Ques: Throughout the page, I see United States Figure Skating Association and U.S. Figure Skating referenced, but no USFSA or USFS. What's going on?

Answer: In response to a query from one of our members, I turned to the official site(s) of our parent organization for enlightenment. I discovered two distinct (though connected) domains: USFSA.org and USFigureSkating.org. The short version is: in 2003, in an effort to increase public recognition of the association and those clubs/functions/merchandise affiliated with it, the United States Figure Skating Association's governing council elected to adopt a regularized commercial interface, including, among other things, the new marketing identity (U.S. Figure Skating) and the distinctive logo used on our opening page. Their very helpful webmaster sent me the following official statement:

U.S. Figure Skating is the proper name of the organization for all marketing and public/jmedia relations usages. USFS or USFSA are not appropriate abbreviations. The legal name of the association is still the United States Figure Skating Association, and that is why you will see "USFSA" in the rulebook and in some contracts/legal documents.

OK. So, given this, why have we still chosen to list both United States Figure Skating Association and U.S. Figure Skating throughout the site? Three reasons:

a) We've chosen a writer for a webmaster, and as a writer, said webmaster distinguishes strongly between the legal name of the organization to which members of LCFSC belong and the prefered official representation of that same organization.

b) For clarity: U.S. Figure Skating is not yet a commonly recognized entity. United States Figure Skating Association is.

c) U.S. Figure Skating is making a conscious effort to make this conversion. By using the legal name in juxtaposition with the marketing name, we not only create a solid association, but raise the very question that brought you to this page.