This coming February, the University of Guelph’s figure skating team will be competing at the OUA Championships in London, Ontario. Despite the fact that every member must skate on the synchronized skating team, they must also take part in a single, pairs or fours event. Each of these event categories represents the number of skaters that participate, which then vary from different levels of dance, freeskate and skills throughout.

“Everybody’s been working really hard, we’re on the ice at 7 a.m. every morning for two hours,” said team captains Bailey Beldham and Christine Kucava, both in their third year, about the upcoming competition.

Daily training has been ongoing since the beginning of the semester up until the OUAs.

“As of last year we did lose a lot of our skaters, so it is a rebuilding year for us,” Kucava responded when asked how they felt in comparison to last year’s competition.

They have high hopes for success. By participating in other competitions this season, the team tried to get a feel for how the judges would respond.

With roughly 10 teams partaking in the OUAs this year, the most substantial part of the competition is still the synchronized skating event. A total of 15 points can be given for first place in this event and if won, the total score of the team can change drastically.

Playing competitive varsity sports consumes a great amount of time. Like many varsity athletes most of these skaters are full time students, and some also have jobs. Beldham and Kucava agreed that they still do it regardless, because even though it is competitive, they are not looking for a career in the sport as an outcome.

“We all used to be competitive skaters, now we do it to continue skating whereas other varsity teams are still trying to ‘make it’ in the sport” Beldham stated.

Be sure to look out for our Gryphon figure skaters and wish them luck at bringing home the gold.

Your anonymous comment may be printed in The Ontarion's print publication.