I Don’t Get Synchronized Skating… Enlighten Me
As a skater I tried almost everything. I skated singles, pairs and dance (for a while). The only event I didn’t participate in was synchronized skating. In my time it was called precision team skating. I just didn’t get it. Sure, it was fun to get flung around the end of a pinwheel in skating carnival shows, but as a serious sport it seemed bizarre to me.
Clearly I missed out because synchronized skating is wildly popular. In fact, some skating federations claim it’s the sport’s fastest growing discipline. There are synchronized skating competitions for all levels, right up the World Synchronized Skating Championships, which will be held this month in Budapest, Hungary. Synchro skaters are pushing to be part of the Olympic Games.
Here’s my problem. Figure skating without jumps or spins, and only minor artistic achievement seems boring for both the skaters and the audience. What am I missing? Enlighten me.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Well, what I’ve heard from some parents is that, basically - and maybe only at the basic level - synchro is less expensive than the dollar input into solo competition. I don’t know to what extent that is true. But it’s what I’ve heard.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Which of course does not speak to its popularity or draw…to that, I’ll I can think of is “to each their own”? Not very profound of me, I know, lol.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
There are still jumps and spins in synchronized skating!
Its just as challenging as figure skating if not more! Not only do we have to learn the usual skating techniques figure skaters learn but also learn to skate in exact unison (which is alot harder then it looks.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:26 am
As someone who was a syncho skater for two years, I have to let you know that there is something almost magical about skating with 23 other girls. And in terms of watching it, the shapes on the ice, the blocks, the travelling circles etc. are what provide the entertainment and now they’ve introduced single moves with jumps and spins…that is an artistic achievement in and of itself. As an audience member I loved watching the movement and as a skater it is wonderful to help move a circle across the ice, or participate in a pinwheel. As a skater you also get the sense of being one part of a greater whole and while the competition is as fierce as the other disciplines it was a great thing for me personally while it lasted…and all in all it’s a wonderful extension to the sport and I wish that it was a part of the Olympic Games…maybe 2010…
March 20th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
To Jozet- even at the most basic Juvenille level of syncho skating one pays over $8000.00 a year and it just explodes from there as you go up the levels and get more than one routine and go farther for competitions etc…
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 am
I’m not going to speak to the skill, the cost, etc. All I know is that it’s fascinating to watch a bunch of people skate in unison.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I agree with your post, I don’t get syncro either. I realize that it is probably TONS of work to master, but I could never do it, for three reasons 1. I like to be in the spotlight
2. As a solo, competitive skater myself (pre-preliminary) jumps are my favoraite thing, my strong area. I could not live doing without them. 3. I just…couldn’t stand it! I love picking my own music and adding my own hand movements to my programs.
So I agree with you.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:33 am
I skated on synchro teams for 11 years, and have coached them for 15 years.
Let’s face it, figure skating is a very isolating and lonely sport. Some skaters enjoy that, enjoy being the center of attention. For other skaters, that is the worst part of skating.
Maybe I’ll send a few of the 63 skaters who have skated team with me this year to tell you why they adore it!
Something else to think about: What individual skater has ever gotten a scholarship to college for their individual skating? How many colleges have incredibly strong synchro programs that offer scholarships to skaters? Think about it!
June 8th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I’ve got two daughters. One is a jumper and spinner and the other is not. The one that is not loves skating more than the other and also loves the comraderie. It gives her an avenue to participate. At a world level, I dunno. But there is definitely a place for it.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Great blog!! You know, you don’t see many books written about new ways for improving figure skating jump technique. Maybe figure skating should take lessons from other sports. Read more at http://www.jumpsareking.com
July 29th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I skate in a synchro team for 7 years and it’s the most beautiful thing for me! The spirit, the team work … I adore it!
“and only minor artistic achievement seems boring for both the skaters and the audience” …
1- The synchro is all about artistic achievement. We are working all together to be perfectly in unison.
2- The audience … even the people who don’t enjoy figure skating are fascinate by the synchro skating. It’s a real show … and they are fascinated by the speed, the unison, the artistic.
In fact, we are skating to have fun on the ice but also to give a real show, to make feel something to the audience.
I’m not a jumper, I’m not a spinner but I’m a dancer … and to dance with 20 other girls it’s so perfect for me. To be a good synchro skater we have to be a dancer and to be good in skills because it demand a lot of “virages”.
Sorry for my english …I’m a french person!
I hope I could help some of you to understand our passion!
