The United States hosts the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic this week at the Skating Club of Boston facility in Norwood, Massachusetts, Sept. 15-19, 2021. The event returns after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. This is the first time the event will be held in Norwood. Fifteen U.S. skaters, headlined by three-time U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, will compete on home ice for a spot on the podium.
Four women will represent the U.S. in Norwood – Gabriella Izzo, Paige Rydberg, Sierra Venetta and Maxine Marie Bautista. Izzo is the 2019 U.S. junior champion and trains out of the Skating Club of Boston. She finished eighth at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Rydberg was recently crowned the 2021 U.S. collegiate champion and placed sixth at Cranberry Cup this summer. Venetta finished seventh at Cranberry Cup and ninth at 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America. Bautista will make her international debut in Norwood and finished 11th at the 2020 U.S. Championships.
Five men will compete for Team USA, including Jimmy Ma, Maxim Naumov, Camden Pulkinen, Eric Sjoberg and Dinh Tran. Ma and Naumov will compete on home ice, both training at the rink in Norwood. Ma earned the bronze medal at the 2018 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City and grabbed the silver medal at Cranberry Cup. Naumov is the 2020 U.S. junior champion and earned the bronze at Cranberry Cup. Making his debut at the event, Pulkinen enters the competition with eighth-place finishes at Cranberry Cup and the 2021 U.S. Championships. Sjoberg, who placed ninth at the 2021 U.S. Championships, will make his senior international debut in Norwood. Tran rounds out the U.S. men’s field, coming off a 10th place finish at U.S. Championships.
In ice dance, three-time World medalists Hubbell and Donohue lead the U.S. field. They are four-time champions at the U.S. International Classic, most recently taking the title in 2018. They are joined by Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov, and Eva Pate and Logan Bye. McNamara and Spiridonov finished sixth at Skate America and the U.S. Championships last season, and placed seventh at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International (hosted at the Skating Club of Boston) this summer. Pate and Bye finished fifth at Lake Placid and seventh at 2020 Skate America and the 2021 U.S. Championships.
Peacock Premium will provide live and on-demand coverage of the entire event. The event will start with the men’s short program on Thursday, Sept. 15. On Friday, Sept. 16, the ice dance and women’s competition will begin along with the conclusion of the men’s competition. The event will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 17 with the free dance and the women’s free skate.
The 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic will be held in conjunction with the 2021 U.S. Challenge Skate, featuring junior and novice athletes in ladies, men’s and ice dance. The domestic event will be judged by an international panel. Fans can watch the event live and on-demand on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
Tickets for both the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and U.S. Challenge Skate can be purchased here.
U.S. ENTRIES AT 2021 U.S. INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CLASSIC
Athlete(s) | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Maxine Marie Bautista | River Grove, Ill. | Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Gabriella Izzo | Brighton, Mass. | Norwood, Mass.
Paige Rydberg | Plainfield, Ill. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Sierra Venetta | Danville, Calif. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Men
Jimmy Ma | Great Neck, N.Y. | Norwood, Mass.
Maxim Naumov | Norwood, Mass. | Norwood, Mass.
Camden Pulkinen | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Eric Sjoberg | Middletown, Md. | Irvine, Calif.
Dinh Tran | San Francisco | San Francisco
Ice dance
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue | Sylvania, Ohio; Madison, Conn. | Montreal
Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov | Germantown, Md.; Novi, Mich. | Leesburg, Va.
Eva Pate and Logan Bye | Strongsville, Ohio; Colorado Springs, Colo. | Novi, Mich.
2021 U.S. INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CLASSIC STREAMING SCHEDULE
Live and on-demand on Peacock Premium
(Eastern time; subject to change)
Thursday, Sept. 16
8:20 p.m. - Men's short program
Friday, Sept. 17
4 p.m. - Rhythm dance
6 p.m. - Women's short program
7:41 p.m. – Men’s free skate
Saturday, Sept. 18
6 p.m. - Free dance
7:57 p.m. – Women’s free skate
2021 U.S. CHALLENGE SKATE STREAMING SCHEDULE
Live and on-demand on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone
(Eastern time; subject to change)
Thursday, Sept. 16
10 a.m. - Novice men's short program
12:15 p.m. - Novice ladies short program
Friday, Sept. 17
10 a.m. - Novice ladies free skate
12:46 p.m. - Novice men's free skate
Saturday, Sept. 18
9:35 a.m. - Novice pattern dance
10:47 a.m. - Junior rhythm dance
12:09 p.m. - Junior ladies short program
2:59 p.m. - Junior men's short program
Sunday, Sept. 19
7:55 a.m. - Novice free dance
9:24 a.m. - Junior free dance
10:49 a.m. - Junior ladies free skate
2:32 p.m. - Junior men's free skate
