What is it like to be a Synchro. Skater at your level in your own words?

[FSWer]

Ok. Today I'd like you to please tell me in your own words,what it's like to be a Synchronized Skater at your level? Please include Team Level.

[davincisop]

We're a beginner team with varying levels, me being one of the most advanced skaters on the team. I love it but it's hard for me to really pull back so I don't skate ahead of the other skaters. My coach has a goal of getting people who have a lot of skating experience on the team so we're not always stuck in the same place (not advancing).

[FSWer]

I though the whole Team was at 1 Level. Can you explain what you mean?

[davincisop]

Think of it like a learn to skate class. We are all basic 1 synchro skaters but not everyone can do crossovers comfortably. They joined bc it would be fun. I've been skating longer than some of them so my basics are more advanced. We are all learning the same things but bc I have those basics already that they do not I am catching on quicker. Does that make more sense? We aren't a team like the haydenettes though the coach wants to pull together a team that could do that someday. There's only about 10 of us in the class.

[Clarice]

My Open Adult team is like that, too.  Some of us have passed tests in other disciplines, but since the Open levels in synchro don't have a test requirement, we can all skate together.  Most of the skaters haven't taken any tests at all.  A few have taken some Moves, Freestyle, or Dance tests.  One skater has Senior Moves and Silver solo dances (she's one of the coaches, who also skates on the team).  That's the point of the Open levels.  If we all had to be the same level, we couldn't have a team at all because there aren't 8 all at the same level.

[FSWer]

How old are you all? Are you hoping to become a Full-Fledged Synchro. someday? Do you have a pic. of the Team?

[davincisop]

I'm 23, one of the youngest on our team, and the oldest is probably in their 50's.  I have a video of the team before I joined but I'm not going to post a link yet because youtube is down.

[Clarice]

Our team ranges in age from 21 to 63.  I don't know what you mean by a "full-fledged synchro".  We ARE synchronized skaters, just at a low level.  We do the same elements as any other team, but in simpler versions.  If you mean do we hope to someday be good enough to be on a Senior team, then, no.  We are mostly adult-start skaters, and will never be good enough for that because we started learning so late in life.  The youngest member of our team is already a Senior skater, so she could possibly make a Senior team, but there isn't one in our area.

[Skittl1321]

Clarice- does your coach ever come in after watching YouTube videos of senior teams and make you try the elements?

When we had a team, our coach would always come in going "Team Finland does the neatest thing- we're going to try it"

Surprisingly, it usually didn't work   but we did get a few neat elements that way.

[Clarice]

Well, I'm one of the coaches, so I guess I can answer that!  I don't spend a whole lot of time watching videos, but I do indeed watch other teams and steal cool moves.  Obviously, we can't do the stuff a top team does, but I adapt things to the level of what our team can do.  There are other things that have to be taken in to consideration with an older adult team, too - for instance, some of our skaters simply can't do lunges, because their knees aren't up to it, so the choreography has to work around that.  I can only have half the team lunge while the other half does something else.