What is Synchronized Skating?
Synchronized Skating is a discipline of figure skating where athletes perform on the ice as a cohesive team. Skaters execute the same steps at the same time, all while forming a variety of required shapes (circle, block, line, wheel, and intersection). This is all done to set music in costumes that match and compliment one another.
U.S. Figure Skating defines Synchronized Skating in the following manner:
Synchronized skating offers athletes the chance to compete with a team and learn the value of teamwork and camaraderie. Formed in 1956 by Dr. Richard Porter, the sport was known as “precision skating” for the intricate moves the skaters perform on the ice together. U.S. Figure Skating held the first U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in 1984 and the first World Synchronized Skating Championships in 2000. Today, there are about 600 registered synchronized teams in the United States.
Teams of 8 to 20 skaters perform challenging formations and step sequences together, and competitions use the same judging system as singles, pairs and ice dance. As with other disciplines, all teams perform a free skate with required elements, and junior- and senior-level teams also perform a short program.
Synchronized skating teams in the United States compete in 18 different levels.