2025 Skate America

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of seven events sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and held during the autumn: six qualifying events and the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. This allows skaters to perfect their programs earlier in the season, as well as compete against the skaters whom they would later encounter at the World Championships. Skaters earn points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are invited to compete at the Grand Prix Final. The first iteration of Skate America – then called the Norton Skate – was held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, and was the test event for the 1980 Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched the Grand Prix series in 1995, Skate America was one of the five qualifying events. It has been a Grand Prix event every year since. The 2025 Skate America was the fifth event of the 2025–26 Grand Prix of Figure Skating series, and was held from November 14 to 16 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, in the United States. == Changes to preliminary assignments ==

The International Skating Union published the initial list of entrants on June 6, 2025. == Required performance elements ==

Single skating Men competing in single skating performed their short programs on Friday, November 14, while women performed theirs on Saturday, November 15. Examples of applicable dance styles and music included pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge. The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence. Couples then performed their free dances on Sunday, November 16. The free dance could last no longer than 4 minutes, and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements. == Judging ==

All of the technical elements in any figure skating performancesuch as jumps and spinswere assigned a predetermined base value and scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from –5 to 5 based on their quality of execution. Every Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to 5 is assigned a value (a percentage of the element's base value) as shown on the Scale of Values (SOV). For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.00 points, and a GOE of 3 was worth 2.40 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of 3 earned 10.40 points. The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score. At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on three program componentsskating skills, presentation, and compositionand assigned a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score. Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The total elements score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team. == Medal summary ==

Men's singles Kévin Aymoz of France won the gold medal – the first Grand Prix championships of his career – in an emotional end to the men's event. Aymoz had been nursing an injury all weekend, but powered through his free skate to Boléro free skate that featured two quadruple jumps, five triple jumps, and the highest quality spins and step sequence. He began crying when the final scores were announced, Aymoz had earlier finished in tenth place at the 2025 Skate Canada International after suffering his injury. "I feel like I went to hell and I'm just dreaming right now," Aymoz stated. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan finished in second place. Brown's Riverdance performance went viral after the 2014 Winter Olympics, so he chose to rework it for this season as his way of saying 'thank you' to the fans while striving to make the U.S. team to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Brown ultimately finished in fourth place after the free skate. and placed her less than one point behind Rinka Watanabe of Japan. Liu received a season-best free skate score for her program to "MacArthur Park", guaranteeing herself a spot at the 2025 Grand Prix Final. Watanabe performed a successful triple Axel-triple toe loop jump combination but faltered on a second triple Axel and struggled with other jumps, finishing three points behind Liu. "I am a bit frustrated with my results," Watanabe said. When speaking of the domestic competition for spots at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Watanabe stated, "In Japan, the field is very, very deep … Regardless, I want to do the best that I can." Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier of Canada finished in third place. Ice dance Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won their fifth Skate America title, tying the record held by Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, also of the United States. Their victory was by a fifteen-point margin over second-place finishers Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada, and also secured their spot at the 2025 Grand Prix of Final. "Every opportunity that we have to compete lends us new insights and new ways to look at things," Chock said afterward. "We’re going to take away the good ... we have coming away from this experience." Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France finished in third place. == References ==