All photos courtesy of Janet Liu

For top U.S. skaters, this season started and will hopefully end in Boston, MA. The past few weeks saw several skating events in the Boston area: Cranberry Cup, the season’s first ISU Challenger Series competition; Champs Camp, the U.S. federation’s high-performance training camp; and Summer Sizzler, a show held to cap off Champs Camp. It’s all a prelude to a much bigger competition next spring: The ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, which will take place March 23-30, 2025.

For U.S. skaters, the stakes will be high at Worlds. It’s the first World Championships in the United States in nine years. A home-country Worlds is an opportunity for once-in-a-lifetime performances and experiences, yet also brings pressure. In addition, this is the all-important pre-Olympic Worlds, which means that team berths for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be on the line. And, for the top skaters, Worlds is their best shot to establish or cement themselves as potential medal contenders for the 2026 Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy. No pressure!!!

So, it’s a pivotal year. Several of the top U.S. stars spoke briefly with reporters last Thursday before the Summer Sizzler show to preview their season. It was evident that next spring’s Worlds and next year’s Olympics are already much on their minds. And the 2024 Summer Olympic Games has only made their Olympic dreams burn brighter.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the top headliners for the Summer Sizzler show, were freshly arrived from Paris, where they participated in the long-delayed official medal ceremony to receive their 2022 Olympic team gold medals. The two-time World champions enjoyed every minute of the experience.

“We weren’t sure if the trip was going to happen. When we got the go-ahead, it’s not something you can pass up,” Bates said. “We had a huge group–our parents, some uncles, my brother and his family, my nieces–and it was amazing. It was better than we could have imagined. The whole [2022] team was back together, for the first time in years. The atmosphere was incredible. It was like the Olympics that we know and love. After the pandemic, with the last two Games, it felt strange, with empty arenas. Being in Paris, it was the Olympic spirit that we’re all familiar with.”

“Seeing all the athletes, and being fully in the spirit, was incredibly infectious,” Chock agreed.

The duo missed most of Champs Camp due to the Paris trip, but were set to show their new programs to USFS officials the day after the Sizzler show. Between the Paris Olympics, off-season ice shows, and, of course, the couple’s sumptuous June wedding in Hawaii, it was challenging to find time to create new programs this season. But they got it done.

“We’ve definitely learned from past seasons, and we optimized all of our days back in Montreal,” Chock said. “Just hit the ground running, as soon as we got back from tour, and started making our new material. I think we’re in a very good place, for this point in the season, and we’re really happy with the programs.”

Chock and Bates weren’t ready yet to announce their music choices, but they did provide some teasers about their free skate. They hinted the new program will be a departure from their conceptual free skates of recent years.

“I think it’s quite different. Without giving away too much, we really focused on bringing something very ‘dancey’ onto the ice,” Bates said. “We wanted to highlight skating skills and go for a really palpable connection. Madi really shines any time she steps on the ice; it’s a natural magnetism to her movement. We wanted to play off that and do something that’s not old-fashioned … but with a twist.” 

“We wanted to capture the sultry nature of dance and highlight our connection,” Chock added.

The duo did not reveal details of their rhythm dance, but Bates voiced general support for  the ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee’s recent “decades” rhythm dance themes. He sees these choices as a great opportunity to connect with audiences. 

“I think the three-year arc is pretty clever. We had ’80s, and now we’re doing 50s/60s/70s, and next year we’re going to do post-Y2K,” Bates said of the recent themes. “I’m really an advocate for innovation and keeping things fresh. We’ve all seen a lot of Latin rhythm dances, or tangos, or rhythms that need to be spruced up a little bit. The Technical Committee has done a good job in keeping it fresh. Especially in an Olympic year, trying to take advantage of the fact that we have more eyeballs on the sport, I think doing post-Y2K is really clever. I think we’ll get some Gen Z, and younger people, to connect with what we’re doing. Music is such a big part of figure skating. Hopefully we’ll grow the sport a little bit by picking some contemporary, current music.”

