Longmont, Colorado, will host a World Cup event as part of the 2025–2026 World Ice Climbing season that will feature four global events plus a youth championships in Europe.

Longmont will host the third of four events on the World Cup calendar from February 20–22, 2026, supported by the American Alpine Club and hosted by the Longmont Climbing Collective. Over 200 athletes from over 25 member associations are set to contest the World Cup lead and speed titles at five venues on three continents.

The season starts January 9–11 in Cheongsong, South Korea, before going to Saas-Fee, Switzerland, from January 22–24. After Longmont, the season ends February 27–March 1 in Edmonton, Canada, in the city center hosted by Offbeat Entertain and supported by the Alpine Club of Canada.

The third world level event of the season will be the World Youth Championships in Malbun, Liechtenstein, from February 6–8.

“It’s great to be working with established and experienced World Cup and Continental Cup organizers on the 2026 World Tour,” said Rob Adie, UIAA sport events coordinator. “I am especially looking forward to a return to Malbun, Liechtenstein for the World Youth Championships — this was my first event on the World Tour back in 2018. The youth have lots of opportunities to compete this season and I really hope we can grow the future of the sport.

A total of seven Continental Opens will also be hosted in Slovakia, Switzerland, Czechia, Netherlands, Liechtenstein, the United States, England and Finland.

“We’re thrilled to launch the 2026 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour calendar, returning to iconic venues and expanding our Continental Cup presence across Europe and North America,” said JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson, World Ice Climbing board chair.

Provisional 2025-2026 Calendar

January 9-11: World Cup, Cheongsong, South Korea
January 22-24: World Cup, Saas-Fee, Switzerland
February  6-8: World Youth Championships, Malbun, Liechtenstein
February 20-22: World Cup, Longmont, Colorado
February 27—March 1: World Cup, Edmonton, Canada

For the third consecutive Olympic cycle, the 026 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Long Track will be staged at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

The trials, which will be held January 2–5, 2026, will feature the nation’s top skaters competing for spots to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, taking place a month later in Milan.

“We are incredibly excited to have the city of Milwaukee and the Pettit National Ice Center host the 2026 U.S. Olympic Trials – Long Track Speedskating,” said Ted Morris, executive director for US Speedskating. “This marks the third consecutive Olympic Trials held at the Pettit. Over the last two Olympic Trials, we had a sold-out venue, incredible enthusiasm from the local community and exciting racing from the skaters. We look forward to similar success next January.”

The Pettit National Ice Center has been a dedicated training site for speed skating since it opened in 1992. In addition to the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Team Trials, the venue has hosted several World Cup qualifying events,and an ISU World Cup in 2025. The center hosts more than 425,000 visitors annually for ice skating, figure skating, hockey and other sport activities.

“We’re honored to welcome the nation’s top speed skaters and fans back again to the Pettit for the 2026 US Olympic Trials Long Track,” said Paul Golomski, general manager of the PNIC. “Hosting this event for the third consecutive Olympic cycle is a testament to the passion of our community, the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the world-class legacy of our facility. There’s nothing quite like the energy in this building when Olympic dreams are on the line and we can’t wait to share that excitement with Milwaukee and the entire country.”

Honda and USA Bobsled & Skeleton have announced a partnership that will be Honda the Official Premier Technology and Official Automotive Sponsor of the national governing body through 2030, including wind tunnel testing and advice in the design of sleds that will be used by U.S. athletes.

The partnership will leverage the HALO wind tunnel (Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio) in East Liberty, Ohio to provide engineering data, analysis and design input to ensure athletes and equipment are set up for optimal performance. USA Bobsled/Skeleton will also feature Acura logos on their sleds in both national and international competitions. Support will continue over the next five years at the World Cup and World Championship competitions, leading up to the Olympic Winter Games French Alps 2030.

“This partnership with Honda marks an exciting moment for USA Bobsled & Skeleton,” said Aron McGuire, chief executive officer of USABS. “Bringing together the precision, performance and innovation of Honda’s U.S. based engineering teams with the athletic excellence of our bobsled and skeleton athletes will give the USA team a distinct edge on the world stage.”

To deliver performance to USABS, Honda will rely on the same approach used in automotive development, matching the equipment to the athletes. Additionally, Honda is learning about the speed and extreme forces the athletes endure to help fine-tune their performances. Athletes will also spend time at HALO to study the aerodynamic impact they have on the sleds.

