On the Ice for a Cause: Evening with Champions Blends World-Class Skating and Giving Back

For the past 50 years, skating fans and citizens of the Greater Boston area have flocked to Cambridge to watch an Evening with Champions. EWC is a public charity dedicated to fighting cancer by raising money for the Jimmy Fund, an organization for pediatric cancer research under the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

EWC was founded in 1970 by United States silver medalist John Misha Petkevich and John Powers. Inspired by the Jimmy Fund’s mission to advance cancer research, Petkevich envisioned a figure skating show that could raise both awareness and funds for the cause. 

Annually, world-class figure skaters take the ice at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center to perform. This year, EWC celebrated its 53rd show, having raised more than $3 million since its founding. The nonprofit’s production and fundraising are both student-run. EWC53 was co-chaired by Lucy Xu ’26, Alice Feng ’26, and Vinny Li ’26. 

“This show has such a special place in my heart, of course because of its mission to support cancer research and patients, and also because of the incredible community of board members, cast, production team, volunteers, audience, sponsors, and donors,” Feng said in an interview with the Harvard Independent. “The entire team tirelessly works to produce a successful show, and seeing our vision come to life is incredibly rewarding. We’re so grateful to all the people who return year after year to join us for the evening and support our cause.”

“EWC has been such a meaningful and rewarding experience. It’s such a unique opportunity to combine the artistry of skating with a cause I care deeply about, and I’ve loved seeing the community come together to support it,” Li added. “EWC has truly been one of the highlights of my time at Harvard, and I’m really excited to see how it continues to grow and evolve in the years ahead.”

This year’s co-chairs emphasized the continued importance of EWC, especially in light of the latest multi-billion dollar funding cuts to cancer research and patient support programs.

“It’s more important than ever to support organizations like the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, whose groundbreaking work continues to bring hope to countless patients and families,” said Xu. “This cause is especially close to my heart, as I lost my grandmother to colorectal cancer when I was in high school. To those in the audience who are cancer patients, survivors, or who have loved ones affected by cancer—please know that we see you, we stand with you, and we are committed to working together for a brighter, healthier future.”

This year’s lineup brought together skaters of all ages, featuring three Olympians and nine upcoming athletes preparing for the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Games. The evening opened with Linda Wnetrzewska’s ’26 performance of the national anthem, followed by a show-teaser video, and an ensemble number by the skaters.

Harvard alumni and Olympians Paul Wylie ’91 and Emily Hughes ’11 then took the ice to officially open the show. Wylie, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in men’s singles, and Hughes, who placed seventh at the 2006 Winter Olympics, brought both expertise and energy as this year’s hosts. 

“I have been coming to an Evening with Champions since I was invited as a sophomore in high school in Colorado,” explained Wylie in an interview with the Harvard Independent. “I was able to stay in Eliot House as a 17-year-old, skate with my heroes, hang out with Harvard students, and have the performance televised on PBS. It was a complete honor, and I was completely smitten.”

Headliners included Polina Edmunds, who represented the U.S. at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where she finished ninth. South Korea’s Lee Hae-In—the 2023 World silver medalist, 2023 Four Continents champion, and 2022 Four Continents silver medalist—captivated the crowd with a dramatic, cape-donning routine. Canadian-South Korean pair Hannah Lim and Ye Quan moved audiences with an emotional and impassioned program, while British duo Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez energized the arena with their fast-paced performance.

The Harvard audience was the first to see Bekker and Hernandez’s rhythmic program, which has qualified for the Olympics. “It was an honor to be invited to return to Harvard for the second year to perform for such a worthy cause at the 53rd an Evening with Champions. To volunteer and help raise money for The Jimmy Fund whilst skating alongside national and international champions is a truly unique experience,” Bekker and Hernandez said in a joint statement to the Harvard Independent. “The long-standing traditions of the show with previous Olympic champions as alumni, as well as supporting such a vital cancer research institute was a humbling and inspiring moment for us, and one that will be remembered for a very long time.”

“To know that so many of our skaters took time out of their Olympic season training made working on this year’s EWC extra special,” said Katherine Jackson ’25, former EWC chair and this year’s senior advisor. 

One of the evening’s most touching moments came from skater Sophie Joline von Felten, who dedicated her performance to friends lost in the January 29 Potomac River midair collision. The tragedy occurred when American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing all 64 passengers and crew aboard the plane and the three crew members in the helicopter. Among the victims were 28 figure skating athletes, coaches, and family members returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas—including 11 skaters.

Additional show highlights included a polished, synchronized performance by the Haydenettes, the senior-level team from the Skating Club of Boston, which features Independent Associate News Editor and EWC Individual Sponsorship Chair Caroline Stohrer ’28 among its members. 

Caitlyn Kukulowicz ’27 delivered an exciting performance during the Friday show, earning a warm response from the home crowd. “Participating in EWC has been an incredibly special part of my Harvard experience. I grew up as a competitive figure skater and was privileged to pursue my passion at a high level, so it means a lot to me that I can be part of an event that gives back,” Kukulowicz told the Independent. 

“Given my mom’s battle with cancer, I truly appreciate the opportunity to skate and raise money to help fight this disease. Plus, it’s amazing to meet skaters from all over the world and to reunite with old training partners—we have a lot of fun together. I hope that people continue to come to the show and support the important work being done at Dana-Farber,” she added.

For more than five decades, an Evening with Champions has stood as both a celebration of figure skating and a symbol of hope—offering skaters, student organizers, and audiences alike a meaningful way to give back in the fight against cancer. For Wylie, the event’s impact is reflected in the connections it creates. “Jimmy Fund patients and their families came to the show, and we had an ice cream social with them on the afternoon between shows on Saturday. This was a poignant time because families who were going through the cancer struggles would come,” he said. 

“I met many memorable kids and their families, but none impacted me as much as a 20-month-old named CJ,” Wylie recounted. “I had heard he was not doing well, so I told them I would come and visit him in the hospital. I was in the fall, in the middle of school and skating schedules.”

“When I was finally able to try to visit, I asked where he was. ‘We are sorry to say, but CJ is no longer with us,’” Wylie explained. “I never forgot CJ and the urgency of the Jimmy Fund kids. I am so thankful to be able to come back and to help year after year.”

Layla Chaaraoui ’26 (laylachaaraoui@college.harvard.edu) is the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Independent.