We are the Queens on the Ice: Synchronized Skating
By Helaine Lee, Alicia Chung, Julie Hwang, and Lina Kim
Edited by Junie Kah
Design by Helaine Lee
Edited by Junie Kah
Design by Helaine Lee
The queen on the ice, Yuna Kim, has glorified the title of figure skaters. There are many individuals who love the same sport as the “queen”, but not many know about figure skating done as a team. Synchronized skating is a flourishing branch of figure skating where 8 to 20 skaters are on ice as a team. Synchronized skating is judged with the same standards as any other figure skating discipline like pairs and ice dancing with teamwork, precision, level of difficulty, and performance. This sport is also a new sport to be in the 2018 winter Olympics. There are national championships for synchronized skating in countries such as Japan, Poland, Russia, United States, Italy, Germany, Sweden and many more.
Are there teams in Korea? Certainly! In fact, some of these skaters attend SIS. Bethany Ko, who is currently in 11th grade, is participating in a synchronized skating team in Seoul called the Blessing. Helaine Lee, who is currently in 8th grade, is participating in a synchronized skating team also in Seoul called the Angels. In Korea, there are also teams in Busan, Daegu and Junju. However, Korean teams are still not qualified to compete in the national championships because there are few judges in Korea who possess knowledge on synchronized figure skating. Without the qualifying judges to judge the team’s performance and skills, the team cannot receive the adequate amount of points in order to compete in the nationals. As a result, there are no records of any Korean teams who competed in the nationals. According to Helaine Lee, she said that her team competed in various competitions in Korea and in international competitions such as in Japan but not in the national championships. “In order for us to receive qualifications, we had to attend international competitions where the judges actually knew what they wanted us to add and perform in our programs. Unlike Korea, Japan follows the international standards, which was possible for them to compete in the championships,” said Daniel Bacon, a coach as well as a former figure skater in a synchronized team in Miami. Behind these beautiful performances, there are complications and rules that make synchronized skating difficult to become a new part in the 2018 Olympics. Even so, synchronized skating is still a very charming sport. |
The Angels are practicing for the upcoming performance at the Lotte World Ice Rink while the coaches give out directions for the next set of actions. (Photograph by Julie Hwang)
The team is entering on the Lotte World ice rink for their performance with a graceful glide. (Photograph by Julie Hwang)
The Angels, consisting of 13 synchronized skating members, won a gold medal for their performance which took place in Naomi, Japan. (Photograph by Julie Hwang)
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