The flower kids enjoy the music during a break in the rhythm dance competition in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, last week.Francisco Seco/The Associated Press
Their official title is ‘flower kid’ and their moment starts as soon as the music ends.
In figure skating, it is customary for fans to throw gifts on the ice for skaters after a performance, but this show of appreciation can slow down the whole event and cause tripping hazards if anything is missed. That’s where the flower kids come in and you’ll see them in the background each night here in Milan.
At the end of a skate, as stuffed animals and the occasional wrapped bouquet rain down from the stands, half-a-dozen little kids in matching blue-and-pink zip-ups bolt onto the ice, grab the goods, and get off again before the marks are announced and the next performance is set to start.
When a new teddy bear hits the surface, another one sprint-skates into the rotation.
“If it’s a quick thing, if they’re close together, you pick up two. But if there’s one over here and one over there, you let another get it,” 12-year-old Martina Capasso explained before the pairs event Monday night.
Capasso is from Turin. She is one of 30 young figure skaters – aged 8 through 12 – from across Italy who were selected to be the flower kids during the Milan Cortina Olympic figure-skating events. For any skating competition, they’re an integral part of the event as they keep the program going and the skaters safe from debris on the ice. And for the dozens of kids chosen, it’s the chance of a lifetime to have front-row seats to the best skating in the world.
Julia Radalle, 9, couldn’t believe she got to watch the men’s free program with her own eyes: “It was so exciting.”
For Queen Felicity Dela Cruz, 12, seeing Italy win bronze in the team event was the highlight.
Not a single one said they felt nervous.
“Not at all,” Capasso said. “We are taking the plushies. Everybody knows what we are doing.”
Monica Domenicali is one of the skating coaches who is accompanying the kids rinkside, letting them on and off the ice and chaperoning them during the often three-hour event.
While 30 kids were selected in total, only 20 come to the rink for each event. They sit in two rows of 10 and watch the routines with a blanket draped over their legs. Once the skaters hit their final pose, the kids jump to their feet ready and move like a conveyor belt out the door and back. The skaters then return the gifts to their coaches, who then take them to a separate room in the rink for the competitors to pick up later.
And this isn’t the flower kids’ only job. They can also be spotted during the ice resurfacing, performing seated choreography to the intermission music.
Domenicali said they didn’t run any rehearsals prior to the big event, they simply told the kids what to do and the kids have done it.
“It’s such an opportunity for them,” she said. “We are very proud to support these girls.”
The flower kids will be back Tuesday night for the women’s short program, where Canadian champion Madeline Schizas is set to perform 19th. The event starts a little before 1 p.m. ET and Schizas will skate at 2:41 p.m. ET.
Follow our live daily coverage of the Winter Games