Yesterday, when I should have been studying for upcoming exams, purely by accident, I stumbled upon coverage of the 2010 World Synchronized Figure Skating Championships.
I couldn’t believe the changes in the sport since I skated precision – now called synchronized skating.
It was a sport that wouldn’t bankrupt parents. Today, the costumes look as though Vera Wang helps with the designs.
When our first competitive coach came to Arborg, Joanne proposed starting precision teams – which wasn’t a new concept. Most of the older girls in private lessons were on the Arborg precision line. However, these new teams would include the majority of the competitive skaters and open to CanFigure.
I was part of the Arborg Senior team, the oldest team. Our ages dictated our category, not our skill level. We were a mighty team of eight – ranging in age from 12-to-14 years old. Two sister acts made half the team including my sister and me.
To prepare for competitions, our coach suggested we guest skate at ice shows around the Interlake region. This was a heavy commitment. All eight of us were in both singles and precision, and we’d practice twice a week for an our, plus our regular three times a week sessions. Plus, every weekend, there was a test day, singles or precision competition, guest show – plus our show – until the end of spring school. Plus regular school and a social life.
We didn’t even think twice. Of course we wanted both.
First, we needed costumes. The two younger groups both wore black spandex dresses with gold sequence. However, our team went a different direction.
Rather than dresses, we wore black bodysuits with a detachable black half-skirt, hot pink cumber belt, silver lapels and – to finish of the ensemble – black tights and a hot pink bow tie.
It reminded me of my jazz dancing costume – we were only missing the black top hat, tails, and white gloves.
At the time, I loved the outfits. When we skated in our first competition though – the 1989 Interlake Regional Precision Competition – we didn’t have team jackets. The judges marked our compulsory elements while we skated in baggy sweatshirts and cable knit sweaters.
To our surprise, we won silver at our first regionals. Watching the footage of the medal ceremony is humorous. We looked out of place, shivering amongst other teams, who wore beaded skating dresses and warm woolen team jackets.
But our costumes garnered the local media’s attention. There was a story in our local paper, the Interlake Spectator, about the competition, and we graced the front page of the Spectator rather than a team who won a gold medal.
The journalist dubbed us “Antics on Ice.” Earlier that week, we skated in the Riverton Ice Show and we were in the sports section. The week after, we competed at the 1989 Interlake Winter Games – with another photo. All the precision teams were in the photo, and we were closest to the camera.
Another photo followed with our ice show, then our Ice Revue during the Arborg Winter Carnival with only the the precision teams and solos from the majority of skaters in private lessons.
While the exposure caught us off guard, it was awesome. While the next season didn’t start as planned, our first-year out of the gate was clearly noticed.
Hot pink bow ties and all!
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A modified version of this post will be included in a memoir about my figure skating career and published in 2026
Photo Credits:
Interlake Spectator
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