Weeks after the tragedy, the club is weathering waves of anguish all the while doing what has made it a standard-bearer for figure skating in America for more than a century. There is palpable grief, to be sure, but also the ever present grind of athletes striving for greatness.
“We keep them in our hearts while we do it, and it feels like we’re still skating together,” said LoPinto’s son, 16-year-old Zachary, who is the top-ranked male figure skater in New England, and fourth nationally, for his age group.
Han was returning from Wichita, Kan., where her 13-year-old daughter, Jinna, who was also killed in the crash, had attended a development camp following the US Figure Skating Championships. Han and her daughter never made it back to New England. Neither did youth skater Spencer Lane, his mother Christine Lane, and Evegenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, both former elite figure skaters who coached at the club.
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Zachary LoPinto passed a memorial honoring figure skaters Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16, in a hallway at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Zachary LoPinto listened to his mother, Donna, while talking about the recent loss to the community at the Skating Club of Boston.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
The LoPintos often traveled with the Hans, and Donna LoPinto considered the possibility of members of her family being on that flight “a little” haunting.
The two families became tight because they were at this Norwood rink six days a week for their children.
Indeed, the club’s three-rink facility, on a slice of land wedged between Interstate 95 and Route 1, anchored much of the existences of the six victims. Take Han for instance. LoPinto, who considers the Hans to be family rather than friends, said of Jin, “Pretty much the rink was her life.”
Zachary and Jinna shared aspirations of becoming truly elite in their sport.
For the LoPintos, that meant moving from Long Island to Canton to give Zachary the best chance at success. He has trained at the Skating Club of Boston for the last four years. LoPinto’s husband still lives part time in New York, where he owns an insurance agency. Zachary’s commitment to the sport means he attends school online. Jinna, whom Zachary considered to be a little sister, had a similar academic arrangement.
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Zachary’s six-day-a-week training regimen is vigorous. Many days he has three 80-minute sessions on the ice, in addition tooff-ice jumping, the weight room, and physical therapy. Consistency, he said, is chief among his challenges. Some days, he feels fantastic about his jumps; others, he feels as though nothing is working. And the higher the jumps, the more inconsistent the results, he said. This is his life.
“I feel free on the ice,” he said.
Zachary LoPinto passed a bank of mirrors while working out at the Skating Club of Boston.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Zachary LoPinto joined fellow figure skaters in an off ice workout at the Skating Club of Boston.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Out on the ice during a recent weekday afternoon,a handful of skaters worked on their craft. This specific rink, named after Tenley E. Albright, a Newton native who became the first American female skater to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1956, has a capacity for 2,500 spectators and is designated for the highest performing skaters.
To the uninitiated, it all looks effortless at first as the skaters glide in elegant arcs, punctuated by spins or jumps. Then occasionally someone lands awkwardly and ends up on their backside. And the truth becomes real: This can be taxing work.
Locally, figure skating is a tight-knit community. The Norwood club has about 1,200 members, about 60 percent of whom are “active skaters,” a spokesperson said.It’s one of only three facilities in the nation owned and operated by a figure skating club. The facility opened in 2020, following decades at a rink on Soldiers Field Road.
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Covering one wall on the side of the rink is a massive timeline chronicling the club’s rich history. Its narrative is intertwined with the development of figure skating in the US. The club was founded in 1912. By 1963, it had produced eight female figure skating national champions.
The display also covers past heartbreak. A 1961 plane crash in Belgium killed the entire US skating team, including 10 members of the Boston club, who were on their way to the world championships.
The last photo in the timeline shows the smiling Shishkova and Naumov, the two coaches who died in the D.C. plane crash. They are flankingtheir son, Maxim Naumov, who was competing at the US Championships in Kansas but traveled home Sunday before his parents.
Becky Stump, the club’s coaching director, choked up when talking about that family and the club’s culture. Shishkova, she said, was “an absolute sweetheart,” while Naumov “really cared about his skaters, not just as skaters but as people, which is not always the case with coaches”
Originally from Russia, Shishkova and Naumov won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. They were also “good people,” Stump said.
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She recalled she wanted to ask Shishkova about where she got her hair done because “her hair always looked so good.” But coaches at the club are perpetually busy, and she missed her chance.
Stump texted Naumov while he was in Wichita, saying she hoped his son, Maxim, would skate well at the US Championships, and included a prayer hands emoji. After Maxim finished fourth, Naumov messaged her: ”God heard your prayers, Becky.”
“Now, I’m reading it and I’m like ‘Oh God,’” she said.
Coaching director Becky Stump talked about the loss to the community at the Skating Club of Boston.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Maxim has not trained since the crash that took his parents’ lives, Stump said, but he has taught some lessons at the club.
Elite figure skaters, she said, can be adept at compartmentalization.
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“Skaters learn to be in the moment when you have to be in the moment and when you’re not that’s when you have your space to cry, but it’s been really tough,” she said, especially since many are still in their competitive season. She pointed out Jinna Han’s coach out on the ice. She is coaching a pairsteam that is bound for the World Championships next month at Boston’s TD Garden.
