Xanboni: Star Power

My daughter and I went and saw her student skate in an exhibition for the Starlights Synchro team yesterday. On the way we made all the jokes about Synchro--the girls who can't skate, the less-than-svelte body types, the long dresses, the cult-like devotion to matching polar fleece.

But there's something about Synchro.

First of all, the place was packed. When you've got 7 teams of 16 to 24 people, you do the math. Every time you have an exhibition, you're going to have at least 300 people there, between the parents, and the grandparents, and the siblings and the coaches. You never see singles exhibitions with anything like this kind of turnout.

And no one left.

Okay, we left. We had another obligation that we had to get to.

One of the things that really bothers me with some skating exhibitions, is that parents come, watch their kid, and then they're out the door. There's no sense that it's a team, that one skater should support another. By the end of a singles exhibition at a local program, there will be 14 people in the stands. It's just sad.

These people all stayed. They had each team skate twice, so if you wanted to see your skater, you had to stick around. Further, and more importantly, it's really understood that it's a team. You stay and support your teammates.

Even with the inevitable spills and mishaps, everyone came on and off the ice smiling. They looked like they were having a blast. Someone on the Juvenile team made a joke, and they all burst out laughing, and kept that energy throughout the entire adorable number.

In my opinion, synchronized skating is going to save figure skating in this country. It's going to keep kids in the sport who might otherwise leave--the heavy girls, the non-jumpers,? the ones without the financial resources or access to coaches that might get them to the big show in singles, let along pairs or dance. A lot more universities are starting to support Synchro teams, meaning that these kids don't have to give up their lifelong passion when they go to college anymore.

Now if they would just make it an NCAA sport, so that universities would start offering scholarships (no, there are no "skating scholarships" right now, sorry.)
The Startlights are on their way to Nationals.? Watch them and all the teams live on Ice Network this week February 29? through 3.?

Now where's my team scarf....

Source: http://xan-boni.blogspot.com/2012/02/star-power.html

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