Competition at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships begins Wednesday at the TD Garden in Boston.
Skaters manage emotions heading into competition
At this international competition, Alisa Efimova feels right at home.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"I just took the commuter rail," she told NBC10 Boston at practice on Tuesday. Efimova and her partner Misha Mitrofanav live in Norwood, Massachusetts, and train at the Skating Club of Boston.
“I think that plays to our advantage, no timezone difference or anything like that, so, that definitely will help us," Mitrofanav said.
But their hometown competition appearance is bittersweet. The event comes as the skaters still mourn the friends lost in late January, when a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight over Washington, D.C. There will be a special tribute Wednesday night.
Sports
"It is an empty place now forever inside us, we will try to keep the legacy of the people we know alive here,” Efimova said.
“We are always going to hold onto that, we are definitely right now in the competition bubble, but we will never forget the tragedy,” Mitrofanav added.
Fans and businesses hyped for the skating excitement
Large crowds are expected every night, as this competition draws skaters and fans from around the world.
Boston last hosted Worlds in 2016. This time around, the event, which runs through Sunday, is expected to bring an estimated $40 million.
“This group is consuming 14,000 hotel room nights, that is a lot of hotel rooms, and they are staying for a long time, so they will be out and about, they will be shopping, they will be dining,” said Meet Boston CEO Martha Sheridan.
Susan Crosby, known as the “Red Hat Lady,” came down from Vermont.
“I have been watching it since 1964, I started to see it one day and I just got hooked,” Crosby told NBC10 Boston.
“You get to see the skaters, and see what their music is, what they are working on, and you get to know them a little better.”
How to watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships
All of the competition will be livestreamed on Peacock. If you miss it live, events will be available on Peacock for 72 hours after they end.
The schedule for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships
Tuesday, March 25
All Day | Official Practice
Wednesday, March 26
12:05 p.m. | Women's Short Program
6:15 p.m. | A Tribute and Remembrance
6:45 p.m. | Pairs Short Program
Thursday, March 27
11:05 a.m. | Men's Short Program
6:15 p.m. | Pairs Free Skate
Friday, March 28
11:15 a.m. | Rhythm Dance
6 p.m. Women's Free Skate
Saturday, March 29
1:30 p.m. | Free Dance
6 p.m. | Men's Free Skate
Sunday, March 30
2 p.m. | Exhibition of Champions
How to buy tickets for World Figure Skating Championships
Tickets for individual events are available on Ticketmaster. Check availability on the website.