Tell your chat friends about your Synchronized Skating Team.

[FSWer]

LOL,ok Kids. I don't know if this would or would not be allowed on a board. Though I guess it would depend on what is said. So I'll leave it up to all you Synchros. But I would surely love it if you could please tell us a little about your Team. Anything you can and are alowed to say.

[Clarice]

Well, my team doesn't have any restrictions about posting on message boards! We're an Open Adult team with 10 members at this time, although one is out with a broken arm. (Yes, she broke it on the ice, but it wasn't during synchro.) We range in age from late 20's to mid '60s. I'm one of the highest tested skaters, at Adult Silver, but one of the other women skated as a kid. I forget what level she got up to back then. The rest are all no-test skaters. One of the men and another of the women are also an adult pair team, but they haven't taken any of those tests yet, either.

We've only ever gone to one competition, and it was at our own rink and we were the only adult synchro team. It was still fun performing in front of an audience, and the youth teams all stayed around to watch and cheer for us. (They gave us medals, too, which was nice!) Mostly, we do programs for our club shows.

We self-coach and self-choreograph, and have a lot of fun with it. This week we made up a new sequence of moves that we're pretty pleased with. We're not going to advance quickly, but we do challenge ourselves with something new in every program. The low level skaters are thrilled with their increased speed and confidence since they've started working with the team, and I find it challenging, too, just trying to do even simple moves the same as everybody else. I'm also sort of the de facto coach, so I have fun planning the practices and coming up with new things for the team to try. Everybody pitches in with suggestions, though, so our numbers end up being real collaborative efforts. We're having a great time!

[FSWer]

COOL!!!! Say,can you please explain what would make it ok for a Team to not have rules about boards? Just wondering. BTTW. I've heard Teams to be 12-24. That's new to me with 10. I never knew that possible. BTW. before we go on, I was just wondering something else too. I know that some Teams have a Uniform person that takes charge of them,and some Synchronized Skaters take theirs home. But what happens in a case of a SINGLE Synchronized Skater needing a new outfit for a replacement? Does anyone also have an answer to this?

[Clarice]

Different levels of teams have different numbers of skaters on them. Open Adult teams have 8-12. A regular Adult team can have 12-20. I don't think any level allows 24 any more - I think 20 is as many as you're allowed to have out there at one time.

We don't have any rules about posting on boards because we're not a competitive team. We don't have to worry about other teams copying our ideas or anything like that.

I don't quite understand your question about uniforms. I'm not understanding why one skater would need another outfit - you mean like if their old one got ruined somehow? I imagine they would just order a new one or have another one made. Our youth teams had their dresses made by a local dressmaker who sews a lot of skating costumes. If they needed another one, she would just make it. We just skate in pants and matching vests, so when new people join our team we just order more vests. Easy!

[Skittl1321]

Our team has the case of two skaters needing the costume while the rest (10 others?) have them- because we are reusing last years costume and two of us are new.

We are just reordering them from the source- and have our fingers crossed they'll get here in time!

[FSWer]

Different levels of teams have different numbers of skaters on them. Open Adult teams have 8-12. A regular Adult team can have 12-20. I don't think any level allows 24 any more - I think 20 is as many as you're allowed to have out there at one time.

We don't have any rules about posting on boards because we're not a competitive team. We don't have to worry about other teams copying our ideas or anything like that.

I don't quite understand your question about uniforms. I'm not understanding why one skater would need another outfit - you mean like if their old one got ruined somehow? I imagine they would just order a new one or have another one made. Our youth teams had their dresses made by a local dressmaker who sews a lot of skating costumes. If they needed another one, she would just make it. We just skate in pants and matching vests, so when new people join our team we just order more vests. Easy!


COOL!!!!! Say,I didn't even know the level had anything to do with it. Also why wouldn't they allow 24 any more? Too much?

[FSWer]

Our team has the case of two skaters needing the costume while the rest (10 others?) have them- because we are reusing last years costume and two of us are new.

We are just reordering them from the source- and have our fingers crossed they'll get here in time!

Do you mean 2 skaters need to need a outfit first? If so,how do they get it Jessi?

[Skittl1321]

Do you mean 2 skaters need to need a outfit first? If so,how do they get it Jessi?

No, two skaters don't need to need it- it just happens that we have 2 skaters. If only 1 skater needed it, they would get one- can't have one naked skater at competition!

To get a costume we just have to order it. We have a team contact person who collects all the sizes and then orders the costumes. The skater pays the cost of the costume, so they write a check to the contact person- who already paid the company.

It's obviously BETTER if everyone orders at the same time- you usually save money if it's in bulk or save money on shipping. But if one person on the team doesn't have a costume- they have to order one.

I would guess that even if team funds paid for costumes if a single skater lost or damaged a costume, they would have to pay to replace it.

[Clarice]

COOL!!!!! Say,I didn't even know the level had anything to do with it. Also why wouldn't they allow 24 any more? Too much?

You know, I really don't know the answer to that. But as I was flipping through the Rule Book, I saw that 20 seemed to be the upper limit for any level team. It said Senior teams had 16 members. I don't know why they would be smaller than, say, an Adult team.

