06, 22, 26) and mom’s 5th (88, 92, 06, 22, 26).
By far our best experience with a venue and the skating felt so magical. Loved getting to meet @YukiNieve who was in our row and all the other amazing skating fans. This community of hard core fans is truly amazing! Max, Jacob, Emi & Vadym, and our favorite up and comer Emilia Nemirovsky really stole the show. Cannot wait to do it all again.
 
Mom and I made it home safely last night (I had to work today which was a SUPER long day since I didn't get to sleep until 1 AM.... :yawn: ) and thankfully mom got some answers regarding the back/hip issues that plagued her during our time in St. Louis (arthritis which caused a pinched nerve that caused all the pain). We still had an awesome time and I got to see a whole bunch of my skating friends during the week which was super fun. :cheer:

Highlights for me in St. Louis:

Skating - The entire last flights of ladies in both the SP and LP, my two favorite pairs making the Olympic team (Danny is finally an Olympian!! :cheer: ), the entire last flight of FDs (I also loved the Browns FD in the penultimate group), Ilia still being awesome even with less of his usual technical content, MAX NAUMOV (cue me sobbing in the stands at the Gala event thing when we all figured out that he'd made the Olympic team :wuzrobbed), Torg's FS which was SOOO good, Jacob Sanchez is absolutely a star in the making (his mom got kicked out of a seat right before the gala because they finally sold a ticket for the seat, LOL :lol: ), and I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but honestly, I thought the crowd was super supportive and energetic towards everyone which was really fun to experience with the huge crowds that turned out for the event. We had a great group around us so that made it even more entertaining for me. I also enjoyed Rusty a lot more here than in past Nats while Adam hit just the right tone with the competitors for his live interviews in the K&C which was a nice change after Ashley broke my eardrums in Lake Placid. :eek:

Outside the Arena - We took some time to go over to the Arch (we didn't go up due to my mom's back issues but she and I are going to go back to St. Louis this summer for a Reds-Cardinals game so we'll go up then), Union Station Park was fun to walk through since they still had their Cmas decorations up there and we rode the Wheel one day which was very cool (thankfully we had sun that day!), we went out to the Missouri Historical Museum one morning which was really cool and I loved learning more about the 1904 World's Fair, we had a fabulous time at the Drury Inn at Union Station (they were very accommodating and helpful for us aside from the two times I was trying to get an Uber and they didn't have any alternatives) and the Italian restaurant downstairs was FABULOUS even though it was a bit pricy. Overall we enjoyed our time in St. Louis and I though they did a pretty great job with this event. I wish the food in the arena had been a little less pricy but everything I had there was good (that Enterprise Shake that the Shake Shack was selling during the week was SOOOOO good!) and I was happy that they had a decent amount of variety there. :)
 
Both the inbound and outbound flights were delayed, but I had a really great time.

The US Nationals is always a great reunion for all of us (hi @Flip Jump), and this was one of the best I've attended.

Highs:
- The event's organization. Security was reasonable, and the event staff I met were all friendly. I can't remember when, but in the past, there were events where there wasn't even a USFS booth. This time, there were lots of free skate-related goodies in many booths: Skating magazines, trading cards of skaters, wrist bands, etc. The collaboration with Build-a-Bear was nice, too. There were signs of the event in the airport, on the streets, and in the hotels (even the "do not disturb" signs had a skater photo!).

- Skating! Do I need to say anything more about that? There were both superb and heartbreaking moments, but every skater made me proud of their performance.

- I was glad that they brought back DJ Romeo and Rusty. They were entertaining and professional. Adam also did a great job, as he seemed to have researched the skaters beforehand.

Not-So-Highs:
- While this is not unique to this venue, most of the food was carbs and fried food, which was hard on my stomach. The lack of grocery stores within short walking distance of the main rink or the hotel added to the challenge.

- The venue for junior events was nice and had a nice cafeteria, but it was a bit too far. It cost us $40-$50 each way to get there and come back.

But overall, this US Nationals is something that I will remember for a long time!
 
YukiNieve said:
Both the inbound and outbound flights were delayed, but I had a really great time.

The US Nationals is always a great reunion for all of us (hi @Flip Jump), and this was one of the best I've attended.

