SynchroNice / Fourth Edition / 2019

Although one of the biggest and nicest competitions of the season “the Mozart Cup” is held in Austria’s Salzburg, we’ve never inter- viewed one of their beautiful Synchronized Skaters yet. High time for an interview with a typical Austrian Synchronized Skater and member of team Sweet Mozart. HI THERE, PLEASE INTRODUCEYOURSELF TO OUR READERS. Hello I am Katharina Devitofranceschi. Hmmm, Devitofranceschi you say, but that doesn’t sound very Austrian at all? No, in fact I was born in Skokie, Illinois, USA and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. But I’m guessing you’re not traveling back and forth to practices and competitions? Haha, no certainly not, I currently live in beautiful Vienna here in Austria. With a long name like that, they surely found you a nickname here? Yep, they all just call me ‘Kat’. Okay Kat, is it very impolite to ask about your age? Nope, I’m 26 years old and I was born on the 29th of April 1992. Tell us what’s the name of your skating club? Ice Skating Club of Austria. And the Team’s name is? Sweet Mozart. Who’s your head coach? Well, in fact Sweet Mozart has a team of coaches, consisting of Noora Karjalainen, Julia Kiefer, Veronika Scholze and Theresa Katzlinger. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FIRST STEPS ON ICE? Wow, that’s a long time ago, when I was five, I underwent a life-saving operation due to a birth defect. The operation cut through my stomach muscles, so the doctor suggested my mother enroll me in a sport to build up my core strength and ensure a speedy recovery. That sport was skating and even though I was always the slowest and struggled at first, I fell in love with the sport and the challenges it presented me with. I started Synchro when I was 7 on a local prelimi­ nary team. Like most Synchro skaters, I continued with freestyle and eventually found my way to ice dance, which I pursued with as much vigor as I did Synchro. Eventually, I joined Skyliners Novice and worked my way up to Skyliners Junior (2007-2010). After my first World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden I felt I had reached many of my skating goals and decided to part ways with skating to go to college. Seven years later I moved to Austria and met Noora who convinced me to get back on the ice and join Sweet Mozart. Now I’m just so happy that I did. Why did your mother choose skating, did she skate herself? No, no one else in my family skates, though they have always been incredibly suppor­ tive and love the sport too! WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST GOALS? Well, Austria’s skating community is pretty small, so getting a team together each season requires a lot of plan­ ning. On top of that, our teammembers are scatte­ red across the country (and even other neighboring countries!) so we have to limit our practices to the weekends. We take what we do on Sweet Mozart very seriously, but also recognize our situational limitations. As such, we strive to do the best we can at each competition and are working on improving our international standing year by year, but our long-term goal is to inspire the development of a larger, stronger synchronized skating community in Austria and lay the foundation for future gene­ rations of Austrian skaters to find their way to this wonderful sport! My personal goal is to support the team and our growth in any way I can and of course have a blast doing it! STILL YOU AND THE TEAM ARE COMPETING ON A HIGH LEVEL AND THAT ALONE TAKES UP A LOT OF SPARE TIME, CAN YOU COMBINE THIS WITH YOUR PERSONAL LIFE? My parents have supported me since day one and been with me at most competi­ tions. My mom drove me to almost every practice – even to the 6am practices before school! She watched and encouraged my growth as a skater, lent a supportive ear on the tough days and was never overbearing in her feedback. For that I am so incredibly grateful! These days,my life partner and boyfriend, Daniel, gi­ ves me the space I need to pursue skating oncemore. Sweet Mozart AUSTRIA’S SKYLINE-er Devitofranceschi SYNCHRO NICE 155