The Nor'easters are a young group of figure skaters who have completed the USFSA Basic 8, which requires the ability to do footwork, a one-foot spin and a waltz jump. All of these girls started out a single skaters through the club's Learn to Skate program. And although these girls have only been meeting together as a team for a couple of months, they make synchro skating look easy.
The Nor'easters are coached by Lori Johnson, a professional skater who skated with the Ice Capades for 10 years and spent another five as its assistant show director.
My girls and I are recreational skaters and can skate -- slowly and carefully -- and not fall down. We can sort of stop on our own but often rely on the boards to complete that basic move. The girls and I think that the skate stop sort of feels like a pizza pie on our cross country skis so we understand the basic principal of using our edges to stop. Putting that in to action consistently in a pair of ice skates is of course, a bit trickier for the inexperienced skaters that we are.
And I realized the other day (when the girls tried on their ice skates and they didn't fit) that it had been more than a year since we'd been ice skating. So with rental skates from the Falmouth Family Ice Center and a bit of anxiety, we ventured out on to the ice with the team.
It turned out to be more fun than we could have anticipated thanks to some wonderful coaching that had the girls and I feeling comfortable on our skates in no time.
And really, not enough can be said for a good teacher/coach who can break down a concept in to manageable parts for a beginner. Coach Deb had us feeling confident on the ice in a matter of minutes. The girls were all smiles while following along with the instruction and actually felt like they could do a couple of basic elements by the end of our session.
We also had some help learning these elements of synchro skating from Alexa Ainsworth, an accomplished pairs skater and former collegiate synchro skater and a friendly and patient Caroline Paras, an avid skater and the Maine media contact for the National Synchronized Championships.
Our instruction started out with the circle formation. We were instructed to use our outer foot to "pump" ourselves around the circle (and this pump is supposed to be done so that the blade does not actually lift off the ice - easier said than done I discovered).
I would say that my girls and I did more holding on to other skater's arms than actual pumping as the experienced skaters were clearly the ones who actually kept our circle moving.
I think we had the most fun with the line, which required a particular type of push and glide to do (an alternating step-step-glide move on each foot). Since the girls have several years of formal dance training behind them, they know the power -- and thrill -- of a good kick line.
We even added head movements to our skate down the ice and although not perfectly executed (not even close on the Almeida fam's part), it sure did give us a good sense of what it's like to be on a synchro skating team.
We also tried a pinwheel, which I realized quickly required both speed and upper body strength (to hold on to the skaters on either side of you). Being the tallest in the group, I was positioned in the center, with the shorter skaters on the ends. Those little end skaters have to have some serious speed and power to keep up with pinwheel. L. was in the middle of the wheel once the synchro team joined the formation and just went along for the ride since there was no way she could skate as fast as the wheel was moving. And I am certain she would not have felt comfortable with this without the expert assistance of Alexa's secure hold on her as they whipped around the ice.
And doing a pass through line? That requires a bit of maneuvering to ensure everyone goes through the correct windows (again, my girls fell back on their dance training to understand the concept) but when done correctly, it looks - and feels - pretty cool.
We spent about 45 minutes on the ice with the synchro team and left feeling like we had a real sense of the type of work and training -- as well as the wonderful camaraderie these girls share -- with this competitive team sport.
And the fun wasn't just with the team. A couple of fellow media friends on the ice with us also kept things entertaining. Glenn Jordan, a Portland Press Herald staff writer had some nice turning and hip swing action on the ice (I'm waiting for that video to get posted on PPH to link up here) and Greg Rec, a staff photographer, had my girls cracking up with his skating antics.
The National Synchronized Championships is a 3-day competition that begins on Thursday. The North Atlantic Figure Skating synchro team we worked with yesterday is part of the opening ceremonies on Thursday (which begin at 1:15 p.m. at the Civic Center). After watching a few clips on YouTube from previous national championships, I believe this is going to be one knock-your-socks-off kind of event and some great family entertainment.
I know after our brief time on the ice with this synchro team, my kids were inspired to do more skating this year and can't wait to go to the championships.
For a preview, check out this video for the level of competition that will be in town this week.
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