SynchroNice / Fourth Edition / 2019

Croatia: Both the Croatian and Zagreb Skating Federations are very involved in the development of SyS. They assist with organizing summer SyS camps, securing facilities for skating and off-ice lessons throughout the season, and they provide support to the junior and senior National teams. 2019 marks the 15th Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy, an ISU event hosted by the Croatian Skating Federation. (Contributed by Ozana Räikkönen) Japan: There is a working group for SyS in Japan. Their duties include: translating ISU communications and technical rules to improve coaches’ and skaters’ understanding, and giving advice and feedback to the teams. This group also delivers rule seminars, study sessions, and events to increase the number of SyS. (Contributed by Mihoko Sato) Netherlands: While the synchro community in the Netherlands would like to see more support from their federation, as a country, they are currently educating new officials, which is a positive sign. The federation supported the decision to host an ISU competition this season (Lumière Cup), which proved to be a valuable development opportunity as well. (Contributed by Angelique Visser) New Zealand: Their federation includes SyS events at all of their figure skating compe­ titions, which aids in visibility of the sport. SyS teams who meet the qualification requirements, are included in the Skater Development squad; these teams are supported through the provision of funding for some ice time and coaching. The North Island Sub-Associa­ tion recently held a development camp in Auckland for SyS skaters across New Zealand, with 43 skaters and 5 coaches participating. The moderator was Madonna Randall, ISU Technical Specialist and coach from Aus­ tralia. In addition, a session for coaches and Technical Specialists was also held at the seminar. (Contributed by Sandra Williamson-Leadley) Turkey: “Our federation supported us finan­ cially to participate in the World Champion­ ships for 4 years.” said Coach Zeynep. She added, “They organized National seminars and supported me to go to international seminars 2 times. But we cover all of the other expenses by ourselves, with the help of some sponsorships.” In 2019, the teamwill not receive financial support from the federation, due the economy. They have also been rejected by sponsors, being told “Synchro is not in Olympics,” and worry this may dismantle SyS in Turkey and other countries. United Kingdom: From running SyS camps, to offering more opportunities for SyS coach­ es to develop themselves, the British Ice Skating has been working on several initiatives to help grow and de­ velop SyS in the UK. British Ice Skating runs an annual Coaches’ Conference, which offers specific opportuni­ ties for SyS coaches to learn more about progressing the sport and developing their teams. Squads can also achieve GB Performance status based on their scores at ISU events. As part of GB Performance Squad, they have access to high-level technical advice, sport sci­ ence support and squad kit, all helping to develop their British SyS athletes. (Contributed by Natalie Primavera) United States of America: United States Fig­ ure Skating offers three annual camps that include on and off-ice classes for their athletes, and a coaching track. The staff includes skating coaches from all disciplines. North Carolina also hosted a OneTeam­ MVMT Camp in 2018, and is doing so again in 2019. “We are constantly looking at ways we can develop our athletes to be the best synchronized skaters they can be through various programming. We also have our D.R.E.A.M. Program, which uses the skating and leadership skills of America's top synchronized skaters to influence the lives of developing athletes through a presence on social media, at competitions and camps,” said Leslie Graham. What we LEARNED: Teams and clubs are championing the sport of SyS and doing it proud! We will close off this article by highlighting some of the things teams and individuals are doing to help raise awareness of the sport: • Conducting recruitment drives to showcase SyS to skaters of all ages and levels and encouraging them to join • Actively seeking and securing sponsorship and funding from various government and private organizations • Performing demonstrations at ice rinks, having teams included in ice shows, performing at ice hockey games, and demonstrations at Learn to Skate sessions • Bringing in guest coaches and choreographers (often from other disciplines, and either local and interna­ tionally-recognized) to assist with skills, choreography, and to lead seminars • Including SyS events at local, regional and national skating championships • Hosting new competitions, with the help of volunteers from synchro families • Exporting coaches and athletes to other countries to help with camps or clinics • Getting involved with local sports initiatives that are not necessarily SyS specific. i.e. in the UK, some SYS clubs are involved with an initiative called ‘Clubmark’ led by Sport England, which is an accreditation scheme for sports Clubs. It represents higher stand­ ards of welfare, coaching and management in sports Clubs, making sure the UK’s sports Club infrastruc­ ture is strong and successful. Ultimately any Synchro clubs with the accreditation is presented in a very positive light to the British public and further raising awareness of the sport. • Inviting media personnel to attend events to show­ case what SyS looks like. • Contacting local news stations to do a story on their SyS team • Inviting friends, family, and guests to events where SYS is featured • The biggest ‘awareness piece’ we see happening globally, is the wide sharing on social media of SyS training, photos, videos, team activities, sponsor rec­ ognition, etc. Leslie Graham, USFS says, “being able to share videos and photos exposes the sport.” We agree that social media has become a hot platform to connect athletes, parents, fans and even officials and federations. Natalie Lindquist of Sweden, who has watched the development of SyS closely for many years says, “I can also see that the teams today work in a different way and want to help each other to grow and develop.” Social media has served to encourage that kind of connection among teams and skaters. Article contributed by OneTeamMVMT; a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting and empowering the synchronized skating community, in order to grow the sport globally. Learn more about how you can join and support the MVMT at www.oneteammvmt.com or follow us on social media at @OneTeamMVMT (Instagram and facebook) or @OTMvmt on twitter. What are some things you have seen individual teams do in your country, to help raise awareness of / grow the sport? The Kenyan artist, Wangechi Mutu said, “I believe art is a connection, like passing on a flame.” If this is true, and we believe it is, there is a powerful message being conveyed through the artistry of SyS. As the sport contin­ ues to develop, both artistically and of course, athletically, SyS should one day get its chance to pass the flame on to the Olympic stage. WE ASKED: 169