Skaters Line Up In Perfect Formation And As Music Begins Audience Goes Wild

Mar 03, 2021 by apost team

From the days of Sonja Henie to the antics of Tonya Harding and her craving for figure skating glory, the sport has always had something special for viewers. Skating is not only an athletic competition. It's also an art. Movements that look simple can often take many years of practice.

Single skaters usually occupy the center spotlight. Viewers watch in awe as a skater leans back and forms an expert spiral, a leg held high behind her. Now, a new form of skating competition has risen to provide groups of people with the chance to show what they can do.

This form combines the beauty of singles skating with the excitement of group work. Now, more than ever, people who want to be part of the skating competition scene have a place at the rink and the medals. Synchronized skating has been around for several decades now and is steadily gaining more and more fans. Usually set to music, teams of professional skaters perform group sets of athletic and graceful moves while seemingly floating across the ice. In addition to the same skills that the usual ice skating pairs have to develop, synchronized ice skating also requires a great amount of coordination and organization, as up to twenty skaters will be on the ice at the same time.

During the 2015 World Championships, the Canadian team NEXXICE gave a spectacularly well-done performance that left the audience screaming and clapping for more. Set to the tunes of a Canadian country rock band, this team showed just how outstanding synchronized ice skating could be.

Synchronized Skating

A relatively new form of skating competition, synchronized skating brings skating competition to a new whole level. Teams ranging from eight to 20 participants head for the ice as a group, which is a departure from the past when skaters have either partnered up or gone solo.

The new variant takes this process to a whole new level and beyond. Synchronized skating is not yet an Olympic event. However, skaters can participate in a world championship event called the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships. This event is open to those skaters who have demonstrated their ability to master basic moves to an extremely high level. Organized by the International Skating Union, the event has been held annually since the year 2000, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 (due to the ongoing health crisis). Teams from all over the world have participated. The top five competing countries, measured by the number of medals won, have been Finland, Sweden, Russia, Canada and the United States.

The Canadian team NEXXICE has been competing since the inception of the world championships. Hailing from Burlington, Ontario, the team was founded in 2000 and has been dominating the Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships, which were established as early as 1983. In total, NEXXICE has won the Canadian Championship first place 11 times over the last 20 years. They took home the medal for second and third place four times each, meaning there has only been one year since the team's formation that they did not score a medal at all.

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It's no wonder that this team was chosen to represent Canada in the World Championships. 
The beauty and incredible precision required to compete at a world figure skating level was on full display at the 2015 World Synchronized Skating Championship. Held in Hamilton, Canada, dozens of world-class teams choose to enter. The results were mesmerizing. And the turnout for the audience was spectacular as well. All forms of ice skating have been hugely popular in Canada, so it's no surprise that the World Championships drew an impressive crowd.
Canadian ice hockey teams have won many world championship gold medals. Pairs, dance and single skaters have an equally impressive track record both at the world championships and at the Olympics. Given this illustrious history, it's hardly surprising that the Canadian synchronized skating team felt the pressure to perform as best as they could.

The team, comprised of 16 members, 15 of whom were female, started in a loose standing position before forming a simple two-line lineup. As the music started playing, they were off, completely in sync with each other. It may seem easy from looking at it, but keeping the pace with 15 others, staying in tune to the music and doing all of this while skating along on ice is actually incredibly difficult. The fact that the skaters were holding each other by their hands or arms for part of the performance is actually more of a hindrance than a help: if one team member is out of sync or, in the worst cases, loses their footing, this will ensure that more will follow suit.

Taking the ice with great verve, the Canadian team won over the hearts of everyone in the audience. Set to fast-paced tunes of The Road Hammers, a Canadian country-rock band, the Canadian team brought the audience to its feet with a performance lasting nearly four minutes. The performance included:

• Ice skating line dances, as well as choreographed figures, with fast-paced placement changes.
• The team splitting into groups of four.
• Classic ice-skating moves such as slow glides on only one leg.

Of course, the difference is that this was performed by 16 ice skaters at once, with precise placements for each individual dancer. At certain points of the performance, the skaters seem to flow into each other, skating close by their team members, without ever becoming a hindrance for each other. What would already be impressive as part of a marching performance becomes even more so when done on ice. There is no hesitance or out-of-sync step or movement at all during the performance. The amount of rehearsing and training this must have required is mind-boggling to think about.

However, all that training paid off. High scores were quickly posted after this wonderful set, and the audience stood up delighted to salute the champions. Team NEXXICE took home another gold medal that year, as the team won first place in the 2014-2015 World Championships. We can't say we're surprised.

Team skating looks to be one of the most exciting of all skating events. If you love really great skating, bring this team more well-deserved applause and tell the world.

Did you enjoy watching this performance? Had you heard about synchronized ice skating before? Do you know someone who follows this relatively young sport? Let us know what you think about this new way to ice skate, and pass this on to your family and friends!