“We are thrilled to welcome Honda to the USABS family and we are grateful for the support of their U.S. engineers,” said Chris Fogt, head coach of the USA Bobsled Team. ” We are already seeing how Honda will apply its resources and technologies to advance the training and performance of USABS and can’t wait to see the results.”

“In skeleton, an athlete’s head, shoulders, arms, and leg positions are all imperative to aero and performance,” added Matt Antoine, head coach of the USA Skeleton Team. ” Time at Honda’s HALO wind tunnel will provide valuable feedback to our athletes about their sliding positions to allow them to optimize their results.”

Honda, which established its first U.S. operations in Los Angeles in June 1959, is the Official Automotive Partner of Team USA, supporting the United States Olympic and Paralympic teams during the LA28 Games and upcoming 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Italy. As part of this support, the company will offer a wide range of Honda and Acura mobility products for usage throughout the Games, maximizing the use of electrified vehicles.

“In this, our 50th year of R&D activities in America, we are proud to help the USA Bobsled and Skeleton athletes in their pursuit of gold at the Winter Games and beyond,” said Larry Geise, executive vice president of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America with responsibility for the North American Auto Development Center. “In sports where sleds can reach speeds of over 90 miles per hour and the difference between first and last can be measured in fractions of a second, our Honda engineers are eager to apply their engineering skills and racing background to the USABS programs.”

The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority has released its fall and winter 2025–2026 events schedule featuring eight World Cups and National Championship events taking place at legacy venues in Lake Placid.

The announcement of the schedule follows the recent news that Lake Placid was awarded the 2029 FIL World Championships.

“New York State’s commitment to winter sport and the Olympic Movement is highly recognized internationally,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “We look forward to welcoming athletes from across the globe as they begin their final preparations on the road to the Olympics.”

The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series expands this year to include men’s and women’s downhill racing at Whiteface Mountain from October 3–5, 2025, in addition to Cross-country World Cups at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

The International Skating Union’s Skate America event returns to the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s Herb Brooks Arena — the site of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” and the inaugural Skate America in 1979 — for the first time since 2017 when action takes place November 14–16.

World Cup ski jumping returns to Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex for the fourth consecutive season with the International Ski Federation’s Ski Jumping World Cup, December 12–14.

Mt. Van Hoevenberg is the third stop on the 2025–2026 International Luge Federation World Cup calendar, December 19–21, 2025.

“These events are a testament to the enduring legacy of Lake Placid and their importance to our region,” said Ashley Walden, Olympic Regional Development Authority president and chief executive officer. “The record number of major competitions this season showcases how our Olympic legacy venues continue to drive world-class training and competition across multiple sport disciplines — all right here in the North Country.”

Moving into 2026, the International Biathlon Union Cup will take place February 23 through March 8 at Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s biathlon facility, which was upgraded for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.

Herb Brooks Arena will host the ECAC Hockey Women’s Championships from March 6–7, 2026, and the ECAC Hockey Men’s Championships on March 20–21, 2026.

The International Ski Federation Cross-Country World Cup Finals will take place March 19–22, 2026, returning to Mt. Van Hoevenberg for the first time since 1979 a few weeks after the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

New York Olympic Authority’s 2025–2026 Schedule

October 3–5, 2025 — WHOOP UCI Mountain Biking World Series
November 14–16, 2025 — ISU Skate America
December 12–14, 2025 — FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
December 19–21, 2025 — FIL Luge World Cup
February 23–March 8, 2026 — International Biathlon Union Cup
March 6–7, 2026 — ECAC Hockey Women’s Championships
March 19–22, 2026 — FIS Cross-Country World Cup Finals
March 20–21, 2026 — ECAC Hockey Men’s Championships

Lake Placid will host the 2029 FIL Luge World Championships, the international federation announced this week, along with a series of events scheduled in Europe over the coming years.

“Lake Placid is a place with Olympic spirit, great experience, and a passionate luge community,” said FIL President Einars Fogelis. “The return of the World Championships to the USA is a strong signal for the global development of our sport.”

The 2029 worlds will be 20 years after the last World Championships at Mount Van Hoevenberg, a track that was extensively renovated in recent years and was the backup site for sliding events for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

“We are currently renovating the facilities from the 1980 Olympic Games including a new start house for women and doubles, sustainable cooling systems, state-of-the-art video, lighting, and timing technology, and much more,” said Ashley Walden, an Olympic luger who is now president of the Olympic Regional Development Authority.

