Meet the latest Campus Celebrities, the McGill Figure Skating Team! Her Campus McGill had the opportunity to talk with some of the members of the team to discuss the hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining such a successful skating team.
The McGill Figure Skating Team is open to both men and women. It currently consists of twenty five members, with seventeen of them on the competitive roster. All the team members had previous skating experience before joining the team. Co-captain Julie Fortin explains that, “All members of the team have prior experience in competitive figure skating; many have competed at the provincial level or higher. However, we have members from a wide variety of disciplines within figure skating; ice dance, freestyle, and synchronized skating.”
The team practices three times a week at McConnell Arena; from 6:30-8:00am on Mondays and Thursdays and from 7:00-8:00am on Wednesdays. They also have an off-ice practice on Saturdays from 1:00-2:00pm to focus on fitness conditioning and practice for their synchronized skating program.
The early morning practices have been known to deter potential skaters from trying out for the team. Fortin remarks that “When I heard the practices were at 6:30am, I didn’t even go to tryouts. A few weeks later I changed my mind, emailed the coach, and was lucky enough that they still had a spot for me on the team. And look at me now; three seasons later, I don’t want to leave.”
Many of the skaters actually credit the early morning practices for motivating them to study and helping balance academics with schoolwork. Brooke Levis said that “My advice is not to go back to bed after morning practice, but to use that time to get schoolwork done. If I wasn’t skating, it’s unlikely that I would arrive on campus at 8:30am awake and ready to work. So in a way, skating gives me more time to get my work done.”
The team generally has two competitions each school year, both in Ontario. The competitions include events in synchronized and freestyle skating, pairs, fours, and ice dance. As for the success they have had at the competitions, Fortin says “We can say we’re pretty proud of what we accomplished at these competitions considering how little practice time we get, especially compared to some of the Ontario university teams which have Varsity status.”
They also host two shows per year, at McConnell Arena, towards the end of each semester. This gives the team members an opportunity to invite friends and family to demonstrate the routines they have learned. In addition, the shows provide a way for the team to fundraise to help cover the cost of their competitions. The planning for their December show, which the team just had on December 4th, 2014, is the more difficult show of the two to put on because, at the same time, the team is working on programs for upcoming competitions. By the time the end-of-the-year-show rolls around, competition season is over, so the skaters have more time and effort to focus on the show solely. For this show, team members are able to decide how many routines they do and to what music.
The fact that McGill had a skating team was an influential factor for many of the skaters in their decision to attend university here. Kayla Da Mata adds that “When applying to university, I made sure that each one I applied to had a skating team, since skating has always been a part of my life and I couldn’t imagine giving it up! The fact that there was a figure skating team was a huge part of my decision to come to McGill.”
Many team members couldn’t imagine not having skating in their life. Describing skating, Ariane Beland says “it’s an addiction; the speed, the gliding, doing challenging elements and not knowing if you’ll face plant while doing it. I love just letting the music guide my skates and moves. I feel free when I’m on the ice. My head only stops spinning when my feet and body do.”
Furthermore, the skating team has offered its members an amazing outlet to de-stress from all the chaos of university life. Sebastien Levesque says “Skating is something that liberates me from the troubles of my life, and it’s definitely one of my happy places. I’d do a lot just to be on the ice.”
Skating is also a way for the students to enhance their educational experiences aside from textbooks and lecture recordings. Stephanie Wai explains that “While academics and grades are important, it is also crucial that one gets involved in extracurricular activities and extend their learning beyond the classroom… McGill Figure Skating has provided me with a community, family, and something to look forward to every early morning when I wake up.”
Mia Hills adds that “Skating is not just about competing and being the best for me, but about having fun, letting loose, and keeping me mentally sane.”
The skaters do agree, nevertheless, that there are some downsides to the team. The main complaints are having to skate in freezing temperatures so early in the morning. However, they also agree that another major downside is the lack of recognition they get as a difficult, time consuming sport. As Jill Noel explains, “My least favorite part would be that a lot of people don’t give it enough credit, so you constantly have to fight for how hard-core the sport it.” Many McGill student don’t even know that their school has a Figure Skating Team. When asked what one thing people would be surprised to know about the skating team was, Fortin simply replies “That we exist.”
If you want to find out about upcoming shows and competitions or how you can get involved with the team, check out the McGill Figure Skating Team on Facebook or their page on the McGill Athletics and Recreation Site!
Images contributed by the McGill Figure Skating Team.