The Juneau Skating Club’s synchronized skating team, Team Forget-Me-Not, competes this weekend at the 21st annual Foot of the Lake Synchronized Skating Classic in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
It’s the second year in a row JSC coach Leah Farzin’s team is making the trek to the competition, hosted this year at the Blueline Family Ice Center Jan. 5-6.
Last year’s event marked the first time the Juneau team traveled outside of Alaska. Previously, the farthest the team would travel to skate was Anchorage, the venue of the springtime winter festival Fur Rendezvous.
To the team’s delight, they took fourth place in the open juvenile division at the national competition.
“That was an incredible feat for them and I think really it still is something they talk about,” said Melissa Fritch, the mother of twins Meredith and Katherine on the team.
It may be more difficult for the team to improve on that mark this year. Eleven teams are entered into the Team Forget-Me-Not’s division, a jump in at least three from last season.
“I think they are going to skate just about as well as they did last year,” Farzin said. “The program is a similar difficulty level for them but its a bigger group so I don’t know what their placement could be.”
Last year, the team’s routine, or program, followed a Ghostbusters theme. The squad dressed in tan-colored dresses with red and white stripes, modeled after the uniforms worn in the 2016 remake of the movie.
This year, the team will be skating to songs inspired by space exploration and space travel. The girls will wear dark-blue dresses. Katherine Fritch, 15, said she enjoys this routine more.
“I like the moves a little better; it flows better,” Katherine Fritch said.
That could be because there are two fewer skaters sharing the ice together. The team went from 12 skaters last year to only 10 this year, aged between 11-16 years old. A minimum of eight skaters is required for a team to compete in the competition.
“Our coach Leah says we’re each 10 percent of the team so we all have to really work to contribute a little more because there’s fewer of us,” said 15-year-old Meredith Fritch.
Team Forget-Me-Not will skate the same show at JSC’s annual spring show, which took place last year in April.
Coach Farzin said she has been impressed with the commitment of the team this year. As a former synchronized skater herself, she understands how much time is required to form a successful team.
“It’s in everyone’s interest that they all know the program, that they all skate up to the same level,” Farzin said. “And so they are all very good at all working together and making sure everyone rises to the occasion.”
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