“In 2029, we will celebrate 50 years of USA Luge,” added USA Luge Chief Executive Officer Scott Riewald. “Our experience, innovative spirit, and commitment to sustainability make Lake Placid the ideal host.”

The FIL also awarded the 2027 Natural Track World Championships, which will be renamed the Alpine Luge World Championships, to Innsbruck-Igls, Austria, with part of the 1964 Olympic track to be utilized. Also awarded was the 2028 junior world championships to Lillehammer, Norway, and the 2029 junior worlds to Bludenz, Austria.

Works that merge art, sport and Italian culture are the themes for 10 works that will be part of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina with the art scheduled to be on display through March 2026.

Created by ten Italian artists under the age of 40, the posters are a collection of artworks that reflects Italy’s contemporary art scene and the spirit of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The original works will be exhibited at Triennale Milano in the renovated Piano Parco galleries, alongside the Olympic and Paralympic Torches were unveiled at Triennale in April.

The five Olympic Art Posters were designed by Beatrice Alici, Martina Cassatella, Giorgia Garzilli, Maddalena Tesser and Flaminia Veronesi. The five Paralympic Art Posters were created by Roberto de Pinto, Andrea Fontanari, Aronne Pleuteri, Clara Woods and Giulia Mangoni. The project was led by Damiano Gullì, curator for contemporary art and public programming at Triennale. 

“As part of the Cultural Olympiad, the Art Posters initiative and the collaboration with Triennale Milano reflect the Fondazione’s commitment to promoting inclusive and participatory projects that place artists, institutions, and organizations at the center—highlighting Italy’s cultural excellence and creating a lasting symbolic legacy on the road to the next Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” said Domenico De Maio, education and cultural Director of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.  “Our hope is that this experience will offer the young artists involved an opportunity for growth and international recognition. To each of them, I extend my warmest wishes for a fulfilling and successful career”.

Original works of art presented in poster form, they are created by selected artists with the aim of freely expressing the spirit and values of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The official Poster for each of the Games will be announced at a later date.

The posters of Milano Cortina 2026 project is led by Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 and Triennale Milano. They will be available for purchase at the Triennale Milano as well as additional offline and online sales channels. The collaboration between Triennale Milano and Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 will continue in the coming months.

“Thanks to our collaboration with Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, we have begun a path toward the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” said Carla Morogallo, general director of Triennale Milano. “The various initiatives and projects explore sport and Olympic values through the diversity of practices, languages, and perspectives that Triennale Milano encompasses.”

The posters have been part of the Games since 1972 and have accompanied the Olympics and Paralympics since, with artists ranging from Robert Rauschenberg to Andy Warhol.

“Art Posters have helped shape the visual and cultural legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Angelita Teo, Olympic Museum director. “This new generation of young Italian artists continues this proud tradition. As custodians of each Games’ cultural and artistic heritage, we welcome the new works into our collection of Olympic Art Posters.”

There will be 10 domestic FIS World Cup events on the 2025–2026 calendar around the United States with each event part of qualifying for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy.

“This is a milestone year for our organization, with both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon and a full slate of domestic World Cups,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, president and chief executive officer of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Expanding the number of World Cups on home soil is central to our mission of supporting athletes and growing the profile of winter sports in the United States. Hosting 10 events across all major disciplines reflects that commitment.”

The 2025—2026 alpine World Cup season kicks off over Thanksgiving weekend with a new stop at Copper Mountain, Colorado, featuring both men and women speed and tech events, marking the first time since 2001 that Copper has hosted a World Cup and its first time ever as a primary alpine venue. The men will compete in super-G and giant slalom, followed by the women’s giant slalom and slalom events.

The following weekend will feature the return of the legendary Stifel Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The men will take on one of the circuit’s most iconic tracks for four races, one more than in previous seasons, battling it out in two downhills, super-G and giant slalom for an extra long weekend of World Cup action.

The U.S. Freeski Team, U.S. Snowboard Team and the World Cup field will compete across three venues in Colorado. The season begins with the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Steamboat, marking the return of World Cup competition for freeski and snowboard since December 2021. Next up, Copper Mountain will host the long-running U.S. Grand Prix in December, featuring both snowboard and freeski halfpipe competitions. The domestic tour wraps in January at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain with another stop on the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix tour, where slopestyle and halfpipe athletes will compete after the 2025 X Games. The Olympic team will officially be named following the event.

