A question about Synchronized Skating Team names

[FSWer]

Say,I know that the first part of a Team name sometimes comes from the name of the Town or Club the Synchro. Team is from. But does anyone know the story on how and (or) why a lot of Teams end with the same suffex (ette)? Such as in the Haydenettes,The Cystallettes,etc.? Do we have an answer to the origan of how it came about? Thanks.

[Skittl1321]

-ette is just a feminine suffix (word ending). Lots of "girls" things have that. For example, a level of girl scouts is called "Cadettes" but a traditional spelling of that word is "Cadet" but adding -ette makes it more feminine.

So a "Haydenette" might alluding to girls from Hayden. Of course now, many synchro teams also have men!
(Crystal is obviously not a place, but the convention is still just a feminized form of the word)

A very famous dance group is the "Rockettes" because they were so popular many other teams followed that naming convention. (The Crystalettes sounds better than The Crystals)

[SynchroSk8r114]

Say,I know that the first part of a Team name sometimes comes from the name of the Town or Club the Synchro. Team is from. But does anyone know the story on how and (or) why a lot of Teams end with the same suffex (ette)? Such as in the Haydenettes,The Cystallettes,etc.? Do we have an answer to the origan of how it came about? Thanks.

Well, I can help you out on a few teams. Most of this information can be found directly on the team websites.

California Gold: "We are California Gold. Our name reflects the most wonderful qualities of Southern California in the USFS Pacific Coast region. We are blessed with a beautiful state – from the many stunning coastline beaches, to the gorgeous mountains, which in Spring are draped in the brilliant oranges of our state flower, the California Poppy. It recalls one of the most significant historical events in California – the Gold Rush – that brought so many to our state in search of better opportunities. Southern California is one of the greatest places in the world, and we proudly represent it. As competitors in synchronized ice skating, we strive to achieve perfection in our sport and ultimately to be reward with the highest USFS recognition – GOLD!"

Chicago Jazz: "The Chicago Jazz began its program in 1987, as the Jazz Babies under the direction of Coach Lisa Darken...In 1996, the Jazz Babies merged their precision skating program with the Rolling Meadows Rockettes Precision Ice Skating Club. This new family of over 160 Skaters, representing 8 divisions, became known as the Chicago Jazz Precision Ice Skating Club. Utilizing skating facilities in Rolling Meadows, Park Ridge, Buffalo Grove and other Chicagoland communities, the Chicago Jazz has established themselves as a National powerhouse."

Black Ice: "Black Ice began as a dream… a dream to create an organization whose sole purpose was the development of an elite senior 'precision' skating team. Sisters Cathy Dalton and Susan Pettes, each having coached teams to the top of the podium at the Canadian Championships, decided to combine their talents and experience. The result was a team called Black Ice...a team they hoped would be, like black ice, unexpected and dangerous."

[LW*]

Say,I know that the first part of a Team name sometimes comes from the name of the Town or Club the Synchro. Team is from. But does anyone know the story on how and (or) why a lot of Teams end with the same suffex (ette)? Such as in the Haydenettes,The Cystallettes,etc.? Do we have an answer to the origan of how it came about? Thanks.

No idea whether this is true in the examples you mention, but I have come across quite a few clubs where they have named their younger teams by addings 'ettes' to the end of the older teams name, e.g. say a club with a senior team called the crystals started up a junior team, they might name that the crystalettes so that people could tell from the names that they were connected, but still know which team they were referring to. Skittl1321 mentions the use of the suffix 'ette' to denote the female form of something, but it can also mean 'a smaller version of', hence why clubs use it for their younger teams.

[FSWer]

No idea whether this is true in the examples you mention, but I have come across quite a few clubs where they have named their younger teams by addings 'ettes' to the end of the older teams name, e.g. say a club with a senior team called the crystals started up a junior team, they might name that the crystalettes so that people could tell from the names that they were connected, but still know which team they were referring to. Skittl1321 mentions the use of the suffix 'ette' to denote the female form of something, but it can also mean 'a smaller version of', hence why clubs use it for their younger teams.


But do we know how the suffex ette started..and what it means,etc.? Were it came from.

[FSWer]

-ette is just a feminine suffix (word ending). Lots of "girls" things have that. For example, a level of girl scouts is called "Cadettes" but a traditional spelling of that word is "Cadet" but adding -ette makes it more feminine.

So a "Haydenette" might alluding to girls from Hayden. Of course now, many synchro teams also have men!
(Crystal is obviously not a place, but the convention is still just a feminized form of the word)

A very famous dance group is the "Rockettes" because they were so popular many other teams followed that naming convention. (The Crystalettes sounds better than The Crystals)

COOL!!!! How was ette offically chosen? BTW. I'm surprised there's no copyright to it. Did people just choose it at random? Is ette a popular sufex?

[Clarice]

But do we know how the suffex ette started..and what it means,etc.? Were it came from.

COOL!!!! How was ette offically chosen? BTW. I'm surprised there's no copyright to it. Did people just choose it at random? Is ette a popular sufex?

Ta-Da! The dictionary to the rescue! The one I'm looking at has this entry:

-ette, suffix added to nouns to form new nouns.
1. little _____: Kitchenette = a little kitchen
2. female _____: Usherette = a female usher
3. a substitute for _____: Leatherette = a substitute for leather
[<French -ette, feminine of -et]

So it's a pretty common French suffix. You can't copyright just part of a word like that, though I suppose a team could copyright its name if it wanted. I think Skittl had it right in her first reply - people just added it because it meant "little" or "feminine" and it sounded nice.

[Mrs Redboots]

According to Bill Bryson in "Made in America", the suffix -ette was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s, with words like "Laundrette", and so on, coming into daily use.

One rink here used to be renowned for synchro and had teams of all ages - I remember going to watch its senior team, representing Great Britain at the World Championships, and hearing a young sister behind me saying to her friend "Well, I'm still in Team (I forget the name)", meaning the youngest team; "I don't move up until next year!" Rather sweet....