Chock, 32, and Bates, 35, are veterans in ice dance, with the laurels to prove it. But they still feel they have much left to accomplish.

“There is always something to work on, let me tell you,” Chock said with a smile. “I think for us, it’s the connection. We want to keep fostering that. We know how to compete, how to step out and do the job. Now it’s optimizing that, and seeing how good we can make everything. That’s my number one goal.”

“We’re really big on trying to find every little iota of improvement,” Bates said. “That’s the biggest thing that keeps us coming back to the rink. Putting our brains together and being like, ‘Okay, maybe we could do this better.’ That’s what we really enjoy the most–the process.”

For Ilia Malinin–fresh off winning his first World title in March–it was important to take advantage of downtime after the excitement and pressure of Montreal Worlds. He found  refreshment in doing ice shows around the world during the off-season.

“Doing a lot of shows takes my mind off the competitive [side]. It’s very fun to travel and to just enjoy skating,” Malinin said. “I’m not worried about how I skate, or scoring. It’s more being myself and being open. I was able to cool down and get time off to think about what my plans are for next season–or just completely stop thinking about skating, and regroup.”

Like Chock and Bates, Malinin was inspired by the Paris Olympics. He enjoyed watching several different sports at the Summer Games.

“Watching gymnastics, it was a pretty amazing event,” he said. “And skateboarding. I like to ride around on my skateboard; I wish I was as good as them. It’s very fun to watch them do a lot of cool tricks. And of course, the new addition–break-dancing. I really enjoyed it. A lot of the competitors have their own style, and something unique that they bring. Which is why I take inspiration from break-dancing; I try to incorporate that in my skating.”

Malinin dealt with some injuries during the 2023-24 season, but those seem to be behind him now. He said he is “definitely feeling great” physically as he looks toward the new season. 

The World champion appreciated the chance to have Champs Camp at the Skating Club of Boston, in preparation for Boston Worlds next spring. 

“It was very convenient that Champs Camp is here,” Malinin said. “It’s cool to feel the environment, and get to know people here, and how it might look in the bigger venue.”

Malinin’s goals for the upcoming season are part of a bigger two-year plan, looking toward Milano-Cortina. 

“What’s motivating me this season is wanting to push my limits again, not only in the technical ability, but also in artistry and creativity and trying to really go for all aspects of skating this year, to see what my maximum limit is before the Olympics,” Malinin explained. “So when the Olympic year comes around, I can have a really solid plan, and there’s not much changing technical elements or choreography, and it’s really set in stone what I want to accomplish at the Olympics. Then I can make my training more effective leading up to it.”

The 19-year-old did not share details about his planned technical elements this season. But he said he’s still looking to improve artistically.

“I’m trying to explore all the genres and see which fits me the best and is the most comfortable for me to perform,” Malinin said. “That’s something [from which] we can look toward the Olympics. Seeing what can work, and will work.”

Malinin’s teammate Jason Brown–who, in March, placed 5th at Worlds for the second consecutive year–was also happy with the decision to hold Champs Camp in Boston. Brown likened it to USFS’s choice of Nashville for Champs Camp in fall 2021, four months prior to the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville.

“It’s just the fact that you’re comfortable in the environment,” Brown said. “You get to explore the city and know the staff and volunteers, and that makes a big difference. One of my favorite things about going back to the U.S. Championships year after year is how you know the people around you. As an athlete, it’s really nice to be in that comfortable environment when, obviously, there’s so much stress and pressure going on around you. It makes you that much more excited to hopefully make that [World] team. It’s more real than if you had never been to a place, and it feels so far off and abstract.”

For Brown, a return to TD Garden in Boston next spring would be particularly special. It was in that arena, in 2014, when Brown qualified for his first Olympic Games and went viral with his now-iconic Riverdance free skate. It was one of the most memorable performances in U.S. figure skating history in this century–and was also the moment that Brown captured the hearts of U.S. figure skating fans, forming a special bond that continues to this day.

