What is synchronized skating?

Synchronized skating is a relatively young sport, the youngest discipline of figure skating. It is quite popular in Canada, in the U.S. and in the Scandinavian countries, and it is getting more known also in Hungary thanks to recent competitions, including the Sportorszag Cup. Synchronize skating is a team sport, one team consists of 12-16 people. This discipline includes both ice dance and figure skating elements which are performed in harmony with the music, the team working as one unit. There are specific formations which can be done only by teams ,creating the five main elements of synchronized skating: circle, wheel, line, block and intersection. The most important thing here is not personal abilities and performance but teamwork. The results are satisfactory only if every member of the team participates on the trainings - the missing members can make the work really hard for the rest of the team. If you would like to choose this sport you should take it into consideration that you will work hard with a team. As I have mentioned you do not have to be extremely talented but if you attend you should participate on the trainings twice or three times a week.

Who are the team members?

Most members of the Senior Team started skating quite late (in figure skating one has to start it at the age of 4-6). An advantage of synchronized skating is that even if you begin skating at an older age, you can join a recreational synchro team. Our Novice (age of 10-14) and Senior (above the age of 14) Teams have participated in recreational, non-ISU competitions and exhibitions so far. These competitions are for teams that cannot fully comply with the rules and regulations set by the International Skating Union (ISU) for minimum age limit and number of members in a team. However this season an important step forward is that our Novice Team, now consisting of 16 skaters, will compete also at an official ISU competition. While the newly set-up Juvenile Team (age of 8-12) is preparing for its very first competition. Young athletes under the age of 10 are also welcome to our training sessions, they have a separate trainer as the aim for them is to learn the basics. In countries where there are plenty of ice rinks there are more skaters and the conditions are better (10-11 trainings weekly) and beside trainings on ice skaters have dance lessons, ballet and physical trainings as well. We hope that after a while the number of ice rinks will increase also in Hungary and we will have more opportunities to improve.