Founded in 1863, The Skating Club of New York is the second oldest figure skating club in the United States. At the beginning, several figure skating clubs called New York City home. They were comprised of elite businessmen who organized clubs within their specific professions such as the Bankers and Brokers Club and The Artists and Architects Skating Club. The Skating Club of New York's original home was a pond across from the Plaza Hotel on the edge of Central Park. As time went on, the individual clubs slowly began to consolidate. Eventually, it was agreed that The Skating Club of New York would continue on as the name of choice.

However, with the crash of the stock market, The Skating Club of New York, was in serious jeopardy. Fortunately, a new building just had been constructed adjacent to the original Madison Square Garden on West 50th street. Through savvy contract negotiations, The Skating Club of New York found a home and began to create a legacy. Gathering a group of elite skaters from the United States and premier coaches from Europe, The Skating Club of New York, began to carve out a path for competitive figure skating within the United States. In addition, during the 1930's the club produced some of the most famous and lavish carnivals in the world at Madison Square Garden. Headlined by three-time Olympian Sonja Henie, these carnivals were the forerunners of the ice show as we know it today.

The Skating Club of Boston, the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, and The Skating Club of New York became founding members of the United States Figure Skating Association. Many of the Association's original officers were from New York and the meetings were typically held in the homes of Skating Club of New York members.

US Figure Skating quickly established a National Championships based on SCNY's Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships. For the next 30 years, The Skating Club of New York would share in hundreds of National Championship titles and medals. Many of the club’s champions would go on to World and Olympic medals, including Beatrix Loughran (Olympic Ladies 1924 Silver, 1928 Bronze), Sherwin Badger and Beatrix Loughran (Olympic Pairs Silver 1932), Yvonne Claire Sherman (World Medalist and Olympian), Sonya Klopfer Dunfield (World Medalist and Olympian) and Carol Heiss (Olympian Ladies Gold 1960, Silver 1956). The Skating Club of New York was an undeniable force.

Times did eventually change. After World War II and the popularity of Dick Button, skating clubs seemed to pop up all across the country. Skating as we know it today was well established. Through the years, the club would continue to be a strong presence within the Association and at the National Championships. In 1976, a young girl from Connecticut representing The Skating Club of New York, won her third National title and the Olympic gold medal. Her name was Dorothy Hamill (Ladies Gold 1976).

Today, the tradition of excellence still continues. In the most recent years, skaters representing The Skating Club of New York have included Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval, and Elaine Zayak (World Medalist and Olympian). Currently, club member Sarah Hughes is the 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist. Kyoko Ina (World Medalist & two-time Olympian) along with her partner, John Zimmerman have won their third consecutive National Pairs Title. They placed 5th at the 2002 Olympics and were the Bronze Medalists at The 2002 World Championships.