Team Forget-Me-Not is one of three synchronized skating teams in town and has been increasingly geared toward showcasing its skills in out-of-state competitions, beginning with the 2017 Foot of the Lake Synchronized Skating Classic.
This week, Juneau’s youth synchronized ice skating team is competing in Pacific Coast Sectional Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
[Synchronized skaters encounter tough competition in Wisconsin]
“This is the highest national scale competition that their level team can compete at, and the first time they’re competing only against other Pacific Section teams,” coach Leah Farzin said.
The eight skaters that competed for the club last year — Emily Bowman, 17; Katherine Fritsch, 16; Meredith Fritsch, 16; Allison Hoy, 15; Adelie McMillan, 15; Haylee Hill, 14; Melissa Maxwell, 12; Dominque Morley, 14 — will be joined by four newcomers. Joining the squad in their first year on the team are Kiera Liska, 15; Leah Welch, 14; Maisy Morley, 13; Rebecca Maxwell, 11.
“It’s a lot more difficult than it was last year,” Melissa Maxwell said. “There’s a lot more power, blocks and creative elements.”
Blocks are when skaters form parallel lines while creative elements are movements the skaters make to go along with the music.
Bowman said Juneau skaters can have more of an edge in synchronized skating than individual skating.
“Because the rink closes down in the summer none of us really advance super far in jumps and spins,” Bowman said. “It’s really nice to have something that we can be really good at, especially for Alaska because we’re the only competitive team (in the state).”
Team Forget-Me-Not, as well as the other two skating teams, will be in action during the skating club’s annual spring show, Saturday, April 6. This show’s routines will follow a “Magic, Mystery and Mayhem” theme.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports on Twitter at @akempiresports.
Juneau Skating Club’s synchronized skating team, “Team Forget-Me-Not,” practices at the Treadwell Arena on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. The group of 12 skaters will be competing this weekend at the Pacific Coast Sectional Championships Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Nolin Ainsworth | Juneau Empire)
