Skaters Shine at Summer Sizzler

While not everyone debuted new programs at USFS's season kick-off event, the Olympic season buzz was in the air.

Skating Club of Boston has been hosting most of the best skaters in the United States all week for Champs Camp, and many of those skaters took part in Thursday night’s Summer Sizzler, where fans got their first glimpse of some of the new programs we’ll see this season in the lead-up to the 2026 Olympics in Milano, Italy along with some familiar favorites.

Before I get to the actual skating action, I wanted to start at the very end of the night. I took part in the post-show meet and greet, like I had at Stars on Ice back in May, and I was both shocked and thrilled at how literally every skater remembered me. And not just in a “oh, hey, nice to see you again” way. They greeted me by name. They asked about things we had talked about in May. Jason Brown promised that he’d eventually get around to answering the questions I’d submitted to his Instagram Q&As (I’m sure he’s got a ton to go through). Even Alisa Efimova, who I’d actually never met before, knew me from Instagram. Not only was it incredibly cool, but it completely reaffirmed my decision to become a fan of this sport.

I could go on and on about how exciting the meet and greet was, how great it was to interview former U.S. Champion and Disney on Ice skater Ashley Cain before the event (stay tuned for that post coming soon…), how fun it was to meet other fans, but let’s be honest, you’re just here for the videos…

So let’s get to it!

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Opening

First, a quick shoutout to Jean-Luc Baker and Gracie Gold for doing a wonderful job hosting all night.

The show opened with remarks from Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe, who introduced the “Always Champions” program in honor of those the club lost in the Flight 5342 tragedy. Then in a moment that was both incredibly heartwarming and moving, Maxim Naumov took the ice with the kids from the Tomorrow’s Champions program, the organization that his parents Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova had led before their passing.

Next up was a short performance from Sarah Warden, an adult skater from SCOB who was the top fundraiser ahead of the Summer Sizzler.

I have a special affinity for adult skaters, so it was great to see one get a spotlight moment in this show (and Sarah delivered!).

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First Act

After Baker and Gold introduced USFS’s “Leave Your Mark” fundraising campaign, Olympic hopeful Starr Andrews took the ice with her short program from last season.

Andrews has announced that her new short program will be set to “Run the World” by Beyoncé, and I’ll get to see that in person at Skate America in November.

Next up was the ice dance team of Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, who brought back their “Sunset Boulevard” exhibition program from last season (apologies for the lack of a complete video — I was having too much fun watching this).

Sadly I won’t get to see them in person again until nationals, as their GP assignments are Cup of China and NHK Trophy.

I only have a snippet of Jimmy Ma’s performance from Thursday, since he did his new short program for 2025-26, which I saw in full on Saturday at the Cranberry Cup.

Our first pairs performance of the night came from Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, with their new short program for 2025-26, set to “Vale.”

They’ll be at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge in a couple weeks (and I’m very tempted to head down to NYC for that), and then Cup of China later this season.

Next up was Sarah Everhardt, another Olympic hopeful who is coming off a strong season last year. She’s confirmed she’s sticking with her “Reel Around the Sun” short program, which is a good choice because that program was absolutely perfect for her.

She’s another one I’ll have to wait until nationals to see again, since her GP assignments are Skate Canada and NHK Trophy.

Back to the men for Andrew Torgashev, a strong contender for an Olympic berth, though he struggled at Worlds in March. He showed off his new free skate, set to “ORATORES” and “Good News” from Apashe.

Torgs is headed to the Grand Prix de France and NHK Trophy.

Emily Chan and Spencer Howe were up next, skating to “The Lady Caliph: Nocturne," their new short program for 2025-26.

They’ll also be at John Nicks (there are EIGHT U.S pairs teams in that event), then NHK Trophy later this season.

The reigning world junior bronze medalist, Elyce Lin-Gracey skated to “Broken Vow,” her short program from last season.

I haven't seen a 2025-26 program announcement from her just yet, so I’m not sure if she’s re-upping this one for this season or not. Just like Torgashev, Lin-Gracey will be at both the Grand Prix de France and the NHK Trophy.

I swear we’re getting to the end of Act One. But not before Bradie Tennell took the ice to Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful,” which is just a heartbreaking choice of a gala program for a retirement season.

Bradie, we will definitely still love you when you’re no longer young and beautiful. She’ll be at Skate Canada (I really want to go to that, but Saskatoon is just unrealistic) and Finlandia Trophy.

Lastly, the first act rounded out with a performance from the synchronized skating team The Haydenettes, who took the ice just a week after the passing of their founder, Lynn Benson.

