The 2023 John Nicks Pairs International Challenge at Middle Atlantics will be held September 6-7, 2023 in conjunction with the 97th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships at the home of The Skating Club of New York - Chelsea Piers in New York City. This event will be an International Skating Union (ISU) Minimum Technical Score event featuring Junior and Senior Pairs. The competition will be conducted in accordance with the ISU Constitution and General Regulations 2023 the Special Regulations and Technical Rules for Singles & Pairs 2023 and in accordance with ISU Communication 2382 (Single and Pairs Skating Required Elements for Short Program 2023/24) as well as all pertinent ISU Communications.

The competition honors John Nicks, one of the most recognized and decorated pair coaches in U.S. history. He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.

After winning four World pairs medals with his sister, representing Great Britain, Mr. Nicks relocated to the United States following the 1961 plane crash which killed the entire US World Team. Over the next four decades, he led one of the most successful pairs training centers in Southern California, producing World medalists, Olympic competitors, and some of the most highly regarded pairs of our time. His teams included JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, and Jenny Meno-Sand and Todd Sand.

The Diamond Award at the John Nicks International Pairs Challenge acknowledges his continuing quest for excellence, a trademark of the body of work that John Nicks produced as a coach.