“Copper Mountain is a trusted home for elite competition, with decades of experience hosting major events across multiple disciplines,” said Dustin Lyman, president and general manager, Copper Mountain. Next season is shaping up to be a milestone year for our mountain as we prepare to host three World Cup competitions in alpine and halfpipe, in partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. As the Athlete’s Mountain, we’re proud to provide the world-class venues and expertise that make these events possible.”

Cross country World Cup racing returns in Lake Placid, New York. The Lake Placid Finals will close the season in March, featuring a 10k classic, a skate sprint and a skate mass start for the World Cup field and the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. Lake Placid becomes the second U.S. venue to host a cross country World Cup since 2001.

“Lake Placid last hosted its first World Cup cross country skiing competition in 1979 and then we went on to host the 1980 Olympic Winter Games,” said Darcy Norfolk Rowe, head of communications for the Olympic Regional Development Authority. “Hosting the cross country finals in 2026, 46 years after the 1980 Olympics, is a testament to our renewed legacy and the investment in Mt Van Hoevenberg.”

Lake Placid and Deer Valley, Utah, will again host FIS World Cups in freestyle. Lake Placid’s competition will feature both individual and team aerials, while the Intermountain Health Freestyle International will light up Deer Valley’s 2002 Olympic venue, Champion and White Owl ski runs, for moguls, dual moguls and aerials for three nights of competition. The Deer Valley event will be the final stop before the freestyle team departs for the Olympic Winter Games. There will be one ski jumping event at Lake Placid, featuring individual competitions as well as a mixed team event.

“We’re proud to once again host the world’s top moguls and aerials athletes at Deer Valley for our 29th consecutive year of international competition,” said Susie English, Deer Valley vice president of marketing. “Supporting this event year after year reflects our long-standing dedication to sport. We look forward to welcoming the community to cheer on these incredible athletes as they compete at Deer Valley.”

2025—2026 U.S. World Cup Schedule

Alpine
November 27-28, 2025: Stifel Copper Cup, (men’s super-G, giant slalom), Copper Mountain, Colorado
November 29-30, 2025: Stifel Copper Cup (women’s giant slalom, slalom), Copper Mountain, Colorado
December 4-7, 2025: Stifel Birds of Prey (men’s downhill, downhill, super-G, giant slalom), Beaver Creek, Colorado

Cross Country
March 20-22, 2026: Lake Placid Finals (men’s and women’s 10k classic, skate sprint, mass start skate), Lake Placid, New York

Freestyle
January 11-12, 2026: Freestyle Ski World Cup (men’s and women’s aerials, aerials team), Lake Placid, New York
January 16-18, 2026: Intermountain Health Freestyle International (men’s and women’s moguls, dual moguls, aerials), Deer Valley, Utah

Snowboard/Freeski
December 13, 2025: Visa Big Air (men’s and women’s big air), Steamboat, Colorado
December 19-20, 2025: U.S. Grand Prix (men’s and women’s halfpipe), Copper Mountain, Colorado
January 9-10, 2026: U.S. Grand Prix (men’s and women’s slopestyle, halfpipe), Aspen, Colorado

Ski Jumping
December 13-14, 2025: Ski Jumping Cup (men’s and women’s individual, combined team event), Lake Placid, New York

Alysa Liu had done it. The American brought the house down, spinning in the middle of the ice before going down momentarily to one knee then stopping with the music and raising one hand to the sky. She put her hand to her head in disbelief with a smile so electric it could power a small country as she repeated “Wow” over and again, her golden dress shimmering in the lights.

It was the culmination of an epic storyline. Liu walked away from skating two years ago. Now at 19, she had returned, captivating the crowd with a cartwheel before going on the ice for her short program. In the long program, she performed to “MacArthur Park” by Boston native Donna Summer, as the TD Garden crowd roared as if it was a Bruins or Celtics game.

For one week in March, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships took over Boston. It was the epicenter of remembrance and sorrow, of mourning lives gone too soon but also of celebrating the rebirth of careers and the revitalization of an organization. The figure skating community came together as it does each year, and in this year in particular, it thrilled those who attended and heightened the expectations ahead of next February in Milan.

