lots of synchro questions

[ibreakhearts66]

ok guys. i am looking to a whole new WORLD of skating. i have decided that i want to do synchro in college. i have NO synchro experience, and will not be able to have any experience with a team until college as there are none near me (i like in so-cal, but there are only a couple of rinks that i can reach, and none of them have teams).

where do i start? seriously.

i know i have to get MIF tested. im hoping to get up to my novice moves tested (but i got a ways to go, i've only tested pre-pre, but i do know the prelim, pre-juv, juv, and some intermediate moves).

what else do i need to do? walk me through this...im clueless!

[littlerain]

This recent thread might help - http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=24215&highlight=synchro

You can probably message someone who posted on that thread for more specific questions you might have...

Hope this helped :)

[Thin-Ice]

Different teams have different standards for what they require to be on a team. Since synchro is not going to be the ONLY reason you choose a specific school, where in the country do you want to go to school and what do you want to study? If you'd been doing synchro since a much younger age, it's likely Synchro would have been a major part of your life and would remain a major part of your life and you might be limiting yourself to schools like Miami of Ohio or Western Michigan. But since you're starting later, it's not likely to be as important to you as to someone who has skated synchro since they were very young.

That may mean you are more open to skating on a team that is not quite as competitive and will have less intense standards and try-outs as the top teams. That will give you more options on which teams you could skate with... and what you need to do to prepare to skate synchro.

Also how long until you actually go to college? How long do you have to prepare to skate on a team?

Try to find a way to go watch a synchro practice and talk to the team members. See if you can track down someone from Team del Sol or Gold Rush in southern California. Ask them what they require to join their teams... so you have an idea of what they expect. Take that information and see how they skate as a team, and see if you would qualify to skate with them and can do the kinds of things they do. For most college teams you'll need to do more than just "know Preliminary, Pre-Juvenile, Juvenile and Intermediate" MIF. But if it's more a recreational team, you should be more than fine getting through the Pre-Juve or Juvenile tests. And of course, it all depends on where you decide you want to go to school and how many teams they have in that area and what requirements those teams have and where/how they compete. You could also skate on an ISI synchro team.

Synchro is a blast! It's an amazing experience to go out on the ice and hold hands with 19 of your best friends and show what you can do. You'll have a great time!