The Rockettes from Helsinki, Finland prepare to take the ice at the 2015 ISU World Synchro Skating Championships in Hamilton, Ont. Canada.
What started some 61 years ago when Dr. Richard Porter organized the very first group of team skaters in Ann Arbor, Mich., has developed into what is now the fastest growing discipline within the sport of figure skating. Synchronized Team Skating is now on the cusp of the ultimate international recognition; becoming an Olympic sport.
A formal request for inclusion of Synchronized Team Skating is finally before the IOC full council for a vote this coming June. Years of preparation by the ISU Synchro Technical Committee went into satisfying all the technical and administrative requirements of the International Olympic Committee. The groundwork has been laid and now the skating community waits for a decision.
What went into the two decades of work by the many members of ISU Synchronized Skating Technical Committees (SySTC) and participants in the sport? A new article by Debbi Wilkes ‘Synchro’s 2018 Olympic Dream’ published today by Skate Canada, provides much of the background of this prep work and how the sport has arrived at this moment. It is worth your read.
SYNCHRO’S 2018 OLYMPIC DREAM - http://www.skatecanada.ca/2015/04/synchros-2018-olympic-dream/
SYNCHRONIZED TEAM SKATING HISTORICAL TIMELINE - http://www.usfsa.org/shell.asp?sid=20471