Nashville Skating Academy sends record 9 figure skaters to U.S. Development Program

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When the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina begins on Feb. 6, there won't be any Tennesseans in the figure skating spotlight.

But at the French Alps in 2030? Or at Salt Lake City in 2034? That may change.

At the 2026 U.S. Junior Championships in St. Louis, a record nine junior skaters from the Nashville area, all trained by Nashville Skating Academy, qualified for the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Program.

The program recruits and trains the top junior figure skaters in the country. After qualifying for the program, skaters participate in a development camp (Jan. 12-13), in addition to other camps and promotional events throughout the year, putting them in prime position to one day compete for the U.S. national team.

Founded in 2005, Nashville Skating Academy regularly competes at U.S. nationals and on international stages, with many alumni advancing to successful figure skating careers. In 2025, the academy announced a partnership with Total Package Hockey (TPH), which also runs the Nashville Predators' Jr. Preds program.

This is the first time Nashville Skating Academy has had nine skaters qualify for the U.S. National Development Program. This year's skaters are represented across three disciplines: pairs, ice dance, and singles. Of the nine athletes, six are pairs skaters, two are ice dancers and one is a singles skater.

Here's the qualifying skaters, all from Nashville:

Novice Dance: Maggie Blackstone (15) and Tait Light (17)
Novice Pairs: Rowan Edwards (15) and Gavin Thomson (18)
Intermediate Pairs: Lexi White (12) and Jaxon Surbrook (16)
Juvenile Pairs: Liyah White (12) & Liam Chambers (15)
Juvenile Boys: Caleb Wang (14)

The event in St. Louis also marks the return of former Olympian Bill Fauver, a member of the 1976 and 1984 U.S. Olympic teams. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of competing in the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, along with partner Alice Cook. U.S. Figure Skating will honor the 1976 Olympic team during the championships and recognize them on the ice alongside the 2026 Olympic team.

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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Skating Academy sends record 9 skaters to U.S. Development Program

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