United States Figure Skating Association
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The United States Figure Skating Association, also known as the USFSA or U.S. Figure Skating, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic Committee under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, and by the International Skating Union (ISU).
The USFSA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As of 2006, it claims to have a membership of over 196,000, of which slightly over 2/3 are skaters enrolled in basic skills classes rather than competitive skating programs. Its annual budget is approximately $16 million; the majority of the organization's income derives from sale of the television and corporate sponsorship rights for the annual U.S. Figure Skating Championships and other events such as Skate America and other international and made-for-television competitions which are produced each year by the USFSA. In addition to these events, the USFSA also organizes national-level competitions and associated qualifying events at the developmental, collegiate, and adult levels, and in synchronized skating, and sanctions hundreds of other local competitions put on each year by member clubs. In addition, the USFSA is the publisher of Skating magazine, and houses the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame in its headquarters building in Colorado Springs.
The USFSA is fundamentally organized as an association of clubs rather than of individual skaters. There were only 7 original clubs when the association was founded in 1921 and joined the ISU; currently there are approximately 600. The Governing Council, which comprises delegates from all member clubs who care to send them, meets each year and has the sole authority to amend the organization's constitution and rules. The association's division into Eastern, Midwestern, and Pacific Coast sections reflects the historical concentrations of clubs in the Northeast, Chicago area, and California during the early years of the USFSA's existence.
Although the Executive Director and other headquarters staff are paid employees, much of the business of the USFSA is carried out by volunteers. In particular, skating officials such as judges and referees are not paid.
See also: Claire Waters Ferguson - first woman president of the USFSA.
