AT last week’s inaugural Shanghai Trophy tournament, spectators at the Oriental Sports Center in Pudong got a good look at the up-and-coming discipline of synchronized skating, an increasingly popular sport currently under review for inclusion in the Winter Olympic Games.

Once known as precision skating, synchronized skating is a group discipline where between eight and 20 skaters hit the ice to perform high-speed choreographed routines. Like traditional ice dancing and figure skating, teams are judged on teamwork, precision, speed and the difficulty of their program.

Six teams took part in last week’s synchronized skating competition in Shanghai. The Russian team Paradise won first-place overall in the three-day event, thanks largely to its strong short program. It was followed by the Haydenettes from the US and Sweden’s Team Surprise, which took home silver and bronze medals respectively.

“We were extremely happy with the results,” said Daria Rakhvalskaia, captain of Paradise, a team based in St Petersburg. “We spent a lot of time in training. We trained to win!”

The 25-year-old has been with Paradise for 10 years, making her the most experienced member of the team.

“Paradise is 21 years old, but the team keeps changing. As old members leave, new blood also keeps coming in… The current team has been training together for about one year,” Rakhvalskaia told Shanghai Daily.

As team captain, Rakhvalskaia’s duties are like those of a class monitor. Among other responsibilities, she reminds her teammates of training and match schedules, and acts as a link between the coach and her fellow skaters.

She went on to explain that the team captain isn’t necessarily the best skater, but should be the most trusted by both the coach and the team’s other members.

“I’m required to be a leader… to be brave, so as to tell my teammates that there’s nothing to be scared of (during a competition).”

Rakhvalskaia picked up skating at age 6. But an accident several years later eventually led her toward her current role.

“Everybody starts with singles skating. Later in their career, they choose what they want to do. In my case, I broke my back in training when I was 11, and therefore decided to switch to synchronized skating.”

All about teamwork

Synchronized skating is seen as relatively less demanding on individual athletes given its nature as a team sport. A synchronized routine may consist of straight line, wheel, block and circle step sequences involving multiple skaters working in unison. Many routines also include moves from isolated skaters. And while teams are judged on a routine as a whole, each member has to know their part to perfection.

“To have a good team, you must also hire skaters with high individual skills,” said Irina Yakovleva, head coach of Paradise. “Since synchronized skating has been developing well over the years, the competitive level is becoming higher. Therefore you must pay attention to individual skills too.”

Yakovleva used to be a skater herself. She later became a coach and took charge of Paradise at the very beginning of its establishment.

“It’s very difficult to coach some 20 girls together, since each of them has a different character. Besides technique, you must pay attention to consistency and make one unit out of them.”

New hotness

Synchronized skating originated in North America. The first synchronized skating team was formed in 1956 to entertain spectators during intermissions of hockey games at the University of Michigan. With time other teams were formed and synchronized skating became accepted as a sport in its own right, with skaters from cold-weather countries like Finland, Canada and Sweden emerging as early leaders.

Russia is a relative newcomer to the synchronized skating scene. According to Yakovleva, the country is home to four senior teams and 12 junior teams.

During the early days in Russia, finding team members was often a struggle as the sport lacked the clout and prestige of figure skating and ice dancing. At first, only former singles and pairs skaters would consider joining a team like Paradise. Now that the sport has had a few decades to grow in Russia, things are different. Interest in synchronized skating is now much higher, especially among the younger generation, the coach explained.

Synchronized skating is also catching on among male athletes as well. At the recent tournament in Shanghai, teams from Canada and Germany included male skaters.

The use of male skaters in synchronized skating depends mostly on how a coach designs a program. Male skaters can help in lifts and other power moves, but some critics say their costumes detract from the uniformity of their team.

Though not currently an Olympic sports, synchronized skating is now being reviewed for Olympic eligibility, and International Skating Union (ISU) officials hope that it will become a new sport at the 2022 Winter Games, which will be jointly held by China’s Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

“The sport is targeting a new and young audience,” said Marie Lundmark, a council member at the ISU. “Our skaters are also young, and a lot of them are at the age between 19 and 22. I hope the sport can appear as early as in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. This is my dream.”

Lunkmark explained that a decision on the matter would only be made after the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“All teams in the world are waiting (for an Olympic entrance),” said Paradise captain Rakhvalskaia. “It will be one of the most beautiful days in our lives if it happens. It will push the sport to a new level.”

“Synchronized skating is a sport pleasant to watch,” said Ren Hongguo, party secretary of the China Sports Bureau’s winter sports management center. “But one of the major concerns (about making it an Olympic sport) is the number of athletes it involves. It would require more costs for accommodations.”

But as athletes, officials and fans wait for a decision on the sport’s place in the Olympics, events like the Shanghai Trophy tournament are seen as invaluable opportunities to cultivate synchronized skating. Lundmark was quick to give a thumbs-up to the event, which also included a short-track speedskating competition.

“It’s the first time in international skating history that short track speedskating and synchronized skating are combined into the same event. The skaters had never skated in front of such a big audience. They enjoyed the good atmosphere in this arena. I hope we can continue with the Shanghai Trophy.”

Chinese juniors hit the ice

Synchronized skating is new to China, with a handful of clubs in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen training on the discipline.

The Chinese junior synchronized skating team also attended the Shanghai Trophy. They did not take part in the competition, but performed during the opening ceremony and competition intervals during the three-day event. Coached by former national ice dancing skater Sun Xun, the team mainly consists of student skaters from Beijing between the ages of 14 and 18. They trained together for about seven months before attending the Shanghai event.

“We’ve never seen performances from such strong world-class teams before,” said Chinese junior skater Li Sixian. “I hope we can be like this in the future.”

The team will head to Finland for training in May, and is scheduled to participate in several international youth competitions in the future.

“If synchronized skating can be a part of the Winter Olympic Games (in 2022), we will be at our peak in another seven years of time if the team is still together,” said Li.