Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior), and at local, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions. Figure skating is an official event in the Winter Olympic Games. In languages other than English and Russian, figure skating is usually referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating".

Major international competitions are sanctioned by the ISU. These include the Winter Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Junior Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships, and the Grand Prix series (senior and junior).

The sport is also associated with show-business. Major competitions generally include exhibitions at the end in which the top-placing skaters perform non-competitive programs for the audience. Many skaters, both during and after their competitive careers, also skate in ice skating exhibitions or shows which run during the competitive season and the off-season.

Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a U.S. figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.

Cohen was born in Westwood, California, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her full name is Alexandra Pauline Cohen. Her nickname "Sasha" is a Russian diminutive of "Alexandra". As a university student, she has used the name Alex, rather than Sasha.

Her mother, Galina (née Feldman), is a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine and a former ballet dancer.

Her father, Roger Cohen, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. Roger Cohen was formerly a law partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, and Of Counsel at Dorsey and Whitney. He is Founder and CEO of VerticalPoint Solutions, a company that simplifies and automates compliance for document intensive industries. VerticalPoint is based in Orange County, California.[1]

Sasha Cohen graduated from Futures High School in Mission Viejo, California in 2002. As of 2011, she was enrolled as an undergraduate student at Columbia University. Her sister, Natalia ("Natasha"), began college at Barnard College in August 2006.

Julia Viacheslavovna Lipnitskaia (Russian: Юлия Вячеславовна Липницкая;schol. Julia Vjačeslavovna Lipnickaja, also romanized as Yulia Lipnitskaya; born June 5, 1998 in Yekaterinburg) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2012 World Junior Champion, 2011–12 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, 2012 Russian senior silver medalist and the 2012 Russian junior champion. She holds the record for the combined total and free skate scores on the ladies junior level.

Lipnitskaia trained in Yekaterinburg until 2009 when she and her mother discussed her future, concluding they should either relocate for her skating career or leave the sport. Lipnitskaia moved with her mother to Moscow and joined Eteri Tutberidze's group in the spring of 2009. Her flexibility comes from her background in rhythmic gymnastics, which she practiced as a child. In the 2009–2010 season, she placed 5th on the junior level at the 2010 Russian Championships. She was 4th on the senior level the following season at the 2011 Russian Championships. She also competed at the national 2011 Russian Junior Championships but withdrew from the competition after the short program.

Adelina Dmitriyevna Sotnikova (Russian: Аделина Дмитриевна Сотникова; born 1 July 1996 in Moscow) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2011 World Junior champion, 2010 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, 2012 Youth Olympics silver medalist, and a three-time (2009, 2011, 2012) Russian National champion.

Adelina Sotnikova began skating at the age of four at the "Yuzhny" ice rink near her home in Moscow. At the age of seven she began training at CSKA which is further away from her home. She began working with coach Elena Buianova (Vodorezova) a year later.

During the 2008–2009 season, Sotnikova debuted at the senior level at the 2009 Russian Nationals and won the gold medal at the age of 12. One month later she also won the 2009 Russian Junior Championships.

Sotnikova was ineligible to compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit during the 2009–2010 season because International Skating Union rules require that skaters turn 13 before 1 July in their place of birth – she was born a few hours into 1 July in Moscow. Sotnikova's mother told her that she was born a month prematurely anyway. She struggled with a growth spurt and dropped to fourth at Russian senior nationals and sixth in the junior event.

Ashley Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American figure skater. She is the 2012 Four Continents champion, the 2012 U.S. champion and a two-time (2008 and 2010) U.S. bronze medalist. She is a two-time (2007 and 2009) World Junior bronze medalist. She placed fourth at the 2012 World Championships.

Ashley Wagner is the first child and only daughter of LTC Eric Wagner, U.S. Army (Retired) and Melissa Wagner. A military brat, Wagner was born on a U.S. Army Base in Heidelberg, Germany, where her father was stationed at the time. Although she was born in Germany, she is a United States citizen, because her parents are U.S. citizens. Her father is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and her mother is a retired fourth-grade teacher. Her younger brother Austin is also a skater and competes on the national level.

Because Wagner's father was in the military, her family moved seven times during Wagner's childhood. Besides Germany, she has lived in California, Alaska, Kansas, Washington State, and Virginia. Wagner currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia, but considers Seabeck, WA home. She previously attended Northern Virginia Community College via their online study program. Wagner attended West Potomac High School through the 2007/2008 school year. She had previously attended Whitman Middle School. Wagner was home schooled by her mother for half a year before entering Whitman Middle School but returned to public school because she missed it.