U.S. Figure Skating’s Leave Your Mark Campaign Ignites Excitement for Milano Cortina 2026

Ilia Malinin © Pinterest

On June 3, 2025, U.S. Figure Skating unveiled its Leave Your Mark national campaign, a bold initiative designed to galvanize excitement for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 while boosting membership, fan engagement, and support for Team USA athletes. Launched just eight months before the Games kick off on February 6, 2026, at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the campaign invites athletes, clubs, members, donors, and fans to shape the future of figure skating through artistry, athleticism, personality, and community. With a kickoff event planned for June 7–8, 2025, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Leave Your Mark promises to elevate Team USA’s stars—like Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin—while inspiring a global audience to embrace the sport’s unique blend of grace and power. This article explores the campaign’s goals, key features, and its significance for the figure skating community, with insights for fantasy sports enthusiasts.

A Campaign to Inspire and Unite

The Leave Your Mark campaign is built on the idea that every individual can leave a lasting impact on figure skating, whether through competing, cheering, or contributing. As announced by U.S. Figure Skating, the campaign aims to deepen engagement across the sport’s ecosystem by offering:

• Digital and Physical Toolkits: Resources for clubs and members to promote local events and connect with fans.
• Olympian Appearances: Opportunities for clubs to win visits from 2026 Olympians, fostering grassroots enthusiasm.
• Fundraising Initiatives: Efforts to support the 2026 Olympic Team and their families, ensuring athletes can focus on performance.
• Athlete-Led Storytelling: Exclusive content showcasing Olympic hopefuls’ training, personal lives, and journeys to Milan, designed to grow their profiles and fanbase.

Chief Commercial Officer Annie White emphasized the campaign’s narrative focus: “We developed Leave Your Mark to better tell our athletes’ stories in the runway to the 2026 Olympic Games.” By highlighting the sport’s four pillars—artistry, personality, athleticism, and community—the campaign seeks to make figure skating accessible to both lifelong fans and newcomers, especially as the U.S. gears up for a home Olympics in Salt Lake City 2034.

Kicking Off with a Bang: Leave Your Mark Weekend

The campaign launches with Leave Your Mark Weekend on June 7–8, 2025, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This immersive event brings figure skating’s energy to the community, offering:

• Meet-and-Greets: Fans can interact with Olympians, World Champions like Alysa Liu, and national team members, including stars like Amber Glenn, who featured in campaign promotions on X.
• Skill Challenges: Opportunities to test skating techniques, showcasing the athleticism required at elite levels—think flexibility and balance honed through years of training, as seen in the user’s interest in figure skating stretches.
• Behind-the-Scenes Access: Insights into the artistry of choreography and the mental resilience needed for competition, aligning with White’s goal to “pull back the curtain” on the sport.

The event sets the tone for a campaign that blends fan engagement with athlete preparation, building momentum toward the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis (January 5–11, 2026), where the 2026 Olympic Team will be named.

Spotlight on Team USA’s Olympic Hopefuls

The Leave Your Mark campaign shines a light on Team USA’s figure skating stars, who are poised to dominate at Milano Cortina 2026. At the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, U.S. skaters claimed three of four golds: Alysa Liu (women’s singles), Ilia Malinin (men’s singles), and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (ice dance). Key athletes featured include:

• Alysa Liu, Women’s Singles: The 2025 World Champion and 2022 Olympic team gold medalist, Liu’s comeback story—returning after a two-year hiatus—captivates fans. Her personal best in Boston and promotion of Leave Your Mark at Governing Council highlight her leadership. In fantasy skating leagues, Liu’s consistency (222.06 points at Worlds) makes her a top pick for points and technical scores.
• Ilia Malinin, Men’s Singles: Known as the “Quad God,” Malinin’s historic quadruple Axel and six-quad free skate in Boston cement his status as a gold medal favorite. His athleticism, per NHL EDGE’s skating metrics, rivals hockey’s speed bursts, appealing to the user’s hockey interest. Fantasy value: High for jumps and program components (+200 for 200+ points).
• Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Ice Dance: The three-time World Champions (2023–2025) are gold medal contenders despite no individual Olympic medal. Their 222.06 season-best score and emotional storytelling make them fantasy locks for points and fan votes.
• Amber Glenn, Women’s Singles: The first openly LGBTQ+ U.S. women’s champion, Glenn’s resilience after a shaky 2025 Worlds short program boosts her Leave Your Mark profile. Her spins and artistry offer fantasy upside for component scores.

