Best described as a kaleidescope of twirling bodies, synchronized skating is an artform unparralled in beauty, grace and difficulty.
Three Clarkston residents recently helped Team E’lan reach the pinnacle of success in three different levels of competition at the 2005 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Lowell, Mass.
Lisa Smith assisted the adult team in winning the national championship; Kylee Haase helped the juvenile team garner a bronze medal; while Taylor Wiedemann and the novice team took seventh.
‘We had the best routine we have ever skated,? said Haase, who is in the sixth grade at St. Stevens Lutheran in Waterford. ‘I enjoyed seeing all of the other teams from around the country.
Teams from as far away as California and Florida qualified for the national competition. The sport was pioneered in Ann Arbor back in 1954.
Synchronized skating, like the more popularized swimming version, relies on all twenty competitors to skate, twirl and leap in unison. The training process, consisting of three times weekly, six-hour sessions is long and arduous, but for the girls, their time was well spent.
‘You have to be dedicated,? said Wiedemann, a seventh grader at Clarkston Middle School. ‘You do become really good friends with your teammates.?
In the offseason, teams frequently bond on ropes courses or on group outings to the movies.
‘I really didn’t know anyone on the team before I joined. I’ve made a lot of really, really close friends,? said Smith, who graduated from Clarkston High School in 1996.
Most girls who get into synchronized skating already have a strong background in individual freestyle routines.
‘I skated at Western Michigan, When I was done there I realized that I missed skating,? said Smith, who joined the adult squad of Team E’lan this year for their second consecutive gold medal. ‘I’ve never been on a team before that competed at this level.?
Aside from those teams featuring Clarkston residents, Team E’lan, which is based at the Detroit Skate Center, also featured a third place junior team and a fourth place senior team. The director of Team E’lan was named 2004 synchronized skating coach of the year by the Professional Skaters Association.
Auditions for the 2005-06 season run May 1-7 for ages 11 and up. For more information on Team E’lan call the Detroit Skating Club at 248-332-3000.