Synchronized skating
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Synchronized skating, a large and fast-growing, yet little recognized discipline, consists of 12-16 athletes skating on ice at one time moving as one flowing unit at high speeds. This discipline of figure skating was originally called precision skating in North America because of the emphasis on maintaining precise formations and timing of the group.
For a synchronized team to flow in unison, individual skaters must be competent at a variety of skating skills, including speed, footwork and ice presence. The team performs a program set to music, with required formations including circles, lines, blocks, wheels, and intersections. The teams are required to perform difficult step sequences involving a number of complicated turns. Teams in the senior division are also permitted to perform lifts involving 2 or more people which can be extended overhead to full arm height. In Junior and Senior divisions, teams are required to perform 2 routines; a Short Program and a Free Program. Generally, the Short program is more techinical in nature, where the Free program has a longer time limit giving more opportunity to showcase expression, emotion and interpretation.
There are international synchronized skating competitions at the novice, junior, and senior levels, and the International Skating Union held the first World Championship in synchronized skating in 2000. In the United States, there are several other recognized age and skill levels from preliminary (young children) to masters (older adults). While most skaters participating in "synchro" are female, the rules allow mixed-gender teams.
The first synchronized skating team was formed by Dr. Richard Porter, who became known as the 'father of synchronized skating'. The 'Hockettes' skated out of Ann Arbor, Michigan and entertained spectators during the intermissions of the University of Michigan Men’s Hockey Team. In the early days, precision skating (as it was then called) resembled a drill team routine, or a precision dance company such as The Rockettes.
During the 1970’s, the interest for this new sport spawned tremendous growth and development. As each season passed, more and more teams were developing more creative and innovative routines incorporating stronger basic skating skills, new maneuvers and more sophisticated transitions with greater speed, style and agility. Due to the enormous interest in the sport in North America, the first official international competition was held between Canadian and American teams in Michigan in March of 1976. With the internationalization of the sport, it has evolved rapidly, with increasing emphasis on speed and skating skills, and "highlight" elements such as jumps, spins, and lifts that originally were not permitted in competition.
At the senior level, the best teams in the world are currently Team Surprise of Sweden and Marigold Ice Unity of Finland. Other top teams include Rockettes of Finland, black ice and Nexxice of Canada and the United States' Haydenettes and Miami University Senior Synchronized Skating Team.
Although not currently an Olympic sport, fans and participants of this fast-growing discipline have begun to strive for recognition by the rest of the skating and athletic world. Synchronized skating has been covered by Skating magazine since the sport's inception, is a varsity sport at several colleges such as Miami University (and many more are developing club-level collegiate teams), and has been already been reviewed for Olympic eligibility.
| Synchronized Skating World Championships: Podium Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host City | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2000 | Minneapolis, USA | Team Surprise (SWE) | black ice (CAN) | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) |
| 2001 | Helsinki, Finland | Team Surprise (SWE) | Rockettes (FIN) | black ice (CAN) |
| 2002 | Rouen, France | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) | Team Surprise (SWE) | black ice (CAN) |
| 2003 | Ottawa, Canada | Team Surprise (SWE) | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) | Les Suprêmes (CAN) |
| 2004 | Zagreb, Croatia | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) | Team Surprise (SWE) | Rockettes (FIN) |
| 2005 | Göteborg, Sweden | Team Surprise (SWE) | Rockettes (FIN) | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) |
| 2006 | Prague, Czech Republic | Marigold IceUnity (FIN) | Team Surprise (SWE) | Rockettes (FIN) |
| 2007 | London, Ontario, Canada | |||
