An Evening with Champions
An Evening with Champions (EWC) is an annual benefit figure skating show hosted by the students of Harvard University. The event is a two-day skating show in October, which regularly attracts world-class skaters, thousands of spectators, hundreds of Harvard students, special guests, and donors. The show is entirely student-run and is managed completely by volunteer work. All profits go to the Jimmy Fund, one of New England's most cherished charities, and is one of the oldest continually-running fundraising events for the charity. The Jimmy Fund is dedicated to pediatric cancer research and treatment, and the affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has similar important goals. Since 1970, An Evening with Champions has raised over $2.5 million for the Jimmy Fund.
The show was originally conceived in 1970 by John Misha Petkevich, the two-time Olympic competitor who was at that time a junior at Harvard living in Eliot House, which became (and has remained) the official host of the show. The show has been continually produced every fall since 1970, with the exception of a special spring show in April 2010, commemorating the 40th anniversary of EWC.
Many current and former U.S. and international champions and Olympic competitors have appeared in the show over the years. The show usually features a mix of up-and-coming elite competitors and established champions. Past years' skaters have included Michelle Kwan, Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ekaterina Gordeeva, and the Haydenettes synchronized skating team who have made "EWC" their opening appearance for many years. Paul Wylie, himself a former resident of Eliot House, has usually hosted the show in recent years. Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, two-time Olympic Champions, have also had a particularly long association with the show, and continue to make annual appearances.
The show was formerly televised each year on PBS, but the broadcast ended in 2001. More recently, it had been televised on the Comcast Network cable channel CN8.
40th An Evening with Champions
The 2010 show of An Evening with Champions celebrated the 40th anniversary of the charity. The main cast included Olympians Mark Ladwig and Amanda Evora, two-time Olympic champions Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, and Olympian (and Harvard student) Emily Hughes. Many former Olympians and national champions joined the main cast to celebrate the anniversary, including Sarah Hughes, Paul Wylie, and Dorothy Hamill. The show was co-hosted by Peggy Fleming and Dick Button, who temporarily replaced Wylie.
41st An Evening with Champions
The 41st An Evening with Champions took place on October 15 and 16, 2011, coinciding with the 375th anniversary of Harvard University. The cast included reigning Olympic Champion Kim Yuna, 1994 Olympic Champion Oksana Baiul, 2010 US National Champion Rachael Flatt, 2011 US National Bronze Medalist Ross Miner, 2011 World Bronze Medalists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, legendary Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, and many other skaters. The 2011 show sold out in approximately one week and donated $86,000 for the Jimmy Fund.
42nd An Evening with Champions
The 42nd An Evening with Champions took place on September 29 and 30, 2012. The cast included reigning National Champion Jeremy Abbott, 2011 National Champion Ryan Bradley, and 2006 World Champion Kimmie Meissner. The show was co-hosted by 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie and 2006 Olympian Emily Hughes. The 2012 show raised over $60,000 for the Jimmy Fund charity.
Embezzlement scandal of 1991
Chas Lee pleaded guilty to charges of embezzling over $100,000 from the show in 1991 and 1992, when he was co-chairman of the event as an Eliot House undergraduate. David Sword, another Harvard undergraduate who served as the event's treasurer around the same time, was also convicted of embezzling a lesser amount of money. The scandal received a considerable amount of press coverage in the Boston area at the time the theft was uncovered in 1994.
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