These athletes’ stories, amplified through digital content and media partnerships with NBC, aim to deepen fan connections and elevate their Olympic profiles.

Why Leave Your Mark Matters

The Leave Your Mark campaign arrives at a pivotal moment for figure skating. With Milano Cortina 2026 featuring five events—men’s and women’s singles, pairs, ice dance, and the team event—at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, Team USA aims to build on its 54 Olympic medals (16 gold), the most of any nation. The campaign’s focus on artistry (choreography and music interpretation), personality (skaters’ unique styles), athleticism (jumps and spins requiring flexibility and strength), and community (club and fan involvement) mirrors the sport’s essence, making it a perfect vehicle to grow its global appeal.

Posts on X reflect the campaign’s early buzz, with skaters like Jason Brown hyping the “Olympic season” and fans rallying around Liu and Glenn’s appearances. The campaign also supports NBC’s narrative-driven coverage, which White praised for showcasing athletes’ journeys, ensuring figure skating’s emotional and athletic depth resonates with audiences. As the U.S. prepares for a home Olympics in 2034, Leave Your Mark lays the groundwork for sustained growth, encouraging new members to join clubs and fans to buy tickets, starting February 2025.

Fantasy Skating Implications

For fantasy sports enthusiasts, Leave Your Mark offers a chance to engage with figure skating’s competitive landscape. The campaign’s athlete-focused content provides insights into form and preparation, crucial for drafting top performers. Liu and Malinin are must-haves for their scoring potential (200+ points), while Chock and Bates dominate ice dance. Glenn’s underdog status offers value in component scores (+150 for 70+ PCS). With qualification events like the ISU World Championships (March 24–30, 2025) and Olympic Qualifier in Beijing (September 17–21, 2025) determining quotas, fantasy managers should monitor skaters’ health and consistency, especially after the user’s interest in injury prevention through flexibility training.

Looking Ahead to Milano Cortina 2026

As the Leave Your Mark campaign unfolds, it will amplify Team USA’s journey to Milano Cortina 2026, where 142 skaters will compete across 12 days. The Milano Ice Skating Arena, praised by skaters like Italy’s Nikolaj Memola for its “great” ice, promises a vibrant stage for stars like Malinin, who aims to defend his quad Axel legacy, and Liu, chasing her first individual Olympic medal. With tickets available from February 2025 and the Olympic flame arriving at San Siro Stadium on February 6, 2026, the campaign’s grassroots activations and digital storytelling will keep fans engaged.

Conclusion

U.S. Figure Skating’s Leave Your Mark campaign is a game-changer, uniting athletes, fans, and communities in the lead-up to Milano Cortina 2026. By celebrating artistry, athleticism, personality, and community, it invites everyone to shape the sport’s future, from cheering at Leave Your Mark Weekend to supporting Team USA’s quest for Olympic glory. For fantasy enthusiasts, the campaign’s athlete insights enhance strategic picks, while its emotional narratives captivate all. As Annie White said, “We want everyone to fall in love with the sport.” With stars like Liu, Malinin, and Glenn leading the charge, Leave Your Mark ensures figure skating’s legacy will shine brightly in Milan and beyond.

Source: article by U.S. Figure Skating, published June 3, 2025.

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By Vitalina Andrushchenko, Staff Writer