2025 Skate America

November 19, 2025
By Suzanne Herrmann
Photo © International Skating Union (ISU)

Part of Lake Placid's charm is that it is a quaint, walkable town with Olympic facilities that continue to be maintained and used. There's shopping to do and great food to eat too! Skate America was last held in Lake Placid in 2017 and the field has changed drastically in nearly a decade as two Olympic cycles have occurred since. The audience remained knowledgeable and supportive, though it was smaller this time.

Men

Kévin Aymoz putting together two solid performances was great to see. He threw every fiber of his being into free skating "Bolero," I'm still in awe of what he has left in the last symbol crashes of his four-minute program. He runs and slides, quickly stands up and does a twisty aerial, jumps a mazurka, does another aerial followed by a few more running steps only to stop abruptly in front of the judges. It was all so well controlled and timed. It may not be the hardest part of the program but to make it seemingly so effortless right at the end was impressive. The crowd erupted accordingly.

Mikhail Shaidorov skated to silver with two solid performances, winning the free skate. Kazuki Tomono rounded out the podium with a free skate that was only eighth overall. It was unfortunate to see him struggle in the free skate after a first place short, but his perseverance paid off and earned him a bronze medal.

Jason Brown, performing fan favorite "Riverdance" as his short program, was well-appreciated by the crowd. His free skating to "Say Something" earned him third place in segment and he finished fourth overall. I appreciate why he continues to skate - for the love of it.

Daiwei Dai deserves an honorable mention for the fortitude he showed when he was dealt the hand of the IJS system going down before Corey Circelli's scores could be announced. If there's one thing I dislike more when I compete myself than hearing, 'There is one minute remaining in warm-up,' it's being stuck waiting to start my program. Never once did the smile leave his face. I did not time how long the system was down but if I had to make a guess, it was a solid 15 minutes.

Women

The field was so deep! So many big names even in the second group.

Count me in as one who was glad Alysa Liu went back to her short program from last season. It's pure skating and showcases her maturity and development. The free skate is lovely and her dress is exquisite. I loved watching her enjoy being out there in practice and competition. And I appreciate her attitude and the support she shows her competitors, clapping for everyone after they finish their run-throughs in practice. Alysa learned that she qualified for the Grand Prix Final as Ashley Wagner was interviewing her at the end of the free skate and her reaction was pure surprise.

Rinka Watanabe's triple Axel is phenomenal. Unfortunately her second didn't quite pull in all the way and along with a couple under rotation calls proved costly to her placement in the free skate, she dropped to third and finished second overall. I enjoy her quality of skating and I can only imagine how exciting Japanese Nationals will be with a field so incredibly deep.

Anastasiia Gubanova's free skate dress is a work of art. To me, her short program came uncomfortably close to cultural appropriation, and that made it harder to enjoy.
She performed well enough to slide into second place in the free skate and third overall. The one thing that stood out to me most was how neat her jumps were. She did under rotate a couple of jumps in the free skate but they largely did not detract from her pure quality of skating.

Lara Naki Gutmann finished third after the short with a quirky program that I was so invested in watching that I apparently took no photos. I think the standout program, even though it dropped Lara to fourth overall, was "Jaws." It made a huge impression on the audience and the people sitting near me. It's unique, different, and has a wide appeal. The choreography was fun and the audience celebrated by throwing stuffed sharks of all sizes which she seemed absolutely delighted by.

Honorable mention goes to Starr Andrews for having two of the strongest programs I have ever seen her put together. Her boyfriend, pairs skater Luke Wang, was her hype man throughout her free skate. And it must have worked!

Ice Dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates. First off, her dresses are exquisite. They never take a poor picture. Their lines and positions are phenomenal. It's evident that they've spent an enormous amount of time together as a couple - and an enormous amount of time on their choreography and nuances. I very much enjoy the rhythm dance and what teams can come up with within the confines of a musical theme. But what stood out to me with these two was their free dance: Evan, the Bull, and Madison, the Matadora. There are so many choreographic moments. The bull horns they make in the character step, the swish of her skirt egging the bull on, the very last moments of the dance's choreography. I think it's a masterpiece.

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha were so much fun in their rhythm dance. There's a spot where he was making a face at the audience and that is so much fun to see the skaters having fun in that kind of pressurized environment where they take what they do very seriously. Their free dance is gorgeous and I definitely lost myself in it while watching it. I keep thinking about how much ice dancing has changed in such a short time, what's allowed now, and how that compares to the sport over the past couple of decades.

Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud skated strong and consistently and were favorites of the crowd. As with the top two teams, their skating was noticeably faster and they achieved good ice coverage.
Every team there was amazing and it is neat to see how the elements progress with the higher level teams.

Honorable mention goes to siblings, Oona and Gage Brown, for making me feel like I was back in the 90s again in their rhythm dance. It was obvious they spent a great amount of time on choreography and crafting this program.

Pairs

I honestly was not sure what I would think of the pairs competition. I definitely looked forward to seeing a number of the teams in person. What was most evident to me was the speed at which the top two teams skate with.

There was so much movement of placement of teams between the short and the free. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara skated second to Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava in the short as one mistake proved costly to them. Anastasiia and Luka's short was mesmerizing, but the mistakes they made in the free skate, including a failed lift, landed them in fourth, which moved them to second overall. Just as in dance and maybe more so, I noticed how much faster these two teams skated.

Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier took it away with a very solid free skate. They were incredibly happy with their performance and it was a pleasure to see. They went from sixth in the short to second in the free and third overall.

Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel started off in third but due to mistakes including a lift that failed to take off, they found themselves in fifth in the free skate and overall. Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe rounded out the top three in the free skate and finished fourth overall.

I was disappointed that the organizers did not choose to hold a gala. I would like to know the skaters' opinions on that. To me, it is a missed opportunity for the skaters and for the audience. I think of the skaters who are crowd favorites - like Ekaterina Kurakova - and who, even without always winning medals, seem to be asked repeatedly to participate because of their appeal to the crowd. I felt like the weekend was missing something!

The day I left I went skating in the morning and shared the session with several out-of-town skaters including Corey Circelli and Lara Naki Gutmann. And I always have a deeper appreciation for the choreography and skill of elite skaters when I share sessions with them.

To quote Scott Hamilton, I love this town! Indeed, "there is no greater place to come together to celebrate skating, winter, and life than Lake Placid."
Until next time...