Highs:
- The event's organization. Security was reasonable, and the event staff I met were all friendly. I can't remember when, but in the past, there were events where there wasn't even a USFS booth. This time, there were lots of free skate-related goodies in many booths: Skating magazines, trading cards of skaters, wrist bands, etc. The collaboration with Build-a-Bear was nice, too. There were signs of the event in the airport, on the streets, and in the hotels (even the "do not disturb" signs had a skater photo!).

- Skating! Do I need to say anything more about that? There were both superb and heartbreaking moments, but every skater made me proud of their performance.

- I was glad that they brought back DJ Romeo and Rusty. They were entertaining and professional. Adam also did a great job, as he seemed to have researched the skaters beforehand.

Not-So-Highs:
- While this is not unique to this venue, most of the food was carbs and fried food, which was hard on my stomach. The lack of grocery stores within short walking distance of the main rink or the hotel added to the challenge.

- The venue for junior events was nice and had a nice cafeteria, but it was a bit too far. It cost us $40-$50 each way to get there and come back.

But overall, this US Nationals is something that I will remember for a long time!
Click to expand...

Food was the only downside for me too. I was so excited for the arena Shake Shack the first day and the burger was ice cold 😭 The best thing I had at the arena was the breakfast sandwich on Saturday morning. I missed having a quick sandwich/salad place near the arena or hotel. The schedule made it hard to have time for sit down dining.
 
According to this interview, St Louis has already decided to get in the mix for 2030 Nationals. I may be remembering wrong, but I think Boston is interested too.

www.stlmag.com

The 314 Podcast: Can St. Louis Compete? ft. Marc Schreiber, St. Louis Sports Commission

As the U.S. Figure Skating Championships come to St. Louis, the head of the St. Louis Sports Commission makes his case for how the city can become a top-tier sports destination.
www.stlmag.com www.stlmag.com
 
Ross H said:
According to this interview, St Louis has already decided to get in the mix for 2030 Nationals. I may be remembering wrong, but I think Boston is interested too.

www.stlmag.com

The 314 Podcast: Can St. Louis Compete? ft. Marc Schreiber, St. Louis Sports Commission

As the U.S. Figure Skating Championships come to St. Louis, the head of the St. Louis Sports Commission makes his case for how the city can become a top-tier sports destination.
www.stlmag.com www.stlmag.com
Click to expand...
If its Boston, would it be the TD Garden or Skating Club of Boston.
 
Sylvia said:
Many thanks to @Wyliefan for posting this Jan. 11th St. Louis Public Radio photo story by Brian Munoz in the 2026 U.S. Nationals forum that should be cross-posted here, IMO :) - America's top figure skaters dazzled St. Louis. I left with a new love for the sport.: https://www.npr.org/sections/the-pi...st-louis-i-left-with-a-new-love-for-the-sport
Click to expand...
Brian Munoz also has a gallery of 180+ photos - all 4 disciplines from Sunday's exhibition performances back to the Pairs SP (first event on Wednesday), including shots of fans/audience members:
www.stlpr.org

Photos: U.S. Figure Skating Championships brings mastery to the Enterprise Center ice

The country's top figure skaters are going toe to toe for a chance to land a spot in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics next month. Check out the scene from inside one of the country's largest figure skating stages.
www.stlpr.org www.stlpr.org

A selection of 20 photos from the gallery above are posted jointly on his and St. Louis Public Radio's Instagram accounts:
www.instagram.com

St. Louis Public Radio on Instagram: "Glittering costumes. Blades tapping in rhythm. Unmatched athleticism on ice. The U.S. Figure Skating Championships have brought a who’s who of American figure skating to St. Louis for the first time in 20 years.

stlpublicradio on January 9, 2026: "Glittering costumes. Blades tapping in rhythm. Unmatched athleticism on ice. The U.S. Figure Skating Championships have brought a who’s who of American figure skating to St. Louis for the first time in 20 years. The competition is the final major event...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
Kudos to St. Louis Public Radio for their excellent coverage of Nationals last week - their final article Figure skating put St. Louis in the national spotlight — and lit a spark for the future includes a linked podcast conversation (18:40 in length) among Elaine Cha, host/producer of “St. Louis on the Air,” executive producer Alex Heuer, and photographer Brian Munoz about the latter two's first-hand impressions of the championships:
www.stlpr.org