Of course, a team can have more members than allowed. They just can't put them all out there at a competition. You'd have some skaters sitting "on the bench", like a football team. I imagine most high level teams have extra members serving as alternates, in case somebody gets sick or injured.

[Skittl1321]

You know, I really don't know the answer to that. But as I was flipping through the Rule Book, I saw that 20 seemed to be the upper limit for any level team. It said Senior teams had 16 members. I don't know why they would be smaller than, say, an Adult team.

Of course, a team can have more members than allowed. They just can't put them all out there at a competition. You'd have some skaters sitting "on the bench", like a football team. I imagine most high level teams have extra members serving as alternates, in case somebody gets sick or injured.

Maybe because the highest level senior teams get USFSA envelope team funding for international competitions and such? It's probably less expensive to give funding to fewer athletes.

[Thin-Ice]

The reason they changed the rules to 20 or less is to make it more fair for teams. Obviously a bigger team can look more impressive than a smaller team and it's easier for a big team to cover the ice. Conversely, it's easier for a smaller team to stay in unison than a bigger team. And of course, if you only need a small number (say 20 instead of 32.. which at one point was considered a "full team"), it's easier to field a stronger, maximum sized team.

It's that maximum size team issue that was the problem, when the US started competing internationally. Teams from Finland and Sweden (powerhouses now) weren't as big as US and Russian teams when the first was younger... to make it fairer for all the best international teams they cut back on the number of skaters per team.. and of course it makes no sense to have 24 or 32 skaters on a team competing at Sectionals or Nationals, then have to cut back to 20 for an international event. So they just limited team size to 20.

I haven't done synchro in a while, but I believe there is actually a limit also on the number of "reserves" (people "on the bench") you can carry on the roster too.

I'm not sure if I made this easier to understand -- or more difficult. Sorry.. it's late and my brain isn't working all that well this morning.:oops:

[FSWer]

The reason they changed the rules to 20 or fewer skaters is to make it more fair for all the teams. Obviously a bigger team can look more impressive than a smaller team and it's easier for a big team to cover the ice. Conversely, it's easier for a smaller team to stay in unison than a bigger team. And of course, if you only need a small number (say 20 instead of 32.. which at one point was considered a "full team"), it's easier to field a stronger, maximum-sized team.

It's that maximum size team issue that was the problem, when the US started competing internationally. Teams from Finland and Sweden (powerhouses now) weren't as big as US and Russian teams when the sport was younger, so to make it more fair for all the best international teams, they cut back on the number of skaters per team.. and of course it makes no sense to have 24 or 32 skaters on a team competing at Sectionals or Nationals, then have to cut back to 20 for an international event. So they just limited team size to 20.

I haven't done synchro in a while, but I believe there is actually a limit also on the number of "reserves" (people "on the bench") you can carry on the roster too.

I'm not sure if I made this easier to understand -- or more difficult. Sorry.. it's late and my brain isn't working all that well this morning.:oops:


Oh,LOL,I guess that's true. I guess whoever figured the amount of skaters for a Team was no mathmatition. LOL.

[LW*]

As far as I know, the ISU reduced the maximum number of skaters for their international competitions from 20 to 16 a couple of years ago (I think the 2006/07 was the first with only 16).

I've heard various theories as to the reasons for this, ranging from it being fairer on 'smaller' skating countries where they have less skaters in a squad, making it easier for judges so they don't have to decide whether to place a (slightly) better smaller team of 16 skaters higher or lower than a larger team (who say, only have 18 of 20 skaters doing it perfectly), having less skaters means more ice to cover so greater speed and better moves required, problems with hosting competitions because there are so many skaters in each team, and even that maybe it would help get synchro into the olympics by ensuring all teams are the same size and less space/resources are needed by team. I have no idea which (if any!) of these reasons are true and I don't know what reasons the ISU gave.

It said Senior teams had 16 members. I don't know why they would be smaller than, say, an Adult team.
Any competitive senior teams (this applies to junior teams too and possibly novice) who want to compete in international competitions governed by ISU rules (i.e. all the big competitions, including worlds) will have to stick to 16 skaters for these competitions, and it wouldn't help teams to keep switching between 16 and 20 skaters for different competitions so most national skating associations have moved their maximum numbers for their competitive categories in line with the ISU regulations because they want their teams to do well abroad. However, recreational/open categories (including adults) don't have to stick to these rules, so the rules and limits for these categories tend to be far more relaxed to allow as many teams (and skaters) as possible to get the chance to compete.

I haven't done synchro in a while, but I believe there is actually a limit also on the number of "reserves" (people "on the bench") you can carry on the roster too. As far as I know, it's 4, but that might have changed!

Hope this helps a little. It's been several years since I skated synchro, so sorry if this isn't 100% correct. If anyone knows better, feel free to correct me!

[FSWer]

As far as I know, the ISU reduced the maximum number of skaters for their international competitions from 20 to 16 a couple of years ago (I think the 2006/07 was the first with only 16).

