'Ice of the Tiger' brings home gold medal

Stepping onto the ice to perform a three-minute-long program is daunting enough when the skater is competing solo. But what about when one is skating with 13 other girls?

At the Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championship on Jan. 27, the Princeton University Figure Skating Club (PUFSC) managed to perform that feat with ease, surpassing all of its own expectations and taking home a gold medal from Providence, R.I.

A relatively new sport, synchronized skating is a far cry from the figure skating of five-time world champion Michelle Kwan, or even the ice dancing of Olympic silver-medalist Tanith Belbin. It can be compared more aptly to dancing: Timing is essential, as is knowing where your fellow skaters are on the ice.

Like in classical figure skating, judges make their decisions based on the degree of difficulty and quality of the formations performed. For a synchronized skater, quality entails straight lines, fast transitions from move to move and, of course, synchronization.

Led by senior captain Marie Beylin, Princeton's entry — called the "Ice of the Tiger" — won gold at the Eastern Sectionals primarily for the excellent quality of its performance.

"Because our program wasn't as difficult as some of the other teams', we were not expecting to win," Beylin said. "However, our synchrony was by far the best and allowed us to win. Every crossover not done together is a deduction, and we were right on throughout the program, unlike some of the other teams."

The team benefited from an influx of fresh talent in the Class of 2010. With the addition of six freshmen to the team, Princeton was able to include 14 skaters in its on-ice program, more than any other open collegiate team in the competition.

The new skaters also brought a higher level of talent, which the team was able to incorporate into the choreography. Individual skaters were chosen to perform more intricate moves outside of the synchronized group, increasing the program's degree of difficulty.

Choreographed to a blend of Spanish-style music, the highlights include several different kinds of pinwheels, a whip intersection, a traveling block with footwork and several moves in isolation.

The competition was the team's last of the season, since it competes at the club, and not the varsity, level.

"The seniors couldn't ask for a better year to finish off their competitive skating careers," Beylin said. "The performance and the win were amazing [for] the seniors and juniors who had been with the team during some rough times over the years. [In the past], we have lost a skater to injury the night before having to compete, and unlike other sports, we can't just replace a skater, every skater must skate their unique spot in order for the program to flow smoothly."

Finding their own spot to practice routines has also created challenges for the skaters. The Tigers can only use Baker Rink late at night twice a week and on Wednesday mornings. The team compensates by practicing run-throughs off the ice and by bringing in two professional coaches once a week to help keep the team's efforts structured.

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"Basically, those three minutes we spent in front of the judges [at the Eastern Sectionals] were the culmination of the countless hours of work we've put in all year," freshman Lindsay Levinson said. "And this year, not only were there more teams than we had ever competed against, but it was the first gold-medal win of our team's history."

Princeton students first formed a skating club a mere 12 years ago. Four years later, the first synchronized team was formed. At that time, the Tigers were nowhere close to their current caliber. It was only this season that Princeton found its first set of stable coaches and the team began to compete seriously.

Though the skaters will not compete competitively again this year, they will host a show at Baker Rink in the spring featuring a version of their gold medal program.The team will hope to mimic the excitement it had after learning of its gold-medal victory in Providence.

"Most of the team had run back to the hotel to change after our performance since we had to get back on to the bus to leave for campus," Beylin said. "That's where we received a phone call from our teammate that we had won. I ran down the hallway to tell the rest of the team, and we all started screaming like little girls."

For the five seniors who are hanging up their skates, there's no better way to exit the rink.