And while the sport often forces its athletes to learn how to deal with deep disappointment, there is still pervasive anxiety attached to the recent catastrophe. Stump mentioned a trip that some of the club’s members will take to Colorado Springs for an upcoming competition.
“They’re all scared,” she said, referencing the impending plane ride. “Parents, skaters, everybody.”
In a hallway near the rink is an informal tribute to Spencer Lane and Jinna Han. The memorial, located where the two used to lace up their skates before stepping out onto the ice, includes teddy bears, flowers, cards, a hand drawing, candy, and framed photos of each skater.
The club expects to have a handful of its members in the mix to qualify for the next Winter Olympics. The organization also thinks multiple Olympic cycles ahead. One pre-teen on the ice, the club spokesperson said, is a prospect for the 2034 Winter Olympics in Milan.
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Zachary LoPinto’s long-term goal is to qualify for the Olympics at least once, maybe twice. More immediately, there is the pain of loss.
His mother recalled Jin Han as selfless. “If you wanted to sit, she’d give you her chair. If you wanted food, she’d give you her food first before she would feed herself,” she said
Han’s husband, Joon, still comes to the rink for a hug, a coffee, or a chat. He pushes Zachary, who considers him an uncle, to excel, said Donna LoPinto.
“Some days,” she said, “are harder than others.”
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Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him @Danny__McDonald.
Afloat is an ideal option if you’ve ever had dreams of owning your own boat but have been told that boat ownership requires endless reserves of cash. Or if you’ve ever wanted to experience a houseboat, although I’d describe my houseboat as more of a floating hotel room.
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I’ve made no secret of my dislike of the word “staycation,” but I’ll admit that booking at Afloat is as close as you can get to a staycation in Boston. Depending on your sea legs and your tolerance of motion, of course.
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This is also one of the best lodging deals in Boston. My petite houseboat with a queen bed (although it looked more like a double) was $260 a night; two-bedroom yachts were $350. Moored at Constitution Marina in Charlestown, with views of the Zakim Bridge, the only way to get better water views would be to jump into the harbor.
The interior of the Casita houseboat at Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston, the city’s only floating B&B.Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
There were some downsides to my houseboat, named Casita, which I believe translates into “little house with a touch of saltwater corrosion that bobs gently in a marina.” The interior was small, as in, I wouldn’t recommend this houseboat for anyone over 230 pounds or over 6 feet 2 inches, give or take. If you’re a hotel snob, it might not be a fit for your high-falutin’ tastes. The room is spartan, but it had everything I needed. There was a full bathroom, a coffee maker, a refrigerator, a hair dryer, an iron, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, heat, and a television.
The pool at Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston. It’s open to B&B guests.Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Wait, but there’s more! There are plenty of moored boats and houseboats that you can rent on Airbnb or VRBO, but how many of them include a pool where you can splash your cares away? Or communal barbecues where you can BYOB (that’s bring your own beef) and grill your dinner? These are marina extras included in my stay that I was not expecting. I spent time by the pool with a soccer-crazed family from Norway. I tried to change the topic from soccer to my favorite Norwegian pop stars. The family hastily grabbed their towels and left the pool area.
There are people to escort you to your boat and carry your luggage. They also explained the room’s features. I assume if I were staying on a yacht, the orientation would be more detailed, including “do not untie this boat and start sailing to Bermuda.” There was a paper bag on the bed of my room filled with houseboat essentials: lip balm, a tin of mints, a blueberry Nutri-Grain bar, a bag of mini rice cakes, and a postcard of the marina.
A view of the Boston skyline at night as seen from Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston. The B&B is located at Constitution Wharf.Christopher Muther/Globe Staff
Afloat has another advantage that I hadn’t anticipated. It gave me entrance to the rarified world of marina life. At one point or another, we’ve all walked by a marina and looked down as sun-kissed boat owners sipped beer on the decks of their yachts or hosed down their sailboats after a day at sea. We walk by, green in the gills with envy, trying to justify our feelings by saying that buying a boat is about as solid an investment as encasing cash in concrete and throwing it to the bottom of the ocean. But really, we want to be a part of it.
Finally, I had an entree into the marina universe. I walked around and checked out the other boats, my bare feet on the warm wooden planks. I casually waved or said, “How’s it going?” in a tone that indicated that I was also a part of marina culture, my imaginary yacht sitting nearby. I’m sure my jaunty nautical ensembles helped solidify my place there.
I generally avoid bed-and-breakfasts in the same way I avoid smiling folks on the sidewalk holding a clipboard who say, “Excuse me, sir, do you have a minute…” But Afloat is a different kind of B&B. I didn’t have to talk to other guests or sit awkwardly at a table with strangers in the morning. There’s also no hard and fast rule that breakfast ends at 9 a.m., which, coincidentally, is the time I normally wake up.
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Instead, when you check in, you’re given $10 vouchers for Emmi Bakery & Cafe, which is a fish’s throw from the marina. Here, I could get whatever I liked, whenever I liked (the cafe closes at 4 p.m.), without feeling obligated to make small talk with strangers. The advantage of staying in a houseboat over a yacht is that it has a small, private deck adjacent to it, surrounded by herbs and flowers. I invited friends over, some of whom did not appreciate the charms of Casita as much as I did.