I’d never seen a synchronized skating performance in person before (though a lot of the group numbers in Disney on Ice certainly have synchro elements to them), so this was fun.

And we’ve finally reached Intermission!

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Second Act

You don’t want to read too much into the chosen lineup at a preseason event (in any sport, tbh), but I can’t help but wonder the way the second half of Summer Sizzler was stacked up hinted at some folks who might be in pole position to fill out the Olympic roster in February.

First up was fan favorite Jason Brown, who is also a favorite to represent Team USA in Milano. He skated a shortened version of his announced 2025-26 free skate to “Say Something” by Jacob Banks.

I’ll never get tired of watching Jason skate, which is good since he’ll be at Skate America in November! His other GP assignment is Finlandia Trophy.

As I mentioned in the intro, this was my first time seeing Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov in person, and it was wonderful. Kat Cornetta reported that they’ve only been skating this “Cloak & Dagger” program for a couple weeks, due to their previously planned short program receiving “not great feedback.” I thought this one was lovely.

Alisa and Misha will be at NHK Trophy and Finlandia Trophy. They’d be in great position to represent Team USA at the Olympics, but that all hinges on Alia getting her citizenship in time.

My understanding is that Christina Carrera is also waiting on a citizenship decision, though she’s skated for the U.S. for more than a decade now. She and Anthony Ponomarenko slayed their rhythm dance, set to “Sweet Dreams” and “100% Pure Love” (the ‘90s kid in me is just loving all these throwbacks to my school days from the music selections from the ice dance teams this season).

Christina and Anthony will be at Skate Canada (ugh, why am I not going to that?!) and Skate America (yay, I am going to that!).

And then Amber Glenn skated.

We don’t need to see that. After Amber, was…

Okay, fine, I’m kidding (obviously). But there was a false start to Amber’s program, when her free skate music from last season started playing. Given the anticipation for her new short program this year, part of me suspects that this was an intentional misdirect. And it was amusing.

As for the actual program, it was everything I wanted it to be when Amber announced she was skating to “Like A Prayer.” (Kudos to USFS for not dissuading her from doing so, given what the song’s lyrics have been interpreted to be about).

I need you all to understand the willpower it took not to be screaming at the top of my lungs during this program so I could bring you this video. Rest assured I will not be this quiet when she skates it at nationals. Or in my living room when I’m watching her skate it at Cup of China and Finlandia Trophy.

Now to actually get to who was after Amber, Maxim Naumov took the ice showing off his “Nocturne No. 20” short program for 2025-26.

Maxim, the three-time reigning pewter medalist at nationals, could easily find himself in Milano with a strong season. He’ll be at the Grand Prix de France, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets that last host spot for Skate America too (manifesting!).

One of these days, I’ll get to see Isabeau Levito’s new short program for 2025-26 with her actual planned dress. For now she’s still using her gala outfit from last season, which is so incongruous with “Almost in Your Arms” and “Zou Bisou Bisou”

Fresh off her gold at the Cranberry Cup, Isabeau will be at the Grand Prix de France and (of course) Skate Canada this season. Anyone want to hook me up with a private flight from Hartford to Saskatoon?

From there, Summer Sizzler entered the World Champions portion of the event. First up were ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, doing a program to “Once I Was Loved” and “Beautiful Things” that would not have been out of place at an American Ice Theatre showcase.

They will be at Skate America, looking to avenge their silver medal finish from last season, as well as Cup of China.

Alysa Liu was up next, skating the same “Slow Dancing in the Dark” program that she used for Stars on Ice. While I would’ve loved to have seen her new work for this season, this program is so beautiful and always worth seeing in person.

Last, but certainly not least, was the Quadg0d Ilia Malinin, bringing back his “Running” program from last season (and the hoodie shirt!).

Ilia has said he’s waiting to make a big program announcement closer to the GP season. Because Skate America got moved in the rotation, he’s skipping that this year, going instead to Grand Prix de France and (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!) Skate Canada. Saskatoon is only a 34-hour drive. That’s doable, right?

For the finale, they brought all the Olympic hopefuls out for a final bow — or in Ilia’s case a final backflip.

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I think it’s fairly obvious I enjoyed this event, even if we didn’t get a full slate of new programs. I definitely have my calendar marked for next year, assuming USFS keeps it in Boston (or at least the Northeast). And if you can reasonably travel to it — meaning not a 34-hour drive — I’d highly recommend making the trip.

To support U.S. Figure Skating during the 2026 Olympic season, visit the Leave Your Mark site. Per USFS, “Every dollar given to ‘Olympic Team Support’ helps the 2026 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team and their families with their preparation, travel and experience in Milan.