Across the country, local skating leaders are developing creative solutions to make figure skating more welcoming, inclusive and sustainable. Through the U.S. Figure Skating Community Development Grant Program, clubs and organizations receive support to address barriers to participation, strengthen community connections and create opportunities that help skaters thrive.
 
This year, one 2025–26 Community Development Grant recipient received a special distinction: the Leave Your Mark Award.
 
Made possible through funds raised during a special event held in conjunction with the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, the Leave Your Mark Award was established to support programs that foster inclusion, belonging and lifelong engagement in skating.

Named after U.S. Figure Skating's 2026 Olympic campaign, Leave Your Mark celebrates the lasting impact individuals can make through four defining pillars: artistry, personality, athleticism and community. The $10,000 award recognizes a grant recipient whose project demonstrates exceptional potential to create meaningful and lasting impact within the skating community.
 
The applicant pool featured several impressive projects designed to support underserved athletes and strengthen skating communities. Ultimately, the selection committee chose Snoqualmie Figure Skating Club's Boys on Blades program because of its clearly defined target population, innovative design, scalability, inclusivity and ability to foster meaningful connections while creating opportunities for future growth. 

Yulia Izotova, president of Snoqualmie Figure Skating Club (SFSC), discussed the inspiration behind Boys on Blades and the impact the program is already making. 

Snoqualmie Figure Skating Club is a volunteer-led nonprofit organization based in Snoqualmie, Washington, serving skaters of all ages and skill levels. At its core is a commitment to building community.
 
"We are especially passionate about creating opportunities for skaters to connect with one another, support each other and feel that they truly belong to a community," Izotova said. 

That commitment led club leaders to identify a challenge facing many boys in figure skating. Like many organizations nationwide, SFSC saw boys successfully progress through Learn to Skate USA programs, only to leave the sport as they advanced. 

"There are many opportunities for boys to learn to skate, but after they graduate from Learn to Skate, many either move on to hockey or stop skating altogether," Izotova said. "It made us wonder: What happens to the boys who want to continue into Aspire, competitive skating and beyond?" 

As boys progress through figure skating, they often become one of only a few boys, or sometimes the only boy, in their training environment. 

"Over time, some boys begin to feel that they don't really belong in a sport where they see very few other boys like themselves," she said. "We believe that feeling of isolation can be one of the factors that causes boys to leave the sport."

That realization became the foundation for Boys on Blades. 

Rather than focusing solely on recruitment, the program was designed to create a sense of community among boys already participating in figure skating. 

"Boys on Blades is unique because it focuses not simply on getting more boys onto the ice, but on building a community where boys can see other boys participating in figure skating, regardless of what club they belong to or what their home rink is," Izotova said. 

The idea gained momentum after several SFSC skaters attended Excel National Final and Festival. For some participants, it was the first time they had seen a large number of boys figure skating together. 

"Their reaction was priceless," Izotova said. "'There are other boys who love to skate!'"

Seeing so many boys on the ice together had a profound impact. 

"Seeing other boys skating at the same level gave our skaters a sense of belonging and showed them that they were part of something much bigger," she said. 

Inspired by that experience, SFSC launched Boys on Blades with support from the Community Development Grant Program. The inaugural event brought together 30 participants from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Texas for dedicated training, mentorship and connection-building opportunities. 

"The Community Development Grant allowed us to turn this idea into a real experience," Izotova said. "Without the grant, it would have been much more difficult for us to create this kind of opportunity while keeping participation accessible." 

One moment from the event reinforced exactly why the program mattered. 

"I started asking parents how many boys they had at their home rink," Izotova said. "The answers were surprisingly small, usually between two and six boys per rink."

Then one parent shared a comment that perfectly captured the need for the initiative. 

"She said, 'We have three boys at our rink, and they are all here at Boys on Blades today.'" 

For Izotova, that statement highlighted an important reality. 

"The boys were not necessarily missing from figure skating. They were simply scattered across different rinks and clubs," she said. "At their home rinks they might see one or two other boys. But when we brought them together, suddenly they were surrounded by other boys who shared the same passion." 

Watching participants connect throughout the day became one of the event's greatest successes. 

"We weren't just giving them a day of skating," she said. "We were helping them find their community." 

The event also demonstrated the power of volunteer leadership. Boys on Blades was organized primarily by parent volunteers who coordinated registration, scheduling, coaching, logistics and event operations. 

"Most have full-time jobs and professional careers in completely different fields, but they came together because they care about the skaters and wanted to create something that would make a difference," Izotova said. 

Looking ahead, SFSC hopes to expand Boys on Blades through longer events and recurring opportunities for boys to connect on and off the ice. 

"Our goal is to move from creating a single opportunity to creating an ongoing community," Izotova said. "We want boys to know that they are not alone in figure skating and that there is a community of other boys they can continue to grow with."

That vision of belonging, connection and long-term engagement is what made Boys on Blades a natural recipient of the Leave Your Mark Award. By addressing a real need and creating a model that can be replicated and expanded, the program demonstrates how local innovation can have a lasting impact on the future of skating. 

Reflecting on the journey, Izotova offered a message to other clubs hoping to make a difference in their communities: "Don't be afraid to share your idea and give it a try. You don't have to be a figure skating professional, or even a skater yourself, to have an idea that can make a meaningful difference in the skating community."

For Snoqualmie Figure Skating Club, one idea has already begun leaving its mark, helping boys discover that they belong, that they are part of a larger skating community and that there is a place for them in the future of figure skating. 

Kadari Taylor-Watson is the director of community engagement and impact at U.S. Figure Skating.