The author (left) entertains a friend on the deck of his houseboat at Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston.Thomas McHale/Globe Staff
My husband was the first visitor. He entered with a look of horror and declared, “This place is terrible. I thought you only stayed at nice hotels.” Within five minutes, he grew seasick and quickly exited, never to return.
“I’m going to call you in the morning to make sure you haven’t floated out to sea,” he said as I rolled my eyes.
Other friends were kinder, but not much. I broke out a bottle of wine on the deck at sunset while my friends popped open the Dramamine. I barely noticed the sway, but the more delicate among you might blanch quickly.
Being at Constitution Marina gave me an excuse to explore Charlestown, a part of the city that I rarely see. Not because I don’t like it, but because parking can be a bear. I had dinner outside at Monument Restaurant and Tavern, looked around at Boston National Historic Park, and took the MBTA ferry from Charlestown to Long Wharf. For $3.75, I had a quick scenic spin in the harbor.
I’ll give the houseboat at Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston a rating of four anchors out of five. I think much of my good vibes had to do with the perfect weather and the views, but I also loved the feeling of adventure and the way the water rocked me to sleep. That’s a feature you can’t find at any other B&B in the city.
BOSTON (WHDH) – The Boston Pops are preparing for their Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular this weekend with half a million people expected to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday on the Charles River Esplanade.
The President and CEO of Boston Symphony Orchestra said an even bigger celebration is being prepared at the hatch-shell this year.
“Everything is bigger. You only turn 250 once!” said Chad Smith, President and CEO of Boston Symphony. “We recognize that Massachusetts has been a center of revolution, not just in the Revolutionary War, but through the last 250 years. That spirit, sense of innovation, the sense of pushing our country forward is going to be on display as well.”
Organizers are bringing in lighting, sound equipment, extra stages, and of course – the fireworks.
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“Planning to bring in new details and amplify the experience on the Fourth of July with a bigger firework show. They’re going to have drones for the first time, amazing talent,” said Kate Fox, Executive Director at the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism.
This year’s spectacular is being hosted by actress Jane Lynch, and will feature performances by country star Lainey Wilson, Chance the Rapper, Trombone Shorty, and Broadway star Megan Hilty.
“We’re going to have remarkable artists that represent the vast diversity and breadth of American music,” Smith said.
The Boston Pops have been performing on the Esplanade for the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular for 52 years, and organizers said this year’s show will highlight the history of Massachusetts.
“The history of the Pops is so closely tied to the Massachusetts story on the Fourth of July,” Fox said.
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The fireworks show will begin at 9:15 p.m., and will be set to live music from the Pops.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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When Americans think of the beverage that fueled the American Revolution, they usually picture black tea — but it turns out that green tea was just as popular.
The Founding Fathers and their contemporaries drank both types of tea, Bruce Richardson, the Kentucky-based founder of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, told Fox News Digital.
British subjects “were as likely to be drinking green tea as black tea, whether you were in Jane Austen [era] England … or you were in colonial Boston,” he added.
“There were five teas, all from China, because that was the only country that was exporting tea,” Richardson said. “And of those five different teas, two of them were green and three of them were black.”
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Richardson, a tea historian who works as the tea master at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, said the five types of tea dumped into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act of 1773 included three black varieties — Bohea, Souchong and Congou — as well as the green teas Hyson and Singlo.
Bohea, the most common and least expensive black tea of the era, was often made from older tea leaves harvested after the highest-quality leaves of the season had already been picked.
Most of the tea dumped into Boston Harbor was Bohea, Richardson said — and it was so ubiquitous that he compared it to the way Kleenex has become synonymous with tissues today.
The Founding Fathers and their contemporaries drank both types of tea, Bruce Richardson, the Kentucky-based founder of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas said. Getty Images
“It was so common that often teapots at the time, or some that I’ve seen, would say Bohea on the side of the teapot,” he said. “If they wanted tea, they’d say, ‘I’ll have a cup of Bohea.’ It was that common.”
Not only did colonial Americans distinguish between green and black tea, they even stored them differently.
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“They still wanted their tea time, but they didn’t want to support the British government.”
“The well-to-do people would have a tea caddy – a wooden, beautifully made tea caddy to store their tea in,” he said.
“It was kept under lock and key. And in that tea caddy, [there] would be two compartments, one for green tea and one for black tea.”
There were five teas, all from China, because that was the only country that was exporting tea, and green and black teas were very popular! Kristina Blokhin – stock.adobe.com
Merchants often favored black tea because it held up better during the long voyage from China to Europe and onward to the American colonies, Richardson said.
“The green tea was what China had always drunk,” he said.
“And so they were exporting that as well, but they found that the black tea actually made the voyage better than the green teas.”
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Even after many colonists swore off British tea, they kept the ritual of drinking it — or at least a close substitute.
Many patriots brewed so-called “Liberty Teas” made from ingredients such as dried apples, blueberries, chamomile and herbs grown in their gardens.
“They still wanted their tea time, but they didn’t want to support the British government,” Richardson said.
