Hmmm. I travel to international (Olympic-style) figure skating competitions, at it isn't at all unusual (perhaps eight or ten times a year that I hear of) for a competitor to be unable to practice because their luggage, including skates, didn't show up on time. Pre-9/11 skaters always brought their skates as carry-on luggage, but since then it has usually been required that they be checked.

Given how very sharp the blades are, I can understand why they weren't allowed in the cabin. Even the current US Figure Skating Team Handbook (for international athletes) explicitly states that skates are prohibited in carry-on luggage.
http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/teamhandbook.pdf
(details on page 7)

TSA is nothing if not erratic, so it is entirely possible that they get through one place and not another, but if US Figure Skating had documentation from TSA that explicitly allowed skates to be brought in the cabin, I think they'd be shouting it from the Zamboni.