National Showcase 2024 in San Jose, California, scheduled for August 5th – 10th, 2024.
Host club National Showcase website. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for (pretty limited) info.
The UPDATED Showcase guidelines are here (PDF): 2024 National Showcase Guidelines.
EPIC Productions members do not need to register separately for ensemble events. See below if you would like to register for other events on your own.
Competition Credentials/Tickets
Only skaters and coaches get tickets to the competition with registration. All others must purchase a ticket to the event – none are provided with skater registration.
Skaters who need assistance for competition or practice may be accompanied by a ticketed parent or guardian in the designated area at the entrance of the Performance Center hallway. Ticketed parents/guardians are not permitted in the locker rooms at any time.
New Qualification Rules
- To compete in ANY ensemble, duet/trio, or interpretive event, you must have placed in the top 4 of any singles event between June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024 (top 4 at National Showcase 2023 singles event counts).
- To qualify for one of the 5 singles events, you must have placed in the top 4 for that specific event at any level. If events were combined or uncontested (e.g., at a smaller competition), skaters are still considered qualified.
- Once you qualify for a singles event, you can register for duets, trios, and interpretive events.
- The updated 2023 singles events are:
- Emotional Performance (formerly Dramatic Performance) – no lip-synching, yes props/scenery
- Choreographic Artistry – No lyrics in music; no lip-synching; NO props/scenery, minimalist costumes
- Lyrical Pop – Has lyrics, no lip-synching, no props/scenery
- Character Performance – Lyrics required; lip synching required; props/scenery allowed
- Comedic Impressions – Lip-synching allowed; props/scenery allowed
Host Rink Diagram
Instructions for Solo/Duet Registration
Deadline June 9, 2024.
If you are doing a solo or duet/trio event (these are not included in the EPIC Productions program), follow the instructions below.
Registering for a singles or interpretive event:
- Go to the EntryEeze registration site for showcase
- Click the Skaters & Parents button.
- Put in your skater’s USFS number and PIN from a previous competition as prompted.
- Put in skater information, and parent name for the Chaperone information (this gets you a badge). If your skater is under 12, this lets you into locker rooms.
- Put Marianne as your coach for these so that she has you on her schedule, regardless of whether she will put you on the ice.
- Fill out the rest of the information, and click “Save skater information” button at the bottom.
- Under “Select an event” on the right, select the event you want and the level, then “Add to shopping cart.”
- Practice Ice options will appear on the right (except for Interpretive). Select your Practice Ice (traditional practice ice) and Warm Up (individual skate with spotlight), and add to cart.
- Click the “Go to shopping cart” button on the upper right, then “Proceed to checkout…”
- On the merchandise page, you can purchase event tickets for parents/audience/etc. $50 per all-event ticket. Add your selected merchandise to the cart.
- Click again the “Go to shopping cart” button on the upper right, the “Proceed to checkout…”
- Add an intro of your program of 20 words or fewer. This can only be submitted during registration. No editing is possible after paying for your registration. Do not use commas.
- Agree to terms, and then pay.
For Duets/Trios registration:
- Go to the EntryEeze registration site for showcase
- Click the Teams button. Only one person needs to fill out the registration info for a duet.
- Put in your email address, click “Continue…” and then “Create a new team account”
- Put in your skater’s USFS number and PIN from a previous competition as prompted.
- Create a “Team Name” that will be read/displayed for the event, the level (of the highest member of the duet/trio), and the number of skaters (2 or 3).
- Put in your (parent) information for Team Contact and chaperone.
- Put Marianne as your coach.
- Fill out the rest of the information, and click “Save team information” button at the bottom.
- Under “Select an event” on the right, select the event you want, then “Add to shopping cart.”
- Practice Ice options will appear on the right. Select your Practice Ice (traditional practice ice) and Warm Up (individual skate with spotlight), and add to cart.
