THE OTHER ICE SPORT.....

As most winter high school sports are getting into full swing, high school figure skaters are also into their busy competition season. Many figure skaters and teams have been preparing for this season for months and many individual competitions have already taken place. Figure skaters compete individually or as pairs in free style, moves in the field, and/or ice dance. The test level completed of the individual skater determines their competition level. In Minnesota, there are two figure skating associations that skaters can chose from - the United States Figure Skating Association and the International Skating Institute. Figure skating is sanctioned as a letter sport in some high schools but not in others - this is something we are hoping to eventually change. The training that goes into the sport of figure skating is tremendous and does not allow much opportunity for the athletes to participate in many other school sports. For skaters who want to continue skating past high school, the Twin Cities Figure Skating Club (joint Club of the majority of associations in Minnesota) has scholarships available. In addition to high school figure skaters competing individually, many Figure Skating Clubs have high-level Synchronized Skating Teams that travel great distances for competitions. Synchronized skating, a large and fast-growing discipline, consists of 12-20 athletes skating as one flowing unit at high speeds. This discipline of figure skating was originally called precision skating 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 also required to perform challenging step sequences involving a number of complicated turns making synchronized skating difficult but fun for spectators to watch. Five years ago, the University of Minnesota formed a synchronized skating team and joined the ranks of approximately seven other collegiate teams around the country. Minnesota figure skaters need to meet testing eligibility requirements in order to try-out for these teams. Currently, the U of M coach is Andrea Hall, who is also a coach at the Maplewood Figure Skating Club. The International Skating Union held the first official World Synchronized Skating Championships in 2000 at Marruicci Arena in Minneapolis. The best senior teams from around the world gather for this event to determine which one of them is the world's best. Minnesota is about to embark on another huge success for figure skating when the 2008 National Championships (Olympic qualifying event) comes to the Xcel Energy Center January 20-27th. For everything you want to know about this event check out www.saintpaul2008.com. Other Upcoming Events: Dec. 15-16 - Maplewood Sychronized Skating Classic Mariucci Arena - Spectators welcome Jan. 11-13 Duluth Competition Jan. 11-13 Mankato Competition In future issues of HSSTM, we will be giving you updates and will also report on the accomplishments of individuals and synchro teams representing high schools from Ramsey and Washington counties.