Figure skatingClothes key for synchro skaters

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The 2011 BMO Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships took place last weekend in Brampton, Ont. Up for grabs were two berths for the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships happening the first week of April in Helsinki, Finland.

The Nexxice team captured the national title for the fifth time with a program inspired by music from South America.

Capitalizing on the lead they created in the short program, Nexxice's free program was flawless in its execution. The inspiration for their South American program was carried through in the intricate choreography and musicality. Nexxice is the only Canadian team to have won the ISU World Championships, which they did in 2009. After finishing in fifth place at worlds in 2010, it is their hope to return the podium in 2011.

They will be joined in Helsinki by Les Supremes, whose charming western-inspired free program earned them the silver medal. What Defines the top teams at the senior level in Canada is a high calibre of skating skills, which was evident as their blades were almost soundless as they skated across the ice.  

The 3 Cs

One of the big challenges in synchronized skating is trying to figure out how to maximize the uniformity of the 16 skaters on the ice. That's the hallmark of this fast-growing sport.

Whatever the discipline, the best programs are always built around what I like to call the "3 Cs":  concept, choreography and costuming. At the 2010 world championships, Nexxice skated to selections from Carmen for their free program and I was struck by how the costuming worked with the concept and the choreography in a way that was accurate and immediately identifiable by the untrained eye.

Podium Skatewear is a suburban Toronto-based company in the business of manufacturing skating costumes. Checking in with owner Deanna Wright, I was able to determine the process by which costumes become a reality.

It's the same for every team: there's a meeting where coaches and designers come together to discuss the coming year's program. As often as not, the music is played and there is an exchange of ideas about what needs to be accomplished in the costume. Is this a team whose arm movements need to be highlighted by a sleeve? Will the speed and strength of the team come across more clearly if silk is used for the skirt, which is inherently much more fluid in motion? Are there males on the team, and if so, how to accommodate the design for them? Is the team comprised of older skaters who need a higher degree of sophistication, or is there a need to be more age-appropriate?

The next stage involved in the birth of a skating costume is the sketch stage. When the parties next meet, it is to discuss options. Wright says that, frequently, the coach might combine aspects from a couple of different options in order to come up with a final design concept. The inspiration for the Carmen dresses was in part provided by coach Shelley Barnett, who had drawn lots of examples from the ballet world as ideas.

"The internet is a huge advantage," Wright said. "It allows us to access and see things from around the world."


Once the design is approved, a sample dress is made. There is a certain amount of magic involved as a dress in a sketch on paper is not necessarily the same as that dress in real life.

The sample is scrutinized and any adjustments or modifications are made before the dress is sent to production, The dresses are custom-made for each of the skaters on the team. There is a fitting to make any minor alterations or adjustments and to "level" the skirts.

Synchro rules state that a skirt cannot be any longer than just above the knee in the front and just below the bend of the knee in the back. In order to create the illusion that all the skaters on the team are more or less the same height, which enhances the uniformity, a process of "levelling" the skirts is used whereby the hem length of the skirts all start at the same point, measuring from the ice up to the bottom of the skirt. In general, this is achieved by looking at the tallest and shortest members of the team and finding the happy medium. Just one of the many aspects that need to go into the mix.

It's a lot of work, but when it's all said and done, the costume can be the icing on the cake for a synchro team at the top of their game.

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