Synchronized skating

From Freepedia

Synchronized skating consists of 12-20 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.

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 the Hockettes of Ann Arbor, Michigan, formed in the 1950's to skate in exhibitions during hockey games. 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. 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 Black Ice of Canada and the United States' Haydenettes. At the U.S. National Championships, the Haydenettes have consistently placed first by a wide margin.

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 (and many more are developing club-level collegiate teams), and has been already been reviewed for Olympic eligibility.