“It gives me chills, honestly, thinking back to it,” Brown said of that magical night in early 2014. “That was such a defining moment in my career. Something that took off–in terms of my career, and the attention–in a way that I could never have imagined or dreamed up. It’s crazy that it’s been 10 years. Obviously I look back at that moment, and it’s something I’ll never forget. That was the launching pad. And to use it as a marker, almost, of how far I’ve come. I’m still in this sport, still doing what I love and still getting to perform in front of crowds, and improving, and chasing my own goals and dreams. Just the roller coaster of my career … Things that may have haunted me [then] don’t haunt me any more. Things that I wish I knew then, I know now.”

At 29, Brown is a veteran of two Olympics–and is starting to really think about a potential third Games. After Beijing, it hardly seemed possible that he might make it to another Olympics. But now, two years into this Olympic cycle, it’s beginning to feel more real. 

“After 2022, I really thought I was going to retire. I had reached all the goals I had set for myself,” Brown said. “The objective, results-based goals. I’d come to terms with the things I had achieved in my career. That desire to perform and compete and challenge myself was still there, but I couldn’t possibly imagine doing four full seasons, and putting my body through that.”

Brown’s primary coach, Tracy Wilson, advised him to step back for a bit and “reimagine” his future, while still staying involved with the sport. So in the months after Beijing, Brown dipped his toe into some new projects.

“My first year [after the 2022 Olympics], I called it my Year of Yes,” Brown said. “I worked in a bunch of different jobs. I did media at Skate America, I coached, I choreographed. I did shows, which I loved. And I competed at the 2023 U.S. Championships. I went in–I hadn’t competed all season, the rules had shifted–I didn’t know what was going to happen. And I made the World team and ended up 5th [at Worlds], which was so exciting. It was like, ‘Okay, maybe I can reimagine this for myself and do it in a different way.’”

Last season, Brown repeated the same game plan. Again, he had a great outcome–another silver medal at Nationals, another top 5 finish at Worlds. It whetted Brown’s appetite for more. He started to feel the itch again to fully commit to the sport.

“We are now 18 months from the next Olympics. The four years became two years, and so that wasn’t daunting any more,” Brown said. “This year, I was like: ‘I want to do a full season. I really want to go after it in a different way.’ I was constantly still learning. I still want to figure out how to deal with the stress, the pressure. I keep wanting to explore different styles of music. That’s a very big motivator. I’m always trying to improve my line. Whether it’s taking different characters or different styles, challenging myself, that’s the biggest factor now. And using this season almost as a guide, in some ways, in how to then manage next season. We decided, let’s go full out this season. So we know how to balance and manage next season.”

In the Sizzler show, Brown performed his new short program to The Legend of Tarzan. It’s a piece of music that he originally used as a long program last season, but didn’t feel he had time to fully develop. 

“Last year, I had it for my free [skate]. I competed it at two events,” Brown said. “I didn’t give myself enough time to train it, and it wasn’t really working, so we decided to go a different route for the 2024 U.S. Championships. But it’s a piece of music that I still really loved, and I wanted to see if I could still use it in a different way. So we reimagined it as a short program. As of now, I really still love it and enjoy it, and I’m excited to start getting it out and performing it. Hopefully I won’t change it again in a few months,” he said with a laugh. 

Like Brown, reigning U.S. women’s champion Amber Glenn is also motivated by how much she’s continuing to grow in her skating.

“I’m coming up on almost 20 years of being in this sport,” Glenn noted. At age 24, she notched her first top 10 finish at Worlds in March, and still finds many sources of motivation.

“The day-to-day is something that I really cherish,” Glenn said. “I enjoy structure; I enjoy the day-to-day goals and accomplishments. Those progress into results and performances, and being able to accomplish great things. Because of the results, I get to speak upon what I care about and certain issues or topics, and maybe inspire a person or two, which has been super-important to me. That means the absolute world. And it is a bit of pressure–you’re inspiring these people, so you want to succeed not just for yourself, but for those people. It’s something I have to take in stride, but I really love it.”