Keeping Their Memories Alive

We’ll get to the skating in a bit. First, we have to talk about the memorial.

On the first night in Boston, the ice was bathed in soft purple and blue light, reflecting into the crowd. On this night, it was not about performances, records, medals. This was more than the things that can be measured on a scoreboard. This was about lives that were lost too soon, many of them too young to bear.

It was on January 29 in Washington when a plane crash took the lives of 67 people; 28 of them were involved in figure skating, including 11 young athletes and four coaches. On the opening night in Boston, the figure skating world came together to reflect.

“The skating family is very tight, so it hit very close to home,” ISU Director General Colin Smith said. “We need to honor, we need to remember, we want to have this celebration of skating as well as a mark of respect.”

On this night, one by one, they paid their respects. Maura Healey, the governor of Massachusetts. Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston. ISU President Jae Youl Kim, followed by Sam Auxier, the then-interim CEO of U.S. Figure Skating. In between the speeches were the photos of those lost. The videos in slow motion, photos of when they were young, some of them forever young now as the names scrolled on the video boards. They were brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, smiles in so many of the photos, so much of their lives still ahead of them before one fatal moment.

The final speaker, Doug Lane, was selected to represent the families. He lost his wife and son in the crash. He talked about his family, his speech halting at times with emotion. It was almost too much to bear, the impossible sadness, the realization this was not some terrible nightmare, this was real and this had struck into the hearts and souls of dozens who wanted to know why them but also knew they would never get an answer.

Lane was there on behalf of the Skating Club of Boston, which lost six of their own in January. It is perhaps the most historic club in U.S. figure skating; chartered the same week the Titanic sunk, the Skating Club of Boston is where Olympic gold medalists Dick Button and Tenley Albright trained, where Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie and scores of U.S. junior and senior champions learned how to jump and spin.

It is also a club that knows unfortunately how to deal with tragedy. En route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, the entire 18-member U.S. Figure Skating team died in a plane crash. Of the 73 people killed, 10 were members of the club, including five skaters. Boston Skating Club Executive Director Doug Zeghibe was 4 years old when it happened.

“I had a sense that something really terrible had happened and never conceived that something like that could happen again,” he said. “(January) was so horrific. Having it happen and slowly unfold and realizing the enormity of the loss, it was definitely surreal — like, how could this happen again?”

Through tragedy came comfort. Those from the club who lived through the 1961 tragedy, like Zeghibe, took time to console those at the club in present time.

“We certainly took a break in the depths of the tragedy,” Zeghibe said. “Moving through it has really given the membership a reason to come together to celebrate our sport and to celebrate it in a way that was still tied to those we lost, because they were so deeply embedded in the sport. So in a strange way, we feel like we’re sharing this with the members we lost.”

The generational passing down of legacy, or passion for sports and resiliency through tragedy — that’s Boston. Sports is the anchor in a city that is getting progressively younger and diverse each day. It’s a city that lives history every day around the North End, a city that reveres tradition whether it’s the Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox or Patriots. It’s a city of over 650,000 people that comes together like a small town when needed.

“There’s an underlying fabric of where our commitment to sports and sporting excellence and fandom connects in a remarkable way with a story of resiliency and enduring and building something like we’ve been doing for the last four centuries in this city,” said David O’Donnell, Meet Boston’s vice president of strategic communications.

It is, to paraphrase what David Ortiz said in the days after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing … their (bleeping) city. It is a phrase that some may use elsewhere in the world. Nowhere does it land with the resonance that it does in Boston.

“There’s a close personal connection here to the city and what happened,” O’Donnell said. “It is another chapter in this story of somehow when tragedy and sport intersect, there is a unique way that Boston is able to navigate that, that makes people be able to feel the moment and celebrate the moment and commemorate people in a way that is both sad and proud at the same time.”

It felt that way on this night. Because the world championships were in Boston, the memorial hit even deeper, fans in the stands wiping away tears (and more than a few people in the press gantry as well). No city wants to have to deal with tragedy; in Boston, they know how to honor those through tragedy, perhaps more than any other city.

“You could hear a pin drop and you can’t put into words what that meant,” said Bob Dunlop, U.S. Figure Skating’s senior director of events. “You talk to someone in figure skating, the first word they always use is family — and I think you see that here. U.S. Figure Skating, working with the Skating Club of Boston and working with the ISU, it’s been bigger and better than we could have ever hoped for.”

