Ice Chips is The Skating Club of Boston's annual figure skating show held in Boston, Massachusetts. Originating in 1912, Ice Chips is said to be the longest running club-produced ice show in the world. The show is a two-day event which takes place each spring, showcasing national, international and Olympic champions from around the world. In recent years the show has been held at Harvard University, attracting thousands of spectators each year.

History

Originally referred to as an ''ice carnival'', Ice Chips developed many of the techniques used in professional ice shows today. In the 1920s and 1930s, the ''ice carnival'' served as a touring show, showcasing the club's premiere skaters on the East Coast. Revenue from these early shows funded the building of The Skating Club of Boston's current facility on Soldiers Field Road in 1938. Over the years, Ice Chips has showcased some of the greatest skaters in figure skating history. In the early years, Olympic champions Gillis Grafström, Sonja Henie, Karl Schäfer,

Andrée Brunet Andrée Brunet ( Joly, 16 September 1901 – 30 March 1993) was a French figure skater. Together with her husband Pierre Brunet she won Olympic medals in 1924, 1928 and 1932, as well as four world titles between 1926 and 1932 in pair skating. S ...

, Pierre Brunet, Maxi Herber and

Ernst Baier Ernst Baier (27 September 1905 in Zittau, Saxony, Germany – 8 July 2001 in Garmisch, Bavaria, Germany) was a German figure skater who competed in pair skating and single skating. He became Olympic pair champion in 1936 together with Max ...

, and World champions, Cecilia Colledge and Felix Kaspar. In 1946, the show adopted the name ''Ice Chips'', and went on to feature many more major champions including Dick Button,

Barbara Ann Scott Barbara Ann Scott (May 9, 1928 – September 30, 2012) was a Canadian figure skater. She was the 1948 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1947–1948), and a four-time Canadian national champion (1944–46, 48) in ladies' singles. Kn ...

Tenley Albright Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the ...

Hayes Jenkins Hayes Alan Jenkins (born March 23, 1933) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1956 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion (1953–1956), and a four-time U.S. national champion (1953–1956). Personal life Jenkins was born on M ...

Carol Heiss Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-time World champion (1956� ...

, Sjoukje Dijkstra, Donald Jackson, Barbara Wagner, Robert Paul, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill,

Charles Tickner Charles Frederick Tickner (born November 13, 1953 in Lafayette, California) is an American figure skater. Tickner won the gold medal at the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships, skating to music from Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'' and Jules M ...

Elaine Zayak Elaine Kathryn Zayak (born April 4, 1965) is an American former figure skater. She is the 1982 World champion and 1981 U.S. national champion. She competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics, placing 6th. Personal life Zayak was born and raised in P ...

, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano,

Kurt Browning Kurt Browning, (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. Career ...

Yuka Sato is a Japanese former competitive figure skater and choreographer. She is the 1994 World champion, the 1990 World Junior champion and the 1993 & 1994 Japanese national champion. She placed 7th at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1994 W ...

Frances Dafoe Frances Helen Dafoe, (December 17, 1929 – September 23, 2016) was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, a ...

Norris Bowden Robert Norris Bowden (August 13, 1926 – April 9, 1991) was a Canadian figure skater. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bowden won championships in every division of Canadian figure skating. He was national men's champion as a junior and senior (1947), ...

, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Alexei Yagudin,

Stephane Lambiel Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece) A stephane (''ancient Greek'' στέφανος, from ''στέφω'' (stéphō, “I encircle”), '' Lat.'' Stephanus = wreath, decorative wreath worn on the head ...

, Jeffrey Buttle and Kaetlyn Osmond. Preceding its 7-year run at Harvard University's Bright Arena, ''Ice Chips'' has been held in some of Boston's most historic venues, including the original Boston Garden,

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

's Matthews Arena, and Boston University's

Walter Brown Arena Walter Brown Arena is a 3,806-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey team and hosted the men's team before they moved to Agganis Arena. It is named in honor of Walter A. ...

. In recent years, while at Harvard University, the show has featured Olympic medalists, Xue Shen and

Hongbo Zhao Zhao Hongbo (; born 22 September 1973) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 & 2007), a three-time Four Co ...

, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Evan Lysacek, and Javier Fernandez.

100th Anniversary

The 2012 production titled "''Ice Chips of 2012 - 100 Years of Excellence''" marked the 100th anniversary of ''Ice Chips'' and showcased over 400 skaters, including singles, pairs, ice dance, synchronized skating and theatre on ice teams. Some of the top performers in the production included

Ross Miner Ross Miner (born January 24, 1991) is an American skating coach and retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2012 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2009 JGP Final bronze medalist, 2013 and 2018 U.S. national silver medalist and 2009 U.S. j ...