- Click the “Go to shopping cart” button on the upper right, then “Proceed to checkout…”
- On the merchandise page, you can purchase event tickets for parents/audience/etc. $50 per all-event ticket. Add your selected merchandise to the cart.
- Click again on the “Go to shopping cart” button on the upper right, the “Proceed to checkout…”
- Add an intro of your program of 20 words or fewer. This can only be submitted during registration. No editing is possible after paying for your registration. Do not use commas.
- Agree to terms, and then pay.
After you’re registered and paid, you can go to the music upload page and upload an MP3 of your music. Music deadline is mid-July.
Showcase Travel/Attendance
- You should plan to arrive the day BEFORE the competition begins, as practice ice is often early on the 1st day. Leave the day after the competition ends, as the last day is usually the large ensemble events and the awards go later into the afternoon/evening.
- Be prepared to spend much of the competition days at the rink doing practice ice, watching your teammates, and doing off-ice (along with your own solo or duet events, of course!)
- Finals are the last day of the competition. Watching the final performances is highly recommended!
About Showcase
The National Showcase Competition is an annual non-qualifying competition held by U.S. Figure Skating that fuses artistic creativity with skating for single skaters, duets, ensembles of 3 – 7 and production numbers of 8 – 30 skaters of all levels, from no-test to adult.
The competition is 5 exciting days during the first week of August. Most showcase numbers are 2–6 minute programs with music from popular Broadway or movie musicals, such as Hamilton, Lion King, Moana, Diary of a Nerd, Chicago, and Monsters, Inc.
Showcase uses 6.0 judging for all events. To compete with solo and duet events, skaters must place in the top four at any USFS Showcase/ entertainment event the previous year and be freeskate level Preliminary or above.
Judging criteria from the 2023 new guidelines:
- Showcase Skating Skills (25%)
Showcase skating is the way an athlete uses their skating and physical ability to convey their act on the ice surface. It must show a quality to support the selected theatrical performance, and show abilities in the skating vernacular, such as balance, glide, acceleration, ice coverage, one-foot skating, etc. Technical elements often found in singles should not be directly rewarded except where they are directly integrated into the performance and advance the story/theme/concept. - Performance & Projection: Universe, Musicality and Feeling (35%)
The physical, emotional and artistic involvement of a skater, using their ability to create a universe. This performance has continuous development of the theme and universe from beginning to end, while displaying their musicality skills. It is a measure of how skaters use the ice, music, and the space around them to project feeling and musical awareness into the subconscious of the audience. - Artistic Appeal with Innovation & Creativity (40%)
A performance is truly entertaining when it is in the eyes, ears, and hearts of the audience. It is a measure of how audience members remember the program, how they felt during the performance, their level of involvement during the program, what they take away from it, and how long after they will recall it. The meaning and feeling should be unique and personal. The question to be answered is: Will I remember what I have seen, and would I like to see it again?
Showcase is a big deal!
In 2017, 541 individual skaters and 111 teams from across the country competed in nearly 837 events at the competition. Some rinks focus only on this theatrical style of skating, auditioning in the fall and rehearsing all year for this competition. For that reason, the competition is fierce. Don’t expect an easy win here!
A different style of competition
The style of showcase skates is different than the Light or Dramatic Entertainment programs FCFSC skaters might be used to. Numbers for this competition often include spoken dialog and skaters frequently address the judges directly. There are very few high level jumps or spins used, as they don’t improve skater scores directly. Instead, the focus is on excellent interpretation of the music. In groups, synchronization is key!
No credit is given to jump difficulty, and a beautiful skate with no clear character or story will likely place lower than a simpler program with terrific characters acted out well on the ice. Originality, humor, and above all, expressiveness are important for this competition. Vital to all events are acting, costumes, props, and scenery, and the most successful competitors have clear characters, mouth the words to dialog in songs, and perform stories on the ice.
Want to see more? Take a look at the video of EPIC Production’s 2018 performance!