Home, On The Ice in Boston

Watching figure skating on television is one thing. Being there in person is another. Think of going at your hardest physical limits for four minutes without a break, on a slippery surface that could make you fall any second, gliding along on a skate blade an eighth of an inch thick, jumping in air and landing on one leg, then spinning all over the place without getting dizzy.

The ISU was back in Boston for the first time since 2016, having been heartened by the experience less than a decade ago and knowing that the U.S. market is a crucial one, especially with a future Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon.

“2016 was a pretty outstanding success on every level,” said Zeghibe. “When a city like Boston comes together, whether it’s Meet Boston, the hotels, the arena, transportation companies, local sponsors, it takes a village to put on an event of this size. I think that’s one reason Boston is so successful is it’s big enough to handle events like this, but small enough that folks come together and work together.”

In Boston, fans know the sport well. When Kimmy Repond of Switzerland fell on her first two jumps of the long program, she got a big round of applause when she landed the next two, with the audience clapping along with the music near the end of program to keep her going. When Kaori Sakamoto’s long program was nearly perfect, putting her in the lead until Liu charged ahead, the two-time world champion received a standing ovation.

“It’s part of our culture to want to host international events,” said Dunlop. “This one’s been on our radar for a long time. And we’ve built a history here in Boston.”

The world championships came at a great time for Boston in the calendar. The city was just off hosting the wildly successful NHL Four Nations Face-Off and the Blast Rainbow Six Invitational at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park in February. With so many iconic Boston events, such as the marathon in April bookended by the Head of the Charles Regatta in October, the early spring period is a spot where bringing in events such as the world championships work from an economic standpoint.

“Traditionally, our visitor season doesn’t really start until closer to the marathon,” said O’Donnell. “Anything we can have that pushes either into the first quarter or late into the fourth quarter are things that we’ve been investing in very seriously.”

There have to be serious conversations with all the stakeholders before bidding even begins on an event years in advance like the world championships. The Garden is home to two teams, the NHL’s Bruins and NBA’s Celtics, that play regularly in the winter and would have to go on extended road trips. There are also other events at the Garden, which had a booking every day the week before ISU came to town: a Bruins home game, followed the next night by a Celtics game, followed by a concert, then two days of Hockey East competition.

Clancy Wolf, the TD Garden’s event manager, and her team then had to get to work quickly. Once Hockey East ended on Friday by 11 p.m., the ice had to be rebuilt. Whereas hockey ice is kept around 17 degrees, figure skating ice needs to be softer, around 24–26 degrees, so the skaters can glide more easily around the ice and dig into the surface upon takeoff on jumps.

The thickness of the ice also was important, with at least four centimeters of ice needed above the painted logos so when skaters dig into the surface before a jump, the logo still looks clean for television and streaming. Add to that the load-ins throughout the back of house for media, sponsors and competitors plus signage and as Wolf said, “it’s been an adventure the last month for our ice crew.”

There’s also the international branding for the Garden and Boston. Logan International Airport has dozens of international flights and is within minutes of the Garden, making the trip in for anybody — especially with the ISU’s large Asian following — an eye-opening breeze. Within the United States, of course people know Boston, of course people know of the Garden.

But that may not be the case abroad, so with events like figure skating, Blast esports, or upcoming events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, sports can tell the story of Boston globally in different ways to attract visitors for the first time, and then hopefully multiple times.

“You think of us as a huge sports destination, but then you look at all the 65 colleges and universities, then all of the sports — if it’s basketball, if it’s rowing, if it’s the Boston Marathon — there’s a reason why these college graduates stay because they see the passion and we’re a melting pot of cultures,” said Paul Griffin, Meet Boston’s director of global events and industry alliances. “Moving forward, people can recognize that we are a global destination for large sporting events and we can compete against the Londons, the Tokyos, the Cape Towns, the Sydneys.”

From Sadness Comes Celebration

The remembrances of those whose lives perished in January did not stop after the opening night. If anything, each performance became an extended tribute as the United States put on an electric set of results.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates shone brighter than anybody during the short program as competitors made the Garden feel like a 1970s-era nightclub with everything short of a disco ball and rainbow lights. They cruised through the long program to win their third world title in a row, the first U.S. team to ever do so.

