Go Figure Skating

Figure Skating Sectional Competitions

By Go Figure Skating · Last reviewed November 9, 2026

The Sectional Singles Finals are the second step of the U.S. qualifying season for singles skaters, between the National Qualifying Series in the summer and the national championships in January. They are held in November.

Three sections

The United States is divided into three sections, each holding its own singles final:

  • Eastern (New England, North Atlantic and South Atlantic regions)
  • Midwestern (Eastern Great Lakes, Upper Great Lakes and Southwestern regions)
  • Pacific Coast (Northwest Pacific, Central Pacific and Southwest Pacific regions)

The states in each region are listed on the qualifying competitions page.

Who gets in

Each final has 18 skaters per level, at Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior and Senior:

  • the top four NQS scores in each of the section's three regions, and
  • the next six best NQS scores in the section.

Senior skaters must also reach a minimum combined technical element score (45.00 for women and 49.00 for men in 2026-27). A few skaters get a bye straight to the final, such as U.S. skaters with junior or senior international assignments and the previous season's senior sectional champion.

Who advances

  • Juvenile, Intermediate and Novice: the top four go to the U.S. Figure Skating Development Team Championships (new in 2027), with fifth and sixth as alternates.
  • Junior: the top four go to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
  • Senior: the top two go to the U.S. Championships, and further places go to the best remaining scores across all three sectional finals, up to a field of 18 including skaters with byes.

Pairs and ice dance teams do not skate at the sectional singles finals. Each has a single national final instead (the U.S. Pairs Final and the U.S. Ice Dance Final), which for 2027 were held alongside the Eastern and Midwestern singles finals.

Like all qualifying events, the sectional finals are scored with the ISU Judging System. Skaters from Intermediate up skate a short program and a free skate; Juvenile skaters skate a free skate only.

The 2027 sectional finals

The finals are named for the U.S. Championships they lead to, so the 2027 finals took place in the fall of 2026:

  • Eastern Sectional Singles & U.S. Pairs Final: November 3-7, 2026, Skating Club of Boston, Norwood, Massachusetts
  • Midwestern Sectional Singles & U.S. Ice Dance Final: November 11-15, 2026, Detroit Skating Club, Bloomfield Township, Michigan
  • Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final: November 2026, San Jose, California

Sources

U.S. Figure Skating 2026-27 Rulebook (rules 1010-1014, 2471-2477, 2491-2495 and 2501), the 2026-27 NQS Participant Handbook, and the event pages for the 2027 Eastern and 2027 Midwestern finals.