
As a singles skater, I know that there is sort of a stigma that goes with synchronized skating. I know this because I too was once a "singles snob". Synchro is easy. Synchro skaters can't skate. These are common thoughts amongst non-synchro skaters and at one time or another, I thought these thoughts myself. But on my first practice of my first day of synchro, I felt as if I had joined another sport completely. Where I thought things would be easy, I found myself falling flat on my butt. I thought I would be able to understand the terminology easily but as it turned out I didn't know the difference between a block, a wheel and an intersection. Even once I got the hang of the basics, there was nothing easy about synchro skating. Even with 10 years of skating experience behind me I still struggled.
Not only do you have to have deep, edgy skating but you have to be able to do it in perfect time with everyone else. It's not about having the highest spiral or the fastest twizzle, it's about being able to have your leg at the same height as everyone else and rotating at the same speed in a twizzle as everyone else. This is where the misunderstanding has itself rooted. Many singles skaters especially, believe that because synchro skaters might not have the highest legs or the fastest twizzles that they are not capable. That is not true. The hardest part about synchro is being, you guessed it, synchronized.
I'm glad I gave synchronized skating a chance because it opened me up to a vast sea of new experiences. A synchro competition for instance, is one of the most thrilling experiences of the sport. The crowd is so wild at times and so loud. It is incredibly different from the polite clapping of singles, pairs, and ice dancing. I participated in my first team cheers, my first team dinners, had my first team jacket, and for once I felt like I was truly a part of something in the skating world.
I never thought I would be skating on a synchro team, but I'm incredibly glad that I had the opportunity to experience one and I look forward to collegiate synchro this season!
Best of Luck!! (and #WhyNotSynchro2018)
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I saw this woman at Synchro Worlds 2013 supporting synchro for the 2018 Olympics |
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