Glenn is keeping her new program music under wraps for now, but she shared a few hints about what fans can expect.

“My short program is very fun, very sassy, very different from what you might expect when you think of women’s singles [skating],” she revealed. “My choreographer, Kaitlyn Weaver, actually held on to this piece for a while, just for me. And it’s incredible. It just clicks. So that’s something I’m absolutely thrilled about. And then my free skate … We searched for months for music, just trying to find something perfect.”

Glenn described the free skate music she finally selected as “obscure, beautiful, mesmerizing.” Vocals were layered onto the original piece to create an effect she calls “sirenesque.” The music starts off quietly, but builds to an intense and dramatic finish. 

“It’s very exciting and theatrical, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Glenn said. “I feel like I’ve got a really good package going for this year.”

After successfully landing the triple Axel for the first time last year, Glenn plans to include the jump in both her short and long programs this season. She hopes that upping the technical ante will help her achieve strong results.

“I’m trying to be overall consistent, medal at both my Grand Prixs, put out great performances at Nationals, get back here to Boston and get to Worlds, and be able to qualify those Olympic slots,” Glenn said of her goals for the season. “Every single step is just leading up to that.”

Last season, Glenn had an incredible performance at Skate America in Allen, TX, landing the triple Axel for the first time in front of a rapturous, supportive crowd. It was a hometown event for Glenn, who grew up right next door in Plano, TX. To the surprise of some skating fans, Glenn decided against a return appearance at this year’s Skate America, which will again take place in Allen. She instead will compete at Grand Prix de France and Cup of China.

“Of course, it was very exciting and a great experience,” Glenn said of last season’s Skate America. “But I wanted to keep that as it was. That was a huge highlight in my skating career, in my life, and I will forever cherish that memory, especially landing the triple Axel for the first time in front of family and the home crowd. I will never forget that.”

Glenn said that her Grand Prix assignments this year were planned more strategically, with the goal of having the best chance to possibly qualify for the Grand Prix Final. 

“We’re looking at it from more of an objective, technical standpoint, rather than, ‘Oh, this would be the most interesting or the most fun.’ I’m getting to go to France and China, which are two incredible countries that I’m thrilled to be going to,” Glenn said.

She’s excited for the new season. “I’ve been feeling really good. I got some great feedback [at Champs Camp], and I got to put out some great programs. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Glenn’s teammate Isabeau Levito, meanwhile, started her season two weeks ago at  Cranberry Cup, where she debuted new programs. Despite a third-place finish, Levito was satisfied with how the competition went, considering the time of year.

“My federation asked me to compete this early,” Levito said of Cranberry Cup. “I wasn’t quite planning on it. It’s early in the season to be that well-trained, considering how late the season ends this year. But I think it was good to go out there and do my programs. I’m not trying to do the full potential [yet] of what the programs can be, or giving it my full effort, but just put them out there and start getting familiar with competing again.”

Levito won her first World medal–a silver–in March. She described her off-season afterward as “very restful. I’ve mainly been staying home and working.”

The 17-year-old chose two classical pieces for her programs this season–”Swan Lake” for the short program and “Liebestraum” for the free skate. She feels this style plays to her strengths.

“They’re both musics that I love very much,” Levito said. “I decided to skate to something that I love this season particularly, just to keep growing a style that I feel like I’m very good at. And to keep working to perfect that, coming into the Olympic year.” 

Levito said her goals for this season are to “keep reaching to grow my maturity and my skating skills, and to be a strong skater, regardless of the jumps.” Her favorite elements to perform right now are the step sequence and choreo sequence in her free skate.

“I’m very excited for Worlds being in Boston,” Levito said. “My first Grand Prix was at this rink, and so will be Worlds [in Boston]. I hope that the home crowd, and it being a [place] that I’m familiar with, can help me deliver the performances I want to deliver. Being World silver medalist gives me more confidence–and more hope to place well at Worlds in Boston.”