December 14th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Figure skating is a tough sport that requires alot of training and practice. It can also be isolating. Synchronized skating is a team sport, Everyone has to work tohether to accomplish the results. It’s also beautiful to watch! My daughter loves it. She is both a singles skater and has been on her club’s synchro team for 4 years. They practice alot but they also have alot of fun. Every year there are parties during the holidays and summer as well and they also get to travel together. It also can be expensive when they get to high level teams.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
I skated singles for 10 years and then switched to synchro for 10 years, and counting. The team atmosphere is amazing and the girls I’ve skated with are my sisters for life! There is something special about bonding over a team sport with other girlie-girls who like to wear cute dresses and lots of make-up, haha! Singles was so lonely.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I’m an Irish dancer. I started out Riverdance style and have moved into “Traditional” Irish. While TCRG Irish is a lot of fun personally, it’s all about individual competition and is extremely boring to watch for any length of time. Riverdance, on the other hand, became an international sensation because of the power of a team of beautiful, talented dancers moving in unison creating waves of sound (for the hard shoe) and intricate patterns of dancers weaving a tapestry on stage with their movements. I would see the same dichotomy in skating. The beauty and artistry of building a team of excellence is far more rare and precious than building individual excellence.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
check out the team performance videos at French Cup 2009 (Internet explorer, Windows media player required)
http://normandie.france3.fr/emissions/51003246-fr.php
December 30th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
2nd try….
If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe videos are worth a few million:
Don’t Stop Believing Synchro Montage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWTUeiJYMR4
E60 ESPN Haydenettes
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3385230&categoryid=3060647
2007 Synchro Season Montage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRTV6Z-bdMM
2007 World Synchronized Skating Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HPfk1dIEuM
December 30th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
one more:
2008 World Synchronized Skating Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVtUub6YefU
Defying Gravity Montage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksnNHytIz4s
December 30th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
2009 World Synchronized Skating Championships - Zagreb, Croatia
Canada 1 World Champions 2009
2009 World Championship Performance Nexxice Team Canada 1 Free Program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyUKH1uYEJs
2009 World Championship Performance Nexxice Team Canada 1 Short Program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA5n1n2c-Nc
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
as a syncrinized skater my self I can say that syncro in hard and fun at the same time
January 31st, 2010 at 1:49 am
I agree, I don’t get the fascination either. I always thought of synchro skaters as the ones who couldn’t really make it too far on their own but still wanted to be involved with the sport so they joined a synchro team. In my skating days I was with a club that was pretty big into synchro (or precision as it was called in my day as well)…I tried it for one year and that was enough for me. Maybe it’s great for the more technical skaters but my love for skating drew from the artistic side of the sport so it just didn’t work for me.
February 14th, 2010 at 5:27 am
I have been skating for 12 years now. And I’m a synchro skater in a world champion team. I must say that synchronized skating is more challenging that figure skating. In figure skating it’s just you and when YOU learn to jump, for example an axel, the work is done. You know how to jump the axel and you can do it in your programme. In figure skating programme you can (as Figure skater said) add your own movements and hands if you want. If you mess up you can impro. But in synchronized skating you can’t do that. There is 16 other skaters and you have to work in unison. It is great if you can do some trick or complete your foot work clean, but if there is even one girl who can’t do it then the programme is well, doomed. And as my ballet teacher said; people allways think that the prima donna is the most talented dancer, but it isn’t so. They are the people who can’t cope with other people and they can’t perform in a group cause they are missing the talent to work with other people and also the techinique. It is the group performances that are the most talented dancer/skaters cause they have to be conscious about other people around. It takes so much more work to get 16 people do the tricks the same way and get them do the choreocraphy the same way than to get one people to do it. And if that one people still fails, she can impro and take up where ever she chooses to. In synchro you can’t do that. I’m not trying to trash figure skaters but I’m trying to get you understand how much more work and different kind of talent it needed when you are a synchro skater.
February 14th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Synchro is another aspect of the figure skating sport. To say that it is less difficult or only performed by underachievers is spoken from ignorance. Synchro skaters train with individual coaches in all arenas of figure skating such as free style, dance, and moves in the field, then come together as a group to perform as one unit. Synchronized skating cost is as with any sport based on the amount of training each club requires and as with individual or pairs skating requires on and off ice training. I would suggest if anyone doubts the ability of a team of 16-20 athletes to execute flawless movement on the ice to watch the upcoming World Synchronized Skating Championships http://www.2010synchroworlds.com/ being held in Colorado in April. Better yet go and listen to the sound that a world class team makes (or does not make) as they silently move together. IT ISN’T EASY. We are heading to Wolds in April and only wish we could have gone to see it as an Olympic Sport.