I've heard various theories as to the reasons for this, ranging from it being fairer on 'smaller' skating countries where they have less skaters in a squad, making it easier for judges so they don't have to decide whether to place a (slightly) better smaller team of 16 skaters higher or lower than a larger team (who say, only have 18 of 20 skaters doing it perfectly), having less skaters means more ice to cover so greater speed and better moves required, problems with hosting competitions because there are so many skaters in each team, and even that maybe it would help get synchro into the olympics by ensuring all teams are the same size and less space/resources are needed by team. I have no idea which (if any!) of these reasons are true and I don't know what reasons the ISU gave.


Any competitive senior teams (this applies to junior teams too and possibly novice) who want to compete in international competitions governed by ISU rules (i.e. all the big competitions, including worlds) will have to stick to 16 skaters for these competitions, and it wouldn't help teams to keep switching between 16 and 20 skaters for different competitions so most national skating associations have moved their maximum numbers for their competitive categories in line with the ISU regulations because they want their teams to do well abroad. However, recreational/open categories (including adults) don't have to stick to these rules, so the rules and limits for these categories tend to be far more relaxed to allow as many teams (and skaters) as possible to get the chance to compete.

As far as I know, it's 4, but that might have changed!

Hope this helps a little. It's been several years since I skated synchro, so sorry if this isn't 100% correct. If anyone knows better, feel free to correct me!

Ok,I'm still confused. How does doing that help the Judges? I'm beleiving though too that country wise it's fair because a country might not HAVE 12-24 skaters right? Anyway who else wants to tell about their team?

[FSWer]

COOL!!!!! Say,I didn't even know the level had anything to do with it. Also why wouldn't they allow 24 any more? Too much?

Clarince has the idea here. Yes. Just like at work if your uniform wore out they get you a new one in the back. Does the same go for Synchros? BTW. what do Synchros. do while waiting on a uniform to come in? Are there spares to barrow?

[FSWer]

The reason they changed the rules to 20 or less is to make it more fair for teams. Obviously a bigger team can look more impressive than a smaller team and it's easier for a big team to cover the ice. Conversely, it's easier for a smaller team to stay in unison than a bigger team. And of course, if you only need a small number (say 20 instead of 32.. which at one point was considered a "full team"), it's easier to field a stronger, maximum sized team.

It's that maximum size team issue that was the problem, when the US started competing internationally. Teams from Finland and Sweden (powerhouses now) weren't as big as US and Russian teams when the first was younger... to make it fairer for all the best international teams they cut back on the number of skaters per team.. and of course it makes no sense to have 24 or 32 skaters on a team competing at Sectionals or Nationals, then have to cut back to 20 for an international event. So they just limited team size to 20.

I haven't done synchro in a while, but I believe there is actually a limit also on the number of "reserves" (people "on the bench") you can carry on the roster too.

I'm not sure if I made this easier to understand -- or more difficult. Sorry.. it's late and my brain isn't working all that well this morning.:oops:

That is,a limit for the ice,right? I mean if a skaters on a Team they wouldn't want to be left off the ice,right? BTW. why is there one for a Roster too? Say btw. do we know what Teams (Team names) have what restrictions and why? Just wondering

[LW*]

Ok,I'm still confused. How does doing that help the Judges?

Not sure, I'm not a judge, it's just a reason I read somewhere! I guess because if the teams have the same number of skaters then the judges just give the highest marks to the teams whose program is the best, rather than having to decide e.g. which team is better, a team of 16 who skated totally together or a team of 20 that weren't quite so together but it's harder for 20 skaters to be perfectly synchronized than it is for 16....

Sorry if I'm not making much sense, I don't really understand it myself so I'm just guessing here and I don't seem to be able to explain it too well :(

[CanAmSk8ter]

That is,a limit for the ice,right? I mean if a skaters on a Team they wouldn't want to be left off the ice,right? BTW. why is there one for a Roster too? Say btw. do we know what Teams (Team names) have what restrictions and why? Just wondering

I'm pretty sure for Senior you can have up to 24 skaters on the roster and at any given competition you have to have between 16-20 skaters on the ice.

No one wants to be left off the ice, but most teams want to have at least one or two reliable alternates. If you have a skater get sick or injured at a competition to the point that she can't skate, it's easier to have an alternate who knows the program and can step into that skater's spot than it would be to rework the whole program for seventeen skaters instead of eighteen. Even just for practices, if someone can't be there it's easier if you have someone to skate her part for one day. Some teams have different alternates for different competitions, so if you don't get to skate at one, you might get to skate at another one and someone else will be the alternate for that competition.

I was an alternate the one year I did synchro, and while I would have liked to be a full skater, it wasn't the end of the world not to. It was a senior team, and I had never done synchro before, so I kind of expected it. I filled in at practices if someone was missing, and there were a lot of practices where there would be a skater or two who had to leave before off-ice and I'd take a spot. We had two injuries in practice the week of Nationals, and I though I might have to skate. I didn't, but I'm still considered a National competitor because I was on the roster and I had the same responsibilities as everyone else- knowing choreography, being on time for practices, helping with the younger kids off the ice, and so forth.

Edited to add, I just reread some prior posts and apparently the rules about numbers have changed. The 24 and 16-20 was the rule when I did synchro, but that was three years ago.