This story is about a sport that I’m pretty sure most of you have never heard of: synchronized skating. It’s an awesomely visual sport, so it will test my writing chops to try and explain it in words.
OK, think ice dancing or pairs skating in the Olympics, and then octuple it. Oops, now I’m complicating it by adding a rarely used math term. In other words, increase the pairs eight-fold. Does that make 16? OK, now you have 16 women on the ice, trying to stay in synch like Esther Williams or the Rockettes while performing complicated choreography to music. Phew!
Meanwhile, everyone’s in formation, not falling down—and not crying.
Hoboken native Virginia Mason is a member of the Hayden Synchronized Skating Teams, based in Lexington, Mass. The Haydenettes, the group’s senior team, won the 2015 U.S. National Gold Medal. Virginia is a member of the The Metroettes Collegiate team.
She just finished her freshman year at Simmons College in Boston.
Though she was born and raised in Hoboken, Virginia went to City and Country School and then Elisabeth Irwin in New York City. She learned to skate at Chelsea Piers, beginning at age 2½.
“I’m not entirely sure why my parents did that,” Virginia says.
She was coached in solo figure skating until she was about 10. “I’ve had several coaches in my career,” she says, “and started competing in local competitions when I was five.”
A lot of young athletes freak out when they compete, but not Virginia. “I loved competing, but I hated practice,” she says.
“I hadn’t achieved anything and was doing the same thing for years. I’m really goal oriented, and it was getting boring. I started to take it seriously when I finally started landing some jumps I’d been working on.” But she was still not sold on skating until…
“My sophomore year of high school a friend I’d had all my life pressured me into trying synchronized skating.” Again, practicing didn’t float her boat: “I wasn’t into it until the first competition, and then I fell in love.”
And the Rest is History
Synchronized skating is not an Olympic sport. “I’m hoping that it will be sometime soon,” Virginia says. Pigeon racing was an Olympic sport in 1900, and if rhythmic gymnastics can be an Olympic sport, synchronized skating should be. Synchronized skaters have to be strong—Virginia is 5-foot-5 and weighs 160 pounds—very coordinated, and have nerves of steel.
“It’s dangerous having 16 people wearing blades and connected to each other,” Virginia says. “You can get concussions and injuries.”
The first question that came to mind when I watched a video was, what if you fall down or screw up? You’re ruining it for 15 other people.
“My current team is by far the most difficult level I’ve ever competed at,” Virginia relates. “That put a lot of pressure on me because I felt I had more to prove. However, I have friends who feel like there is less pressure because they aren’t the only one out on the ice. Generally, people understand that mistakes happen, but it can be incredibly frustrating when someone makes a mistake that you can’t control.”
Her collegiate team won a bronze at the nationals.
This particular skating niche appeals to her because “it doesn’t matter what your body type is. As long as you are good enough and a good athlete you can be successful.” She’s also drawn to the team aspect. “I like how in gymnastics all those girls congratulate each other. I like having that support system behind me. You’re dependent on your teammates.”
College and Competitions
“A lot of my friends at Simmons are not skaters, and it’s difficult to explain that I went to the national championships and got a bronze,” she says. “They don’t know how much work goes into it. It’s difficult when you’re not affiliated with a school and have to practice on your own.”
During the skating season, she practices about 10 hours per week. When she’s home in Hoboken she practices at Chelsea Piers.
She stretches at home for an hour every night and also does weightlifting and cardio.
“You need strength, speed, and flexibility and need to be strong overall, so that you can pull people and take up the slack for someone not holding her weight,” she says.
Virginia is majoring in nutrition, which may be related to some of her early skating experiences. “When I started solo skating I was kind of a bigger person, and I got a lot of negative comments from coaches, and even some friends,” she says. “Then I began to appreciate how my body is, and I make it work as best as I can.”
Judging from what I’ve seen, it works pretty well. —07030
To view a video of the Haydenettes’ short program at the 2013 World Championships, visit youtube.com/watch?v=laSOj5s8puA
SIDEBAR
Former Hudson Reporter staff writer Art Schwartz was on hand for the 2016 World Synchronized Skating Championships in Budpest, Hungary. Here’s his report.
The Haydenettes (Team USA 1) Take Bronze in World Championships
The Haydenettes Synchronized Skating Team (Team USA 1) was in fourth place after round one of the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championship competition, held this year in Budapest, Hungary, April 8 and 9.
The U.S. team finally skated home with a bronze medal.
The second U.S. team, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), finished eighth in the free skate and ninth overall.
Paradise (Russia 1) took the gold, and the Rockettes (Finalnd2) took silver.
Twenty-six teams from 21 countries vied for top medals in the two-day competition.
Teams must skate both a short program and a long program in the championship competition. The short program, held on day one, requires skaters to perform five specific elements on the ice. These elements are incorporated in high-speed, intricately choreographed competitive pieces set to music ranging from classical to recent pop hits.
Day two saw the teams competing in long programs, with considerably more complicated – and dangerous – maneuvers. The winners of the competition are the teams with the highest combined scores from the two days.
The Haydenettes received a score of 68.09 in the short program, while the USA’s second team, Miami University, scored 59.52. Top scoring Russia eked ahead with a score of 73.86, followed closely by the two teams from Finland at 70.62 and 70.03, with The Haydenettes right on their tail, leaving little room for error between the top-seated competitors.
The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championship competition was first held in 2000 in Minneapolis. Since then The Haydenettes have taken home four bronze medals, and Miami University has won one silver medal against strong competition, particularly from Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Canada.
Championship teams are comprised of 16 skaters, plus up to four alternates. Programs combine elements from singles, pairs, and ice dancing and are judged on teamwork, precision, speed, and difficulty. Although open to all, currently teams are primarily composed of women. The International Olympic Committee is considering adding synchronized skating to the 2022 Olympic Games.—Art Schwartz