Photo credit Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating
By Kristen Henneman
Lake Placid, the home of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games, takes center stage this week as the site of 2025 Saatva Skate America, where 17 U.S. athletes continue their journey toward the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy.
Competition takes place Nov. 14-16 at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena.
Traditionally the first Grand Prix event of the season, Skate America is typically where U.S. stars kick off their Grand Prix season, but in Lake Placid, it will be where they look to lock their positions for ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final next month in Nagoya, Japan.
An experienced U.S. delegation with a combined 38 Grand Prix medals and all but two with experience at Skate America, the U.S. National Team is headlined by three reigning World champions – Alysa Liu in the women’s event and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates – who will punch their ticket to Japan with a gold or silver medal.
Chock and Bates, the 2022 Olympic team event gold medalists and three-time and reigning World champions, are the favorites to win in New York, and a podium finish would mark their 22nd Grand Prix medal as a team.
The two-time Grand Prix Final champions debuted at Cup of China last month and won the event, kicking off their campaign to make their fourth Olympic Games together as a team.
Consistently the No. 2 U.S. ice dance team behind the Chock and Bates the last two seasons, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko medaled at both their Grand Prix events last season. They return to Skate America for the first time since 2020 after finishing just off the podium at Skate Canada International two weeks ago. Earlier this season, they earned silver at 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy.
Rounding out the U.S. ice dance lineup, Oona Brown and Gage Brown return to Skate America for the first time since 2023. This season, the sibling duo has medaled at both their international events, securing gold at 2025 Lake Placid Ice Dance International and silver at the 2025 Denis Ten Memorial.
In the women’s event, Liu will compete at Skate America for the first time in her career. The 2022 Olympian took silver – right behind U.S. teammate Amber Glenn – at Cup of China last month.
Joining Liu in the women’s event is Starr Andrews and Josephine Lee.
Andrews will make her fourth appearance at Skate America, but first since 2021. Last season, she placed sixth at the U.S. Championships. In 2022, Andrews secured silver at Skate Canada International, making history as the first U.S. Black figure skater to win a Grand Prix medal.
An up-and-comer for the U.S. National Team, Lee makes her Grand Prix debut. Earlier this season, the 2024 U.S. silver medalist finished just off the podium at the Denis Ten Memorial.
A two-time Olympian and fan favorite, Jason Brown will compete at Skate America for the sixth time, but the first since 2019. Brown enters his first Grand Prix of the season with momentum after securing podium finishes at both his Challenger Series events – a bronze at Denis Ten Memorial and a silver at 2025 Trialeti Trophy.
Skating at Skate America for the first time since 2022, Liam Kapeikis has two top-eight finishes at Challenger Series events already this season.
In pairs, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, the 2025 U.S. pewter medalists, will compete in the Grand Prix Series for the second straight weekend. Last week at NHK Trophy, they claimed sixth. Looking for their third Grand Prix medal, they earned bronze at Trialeti Trophy last month.
This marks their first appearance at Skate America since 2020, when it was held as a domestic event due to COVID-19.
Their first Grand Prix since 2023 season after missing all of last season due to injury, Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez finished just off the podium in fourth at both their Challenger Series events this season.
The third U.S. pairs team, Olivia Flores and Luke Wang, will make their Grand Prix debut in Lake Placid. The 2024 World Junior silver medalists and U.S. champions medaled at each of their Junior Grand Prix events in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
This marks the sixth time Skate America heads to Lake Placid and the first since 2017.
Competition kicks off Friday evening with the pairs and men’s short programs. All four disciplines will be in action Saturday before competition wraps up Sunday with the free dance and women’s free skate.
Tickets are still available for 2025 Saatva Skate America. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.usfigureskating.org/event/2025-skate-america.
For those who can’t be there in person, NBC Sports will include television coverage on all three days of Skate America. In addition, Peacock will livestream every skater with all events available on Peacock for 72 hours following their conclusion. The full broadcast schedule can be found on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone and the Peacock streaming schedule is available at peacocktv.com/skating.
Following the event, don't miss Rinkside: Olympic Season. Watch on the U.S. Figure Skating YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts Mondays at 12 p.m. ET as Nick McCarvel breaks down highlights, previews the following week's Grand Prix stop, interviews athletes and more.
The Grand Prix Series, which started in 1995, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete or team is eligible to score points in up to two of the six scheduled events. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2025, set for Dec. 4-7 in Nagoya, Japan.
For a full schedule, results, news and more, visit the 2025 Saatva Skate America Competition Central.
U.S. ENTRIES AT 2025 SAATVA SKATE AMERICA
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Starr Andrews | Los Angeles, Calif. | Lakewood, Calif.
Josephine Lee | Irvine, Calif. | Long Beach, Calif.
Alysa Liu | Oakland, Calif. | Oakland, Calif.
Men
Jason Brown | Highland Park, Ill. | Toronto, Canada
Liam Kapeikis | Blaine, Wash. | Richmond, British Columbia
Pairs
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe | Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif. | Norwood, Mass.
Olivia Flores and Luke Wang | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Ellicott City, Md. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez | Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Miami, Fla. | Canton, Mich.
Ice Dance
Oona Brown and Gage Brown | Long Island, N.Y.; Long Island, N.Y. | Long Island, N.Y. and Montreal, Canada
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko | Saint Clair, Mich.; San Jose, Calif. | London, Canada
Madison Chock and Evan Bates | Redondo Beach, Calif.; Ann Arbor, Mich. | Montreal, Canada
