Fort Wayne, Indiana, is making figure skating history this weekend. For the first time ever, a Fort Wayne high school team is competing in the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Midwestern and Pacific Coast Sectional High School Finals, held right in the city’s own backyard at PSM Icehouse from March 27 through 29.
More than 350 athletes from across the Midwest and Pacific Coast regions have descended on the Summit City for three days of spins, jumps, and team pride. Among them are 13 local Fort Wayne skaters ready to prove they belong on this stage.
What Is the Sectional High School Finals?
U.S. Figure Skating brought back the Sectional High School Finals as an in-person competitive opportunity open to skaters who are rostered on registered high school skating teams. Athletes can compete in Short Program, Free Skate, Solo Dance, Showcase, and Team Maneuvers events to earn points on behalf of their team. Team points from each event are totaled at the end of the competition to determine the final standings. It is a format that rewards depth, teamwork, and consistency rather than just individual talent. In 2024, the inaugural Sectional High School Finals were held in Evanston, Illinois, for the combined Midwest and Pacific Coast Sectional. This year, the event moves to Fort Wayne, organized by the Fort Wayne Ice Skating Club, a club with deep roots in the sport.
Key Events at the 2026 Sectional High School Finals:
- Short Program
- Free Skate (Excel and Well-Balanced)
- Solo Dance (Pattern and Free Dances)
- Showcase
- Team Maneuvers
Why Fort Wayne Is the Perfect Host City
The competition is being held at PSM Icehouse, a venue that has quietly become one of the top ice facilities in the entire Midwest. In 2010, the 116,000 square foot building opened its doors for the first time, and naming rights were sold to Parkview Hospital.
The venue is home to three NHL-size ice rinks, three party rooms, a banquet area, 14 dressing rooms, a sports store, the Bounce Mania play zone, and a full service restaurant and bar that overlooks all ice surfaces, and is visited by more than 500,000 people annually. That traffic makes it the busiest ice complex in Indiana. PSM stands for Parkview Sports Medicine. The facility recently went through a rebrand from its former name, SportONE Parkview Icehouse, but the partnership with Parkview Health continues. It is also the home of the Fort Wayne Spacemen and serves as the practice facility for the ECHL Fort Wayne Komets.
The venue can seat around 250 spectators per rink surface, and admission for the entire weekend is completely free.
Fort Wayne’s First Ever High School Skating Team Takes the Ice
This is the story within the story. Fort Wayne has never fielded a high school figure skating team in a U.S. Figure Skating sectional competition until now.
Among the 13 local skaters representing the city is freshman Lillian Hinds, who has been figure skating for 11 years. Despite her experience on the ice, this is her very first time performing at a high school competition.
“We get to do it together, we get to go through this and it’s not just us doing it alone, and we get to show off our skills,” Hinds said. “That’s the most fun part.”
That sense of belonging matters deeply for these young athletes. Unlike traditional individual figure skating, the high school team format gives skaters a shared identity and a support system.
The Fort Wayne Ice Skating Club was incorporated in 1958 and has produced many national and international competitors through the years. The fact that it took until 2026 for a Fort Wayne high school to enter a sectional competition shows just how young and fast-growing U.S. Figure Skating’s high school program really is.
How the High School Skating Program Is Growing Nationally
The numbers tell a powerful story.
U.S. Figure Skating anticipated approximately 15 to 20 teams and 100 to 150 skaters per competition, with both team and individual events. The fact that more than 350 athletes have registered for the Fort Wayne event signals growth well beyond initial expectations. The intention of the program is to provide a competition in each section, Eastern, Midwest, and Pacific Coast, or a combined sectional event for the Midwest and Pacific Coast in the event that the number of teams in the Pacific Coast does not warrant its own event.
| Year | Midwest/Pacific Coast Host | Eastern Host |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Evanston, Illinois | Burlington, Vermont |
| 2025 | Evanston, Illinois | Burlington, Vermont |
| 2026 | Fort Wayne, Indiana | West Hartford, Connecticut |
High School skating encourages student-athletes to continue to compete in figure skating through their high school years. It fills a gap that existed for years, where young skaters would often drop the sport once academics and social life took priority. The U.S. Figure Skating High School Team dues fee is just $50 to register. A minimum of two skaters is required to form a team, and team members can be of any gender or test level.
What to Expect This Weekend at PSM Icehouse
The competition kicked off Friday, March 27, with practice sessions and early events. Individual events run through Saturday. The big team event takes place on Sunday, March 29, and it is expected to be the most exciting day of the weekend.
A digital download of the full flight for each event entered is included with the entry fee for events with music, a gift from the Fort Wayne Ice Skating Club. Professional photography will be available for pre-purchase or at the conclusion of the event, and professional videography and photography will be provided by 828 Studios.
Pacific Coast teams, including squads from the Bay Area, San Jose, Sacramento, and Fremont, have traveled across the country to compete. Current registered teams from the Pacific Coast include Bay Area Skating Team, Peninsula SC HS Team, Sacramento Area HS Team, and Silicon Valley Region Skating HS Team.
That kind of national reach is remarkable for a program that did not even exist before 2024.
For the 13 Fort Wayne skaters lacing up their skates this weekend, this is more than just a competition. It is a chance to show their city, their families, and themselves what years of early morning practices and quiet dedication can look like under the bright lights of a national stage. Fort Wayne has always been a hockey town at heart, but this weekend, figure skating is stealing the spotlight. And for young athletes like Lillian Hinds, this is only the beginning. Drop a comment below and share what you think about the future of high school figure skating in the U.S.
