Going for gold: Skyliners Junior place first at nationals

Lights shining, ice glittering, the music slows to a crawl as the skaters skid to a stop. The crowd erupts as Skyliners Junior bring home a gold medal.

This year the synchronized skating team, Skyliners Junior, won first place at the U.S. Synchronized Junior Skating Championships in Peoria, Illinois and third at the International Skating Union World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. The team’s performances consisted of a short program and a free skate. The short program was catered to “The Impossible Dream” by Josh Groban, a soft and dramatic piece, while the free skate’s theme was “legends,” which included performing difficult spins and elaborate partner moves. The team received 202.03 points overall at nationals and 186.63 points overall at the World Junior Championships.

Senior Catherine Tian has a skating history that goes far beyond Skyliners Junior. Tian started with the club Philadelphia Symmetry in fourth grade before switching to Skyliners Junior after four years.

“I immediately fell in love with (the sport) — the team aspects, being able to be with people who have a similar passion and skate with some of your best friends,” Tian said. “It was really fun to just grow up in a community like that.”

With players coming from multiple states, the team practices on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tian leaves school early on Friday to travel to Connecticut to train on the ice for an hour and off the ice for half an hour.

The team’s consistent training schedule throughout the year has led to a successful season.

“It’s such an intense level, (and) the practices are very high pressure. That was different from what I had experienced before and I liked being able to step up and perform when it mattered and deliver every element that we had practiced to the best of my ability,” Tian said.

After taking home a gold medal at nationals on March 2, Skyliners Junior currently holds the record for most titles for a U.S. junior team.

“We didn’t even know we had broken that record until after nationals, but it feels really great to continue that legacy. It’s a proud moment for Skyliners and for the Skyliners Junior legacy,” Tian said.

With only an eight-day break after nationals, Skyliners Junior advanced to ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships in Angers, France. As one of two teams representing the United States, Skyliners Junior worked to improve their performance and fix any mistakes that they had made at nationals.

“We all knew that it would not be handed to us, we would have to work for it. Everybody really collectively worked toward (winning), and we always put our 100% effort into every practice,” Tian said.

One of Tian’s favorite parts of the international competition is seeing teams from all over the world.

“(It) was really fun — just feeling the crowd when you’re stepping out onto the ice. Especially competing (and) just knowing that everyone’s there seeing and watching you and you’re out there competing with the best teams and the best of the best,” Tian said. “You obviously want to deliver and show everybody what you’ve done throughout the entire season.”

For Tian and other senior skaters on the team, this is the last year they are skating as they retire and head off to college.

“That was really special for me — knowing that we had so many seniors who were not going to come back and were just not going to do synchro anymore,” Tian said. “Just being with each other and remembering this moment is something that I will remember forever.”

Abby Chong can be reached at [email protected].