Skating fans, get ready! 2012 Skate America is coming to Kent this weekend, Fri., Oct. 19 – Sun., Oct. 21, bringing world class figure skaters to ShoWare Center. Among the skaters are U.S. ladies champion Ashley Wagner who visited Kent for a media tour in September, Armin Mahbanoozadeh, a bronze medalist at 2010 Skate America, and Team USA members Douglas Razzano and Jeremy Abbott. For a complete list of competitors, visit Skate America online. 2012 Skate America is the opening event for the 2012 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

The schedule for the three-day event includes:

Thurs., Oct. 18
Official Practice, 11 a.m.

Fri., Oct. 19
Practice, 11 a.m.
Pairs Short, Men’s Short, 7 p.m. (Sess. 1)

Sat., Oct. 20
Practice, 9 a.m.
Ladies Short, Short Dance, 12:30 p.m. (Sess. 2)
Men’s Free, Pairs Free, 7 p.m. (Sess. 3)

Sun., Oct. 21
Practice, 7:30 a.m.
Free Dance, Ladies Free, 11:45 am (Sess. 4)
Skating Spectacular, 6 p.m. (Sess. 5)

NBC will broadcast live coverage of the event from 4 to 6 p.m. EST on Sun., Oct. 21. The event will also be broadcast in Canada, Japan, Russia and the European Union, among others. For more information, or to buy tickets, visit 2012SkateAmerica.com.