UMD Synchro Previews Competition at Porter

Julia Weaver
Club Sports Writer

University of Maryland Synchronized Skating Club got a preview of this season’s competition Sunday at the Dr. Richard Porter Synchronized Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich. The club competed against nine other teams to gauge the strength of its program and its chances of securing a space at nationals.

Maryland Synchronized Skating, commonly referred to as Synchro, competes at the collegiate level against the nation’s top varsity teams. The club recently advanced to the Collegiate level after winning the 2010 Eastern Regional Championships at the Open Collegiate Level.

The club is prepping for this year’s Eastern Regional Championships, which serve as a qualifier for the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in March. The club hopes to place in the top six at the competition, which would secure them a spot at nationals.

“Our closest competition is going to be the University of Delaware,” Sophomore Nicole Kozlowski said. “Their technical elements are more difficult and the program has been around longer, but we are up to the challenge.”

The Synchronized Skating Club began as a branch of the Figure Skating Club six years ago. Skaters are judged on the difficulty of choreography in addition to the precision and cohesiveness of movements. The club will resume practices, including a 40-hour boot camp session, early next semester.