Marissa Castelli Marissa Castelli (born August 20, 1990) is an American retired pair skater. With her skating partner, Mervin Tran, she is the 2017 U.S. national silver medalist. With her former partner, Simon Shnapir, she is the 2013 Four Continents bronze me ...

and

Simon Shnapir Simon Shnapir (born August 20, 1987) is an American former competitive pair skater. With Marissa Castelli, he is the 2013 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2009 World Junior bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2013 & 2014 ...

, Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff and guest stars Evan Lysacek and Mirai Nagasu.

Notable Performers

A partial list of notable skaters who have performed in Ice Chips include: *

Theresa Weld Blanchard Theresa Weld Blanchard (August 21, 1893 – March 12, 1978) was an American figure skater who competed in the disciplines of single skating and pair skating. Her pairs partner was Nathaniel Niles. As a singles skater, she won the gold medal at ...

and Nathaniel Niles *

Beatrix Loughran Beatrix Suzetta Loughran (June 30, 1900 – December 7, 1975) was an American figure skater who competed in single and pair skating. She is the only American to win three Olympic medals in figure skating (1924, 1928, 1932), and one of the oldes ...

and

Sherwin Badger Sherwin Campbell Badger (August 29, 1901 – April 8, 1972) was an American figure skater who competed in singles and pairs. He earned the men's titles at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from 1920 through 1924. He also captured the pair ...

Joan Tozzer Joan Tozzer Cave (born September 19, 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts; died April 15, 2012 in Dedham, Massachusetts) was born to Alfred Marston (1877-1954) and Margaret (née Castle, 1886-1979) Tozzer. She was an American figure skater who compete ...

and Bernard Fox * Roger F. Turner *

Maribel Vinson Maribel Yerxa Vinson-Owen (née Vinson; October 12, 1911 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies' singles and pair skating. As a single skater, she was the 1932 Olympic bronze me ...

* Gretchen Merrill * Dick Button *

* Laurence Owen *

Maribel Owen Maribel Yerxa Owen (April 25, 1940 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She was the daughter of skaters Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of 1961 U.S. Ladies' Champion Laurie Owen. With pairs partner Dudley Ri ...

and

Dudley Richards Dudley "Dud" Shaw Richards (February 4, 1932 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles and pairs. In singles, he won the bronze medal at the 1953 United States Figure Skating Championships and finished si ...

* Bradley Lord * Lorraine Hanlon *

Albertina Noyes Albertina Natalie "Tina" Noyes (born January 7, 1949) is an American former figure skater. She is a four-time U.S. national silver medalist and the 1967 North American bronze medalist. She represented the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics, ...

John Misha Petkevich John Misha Petkevich (born March 3, 1949, in Minneapolis) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1971 U.S. national champion and North American champion. He placed 6th at the 1968 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1972 Winter Olympics. His ...

Suna Murray Suna Murray (born April 16, 1955 in Tallahassee, Florida) is an American former figure skater. She twice won a bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Murray coaches at the Skating Club of ...

* Paul Wylie * Mark Mitchell * Alexei Yagudin * Jennifer Kirk * Sasha Cohen * Stephen Carriere * Emily Hughes *

Ryan Bradley Ryan Scott Bradley (born November 17, 1983) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2008 Skate Canada International silver medalist, the 2009 Skate America bronze medalist, the 2011 U.S. national champion, and a three-time U. ...

* Meryl Davis and Charlie White * Xue Shen and

* Mirai Nagasu * Evan Lysacek *

Gracie Gold Grace Elizabeth Gold (born August 17, 1995), known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic team event bronze medalist, the 2014 NHK Trophy champion, the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard champion, and a two-time U.S. nati ...

* Jason Brown * Javier Fernandez

Beneficiaries

Ice Chips has donated revenues from the shows to various charities over the last 80 years. In recent years, Ice Chips has generated donations close to $100,000 for the Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston,

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Scouting in Massachusetts includes both Girl Scout and Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organizations. Both were founded in the 1910s in Massachusetts. With a vigorous history, both organizations actively serve thousands of youth in programs that sui ...

, and Make-a-Wish Foundation.

References

External links

Ice Chips Official Web Site

The Skating Club of Boston's Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ice Chips 1912 establishments in Massachusetts Annual events in Boston Figure skating in the United States Ice shows Recurring events established in 1912 Entertainment events in Boston Performing arts in Massachusetts