PSA Legacy

The PSA was founded on August 10, 1938, in Lake Placid, New York, as the American Skaters Guild, just two years after the Ice Teachers Guild was formed in England by Jacques Gerschwiler, Howard Nicholson, Gladys Hogg, and Eric Van De Weyden.

On January 21, 1950, at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the American Skaters Guild was reorganized and renamed the Professional Skaters Guild of America.

In May 1995, the PSGA once again changed its identity to the Professional Skaters Association, International (PSA). With this new name, the association took on a renewed role in the sport of figure skating but vowed to remain rooted in its 57-year history and ideals. The “birth” of the PSA reflected the changing scope of this organization’s activities and the worldwide skating industry. The Board of Directors felt it was time to adopt this new name, acknowledging that the PSA was the world’s premier professional skating organization.

The offices were moved from New York to Rochester, Minnesota, in 1984, and in 2000 a beautiful, award-winning headquarters was built at 3006 Allegro Park SW. The exterior granite was mined at Cold Spring, Minnesota, and transported to Rochester during construction in the summer of 2000.

The membership consisted of coaching members who trained skaters from grassroots to elite levels of competition, as well as judges and fans of the sport.

Education and safety were the main focus of the organization. Many educational events were organized each year. Accreditation was also important to the organization, offering multiple disciplines of examination for members who desired to be board certified in one of four levels from registered to master. The PSA had a membership of approximately 5,000 coaches worldwide, a staff of employees, and volunteers nationwide.