History

ICE CARNIVAL HISTORY

Ice Chips is The Skating Club of Boston’s® annual figure skating show and the longest running club-produced ice show in the world. The show has showcased the world’s most outstanding figure skaters, including national, international and Olympic champions. The show encompasses a cast of over 480 skaters, including singles, pairs, ice dance, synchronized skating teams and Theatre On Ice teams. Since its inception, it has served as a showcase for the best figure skating talent in the world.

Notable cast members through the years include:

  • Tenley Albright, US, World & Olympic Champion
  • Dick Button, US, World & Olympic Champion
  • Brian Boitano, US, World & Olympic Champion
  • Scott Hamilton, US, World & Olympic Champion
  • Evan Lysacek, US, World & Olympic Champion
  • Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir, US Champions, Olympic Medalists
  • Gracie Gold, US Champion & Olympic Medalist
  • Jason Brown, US Champion & Olympic Medalist
  • Javier Fernandez, World Champion

Ice Chips has paved the way for figure skating shows, bringing figure skating to the forefront of American entertainment and securing Boston as the center of figure skating in the United States.

The Skating Club of Boston is proud to have donated revenues from the shows to various charities over the last 80 years including:

Now entering its second century, Ice Chips is the oldest continuing figure skating carnival in the world and has played a huge part in The Skating Club of Boston’s history. The Club’s first ice carnival was presented in 1911. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ice carnivals served as touring shows for the East Coast’s premiere skaters. The revenue from these shows was used to fund the construction of the Club’s rink on Soldiers Field Road in 1938, where it stands today. In 1946 we adopted the name “Ice Chips.” Prior to its current location at Harvard University’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center, the Club’s signature event has been held in some of Boston’s most historic venues, including the old Boston Arena, Northeastern University’s Matthews Arena, Boston University’s Walter Brown Arena, and the original Boston Garden.

The Skating Club of Boston is immensely proud to have donated revenues from the shows to various charities over the last 80 years including Children’s Hospital of Boston and Make-a-Wish Foundation. In the past several years, almost 2000 Girl Scouts have attended the show. Many of them were so inspired by what they saw they signed up for their own skating lessons. In addition to the 400 skaters in Ice Chips, over 200 volunteers work behind the scenes to make Ice Chips the best ever year after year.

Today’s stars continue in the footsteps of some of the sport’s most famous names. The legendary Sonja Henie made her professional debut in the 1936 show, having previously performed with Karl Schaefer in the 1934 show “The Cruise of the S.S. Arena.” In addition to the Club’s own Olympic champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, Ice Chips fans have been entertained by the exploits of skating icons and World and Olympic Champions such as Donald Jackson, Barbara Ann Scott, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Yuka Sato, Alexei Yagudin, Stephane Lambiel, Kurt Browning, Jeffrey Buttle, ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, pairs Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, Evan Lysacek, Javier Fernández and Nathan Chen.