Ilia Malinin won the men’s singles title, heralding his reign and heightening the anticipation that even his rivals admit may be an inevitable gold medal in Milan. The “Quad God” spun through the air with both grace and force, telling fans on the video board “Let’s Have Fun” before electrifying the Garden with his skills.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who train at the Boston Skating Club, put on the best performance of their lives in the long program, collapsing into each other’s arms at the end, unable to hold in the emotions of their accomplishments. They sat in the kiss-and-cry area holding photos of those lost in D.C., finishing sixth and earning the U.S. a third pairs spot in Milan for the first time in multiple Olympic cycles.

“Oh, my God,” said Zeghibe, leaning back in his chair. “Whatever the country, whoever the athletes are, our fans just appreciate great performances. And when it’s your hometown kids, there was a connection between them and this audience that was like no other. It was electric, really. There’s no other word for it.”

Amber Glenn, who entered the long program in ninth place after a fall in the short program the night before, fought back and moved up the scoreboard to fifth place, hitting the triple axel that she had fallen on not even 24 hours later. Isabeau Levito, who finished fourth in what was an injury-marred season and at night’s end, walked through the backstage media area and was surprised by Scott Hamilton, her face a mix of shock and awe as he told her how much he enjoyed watching her performance.

And then there was Liu, who showed the world why her return to the sport is so welcomed. In all, Team USA won gold in three of the four disciplines, the first time it has ever done so in a world championship.

“Amazing crowds, amazing supporters who really appreciated what was happening on the ice,” said Smith. “When you have such an educated crowd and large crowd, it was amazing and it just made everything pop. You can put on the show, you can put in new ideas and innovation but if you don’t have the crowd energy behind it, it’s never the same.”

As the pairs competition ended Thursday, the energy at the Garden spilled out into the night ­— some looking for a drink at the bar, some heading to tour buses to go back to their hotel. Others took the quick walk to the Courtyard North Station around the corner and crammed into elevators, exulting in having seen the best in the world at their very best.

“Were you at the skating?” asked one woman in the elevator. “Wasn’t it spectacular?”

A dozen events will be held in the United States during the 2025–2026 FIS provisional calendar, which was released last week. While each of the sports said they were provisional calendars, only minor adjustments are expected if at all.

In the men’s alpine calendar, Copper Mountain in Colorado will host a Super G and Giant Slalom from November 27–28 while the following weekend, Beaver Creek will host Downhill, Super G and Giant Slalom. Those are the only North American stops on the men’s calendar.

On the women’s calendar, Copper Mountain will host Giant Slalom and Slalom from November 29–30 before the series heads to Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, from December 6–7 for a double competition in Giant Slalom.

In the freeski calendar, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will host a Big Air competition from December 12–13 before Copper Mountain hosts Halfpipe from December 18–20. After a Halfpipe weekend in Calgary from January 1–3, the circuit returns to Aspen from January 7–10 for Halfpipe and Slopestyle.

In freestyle, Waterville will host an event January 3–4 before Lake Placid hosts January 10–11 and Deer Valley from January 15–17.

FIS is hosting North American events in one block in late November and early December, minimizing travel across the Atlantic for athletes during an Olympic racing season. There will be a pause in the calendar throughout February for the Olympics in Italy.

European tracks will be utilized for the updated calendar of the 2025–2026 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation schedule with six countries and eight tracks hosting events before and after the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy.

The opening stop will be a preview for sliders of the Olympic track at the Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which will host sliding events at the Games. Before the opening event of the season from November 17–23, there will be a 10-day international training period to get familiar with the rebuilt track.

The 2025-2026 World Cup will also include races in Innsbruck, Austria; Lillehammer, Norway; Sigulda Latvia as well as events in Winterberg, Germany; St. Moritz, Switzerland and Altenberg, Germany, in the run-up to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The schedule as it stands at the moment will have only one event after the Olympic Games in Königssee from March 2–8, 2026, in Germany, a track that was partially destroyed in the summer of 2021 by flooding.

2025–2026 IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton Schedule

November 17–23: Cortina, Italy
November 24–30: Innsbruck, Austria
December 8–14: Lillehammer, Norway
December 15–21: Sigulda, Latvia
December 29–January 4: Winterburg, Germany
January 5–11: St. Moritz, Switzerland
January 12–18: Altenberg, Germany
February 6-22: 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Cortina, Italy
March 2–8: Königssee, Germany