Figure skating put St. Louis in the national spotlight — and lit a spark for the future

From 10-year-old sweepers to Olympic hopefuls, the multiday competition in St. Louis felt bigger than a competition.
www.stlpr.org www.stlpr.org

Munoz talked about aiming to capture "emotion, color, moments, shapes" in his photos (he cited one of his favorite images was from a program to Madonna's "Vogue" - presumably Bratti/Somerville's RD, his 2nd photo in the Instagram post linked above, as well as the challenges of photographing Ilia's backflip when he didn't know when it was coming) - 10 more of his photos taken on Sunday, Jan. 11:
www.instagram.com

Brian Munoz on Instagram: "The 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Team is named. #OnAssignment for @npr and @stlpublicradio"

brianmmunoz on January 15, 2026: "The 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Team is named. #OnAssignment for @npr and @stlpublicradio".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
Munoz also gave a shout out to both Sonja Hilmer who "recorded the sound of her choreography on the ice & overlaid it to her [SP] music so that was really creative" and Puerto Rican-American Jacob Sanchez who spoke to the media afterwards "on the importance of representation" in figure skating.

Excerpt from the end of the article:
Pauline Lee and Igor Lisovsky attended the championships together. Both have lived in the St. Louis area for more than two decades. Lee competed in the 1988 Olympics for Taiwan, and Lisovsky is a former Soviet pair skater who won the world championship in 1981.
Lisovsky, who teaches in the Learn to Skate programs at Maryville University Hockey Center and Creve Coeur Ice Arena, said the event is likely to increase the sport’s popularity in the St. Louis area.
“Maybe we're going to find some good skaters who are going to compete in a few years in the U.S. nationals,” he said.
St. Louis, he said, has the makings of a great ice skating town. It has the rinks — and the coaches.
“It’s just, I think, it's management of ice rinks,” Lisovsky said. “They're more direct for hockey and not very welcome to figure skaters. If they would open the door a little bit more for figure skaters, it would be a lot higher results for St. Louis figure skaters.”
“To have such an important and big athletic event right before the Olympics, I think it builds up a lot of energy for the city of St. Louis,” she said.
Noting that the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were in St. Louis two decades ago in advance of the Olympics in Turin, Italy, Lee said she hopes the championships can return in 10 years.
“And I think in St. Louis, [maybe] we can look back on today and think that this was the beginning of St. Louis being a great figure skating city,” she said.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Excerpt from Reisinger's Substack post: "(Sadly one skater I did not bump into throughout the week was Erica Machida/YN, a former collegiate skater who was making their U.S. nationals debut and did their short program to a pair of Chappell Roan songs. Hopefully I’ll get to see them skate at another event in the future.)"

Machida was interviewed after their Turandot FS - first skater in this video:
www.instagram.com

Skating Stan on Instagram: "Game recognizes game. I asked skaters at the #prevagenuschamps: Who is your skating idol? ⛸️❤️ Watch to hear their responses! #figureskating #iceskating #olympics"

270 likes, 2 comments - fs.skatingstan on January 19, 2026: "Game recognizes game. I asked skaters at the #prevagenuschamps: Who is your skating idol? ⛸️❤️ Watch to hear their responses! #figureskating #iceskating #olympics".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Similar threads

victorskid
Skate Canada has announced 4CC & Jr Worlds teams
Replies
18
Views
2K
RoseRed
RoseRed
TanithandBenFan
Stars on Ice Spring 2026 Tour - U.S. and Canada
2
Replies
46
Views
6K
victorskid
victorskid
Sylvia
Club / Local Ice Shows, Special Events & Benefits - Winter 2025 into 2026 edition
Replies
4
Views
991
Sylvia
Sylvia
Sylvia
Russian figure skating news in 2026
Replies
20
Views
3K
rfisher
rfisher
Sylvia
2025 Skate Canada Int'l in Saskatchewan & 2026 Canadians in Gatineau QC
2 3 4
Replies
119
Views
21K
fan
fan
Back
Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information