SynchroNice / Third Edition / 2018

I will never ever skate alone. How can anyone be so skillful? Not just a one skater – a bunch of skaters together! I was seven. I became spellbound. Sometimes it is good to look back to see where we have come from and how far we have come. I was seven years old 30 years ago. When I was a kid, the best senior teams had 32 skaters on the ice. They did not skate, they marched. Their skirts were ridiculous- ly short and the sport was called precision skating. Today there are only 16 skaters on the ice, but they certainly can skate. Sometimes they have no skirts at all. The fundamental element of all sport is skill.
I loved how Tracy Wilson commented on Tessa Virtue’s and Scott Moir’s free dance at Canadian Nationals in the middle of January. The seven-time National Cham- pion and Olympic bronze medalist in ice dance said in a TSN broadcast:“They make everybody in the game better”. She was so right. Every sport needs someone who makes the whole crew better.
In synchro, it was first the North Americans, then the Scandinavians, and lately the Russians. Skill is an ability to do something well. It is not easy to teach because you have to know how to create something new. It takes years to grow into full bloom. Skaters, coaches, judges and fans of synchro have been dreaming of Olympics for years. To be frank, I am not surprised we have not made it yet, even though we have done so much. If we really want to get there, we have to start from the beginning and focus on young skaters. There are thousands of seven- year-olds full of potential to be Olympians. First of all, I would like to change the way we practice and compete with the youngsters. There is no need to keep grinding and repeating the same three-minute program all year along. Forget the static thinking. You will not need it.
It is nice to be on a podium (at any age), but it is even sweeter to learn new tricks. It does not matter if your program is not as polished as that of the best seniors. There are plenty of programs ahead of you when you are 10 years old. Dear coaches, please concentrate on basic skills and drills as much as you concentrate on competitive programs. And what would you say about a new kind of a competition where the tasks to be performed would be given to you at the rink? You would have to be well prepared and creative to carry out your tasks. The best thing is that you would have your teammates next to you even when you would be expected to perform a solo spin or step sequence. The judges would give you feedback and tell what to practice more. Two or three teams could be on the ice at the same time. We would not have to resurface the ice after every 5–6 teams. The ice is not the only place where the Champions are made. We must train in a variety of ways off- ice. The kids need the best teachers to guide them. They need someone who inspires and instills a love of learning.
In our daily activities, we may brush our teeth with the same hand and in the same way every single day, but in the field of sport we have to use both hands. Unilateral work can lead to imbalances in the body. It can lead to posture problems, expo- sure to injury and functional limitations. A one-sided skater is only a half of a skater. And it is not only the physical aspects you can train off-ice. You can also train grace and artistry. Your mental game. Today’s kids are the Olympians of tomorrow. It’s our privilege to show them the way.  Today’s kids are the Olympians of tomorrow Traveling the world to cover Synchronized Skating will bring you in contact with all kinds of interesting people. Elina, a gifted sports photographer we met years ago at a competition turned out to be Elina Paasonen, a Finnish journalist and photographer who has covered the last six Olympic Games. She was nominated as the Sport Journalist of the year 2016 in Finland. At age of three, she got her first skates and fell in love with skating immediately. It is family tradition – Elina is a fourth- generation figure skater. Well known coaches like Mirjami Penttinen and Saga Krantz are both former teammates. Anu Oksanen was her coach when she was a kid and Kaisa Arrateig was her coach when she was team captain with the Rockettes. Elina has never missed out on an ISU World Synchronized Skating Championship so, Stockholm will be her number 19. We couldn’t but ask this talented young lady to share some of her thoughts in this issue of SynchroNice, enjoy. By Elina Paasonen pc Veikko Somerpuro / Tammi SYNCHRO NICE 169