We started out the year with a few preseason events before the rink opened, including our annual Skating-in-Socks event, where new and old members come together to learn some basic skills off the ice. We also attended Harvard’s Evening with Champions show, where we watched an MIT Figure Skating Club alum perform along with other talented and famous skaters.
Once the rink opened, the club came into full swing with daily practice time and weekly group lessons. We sent skaters to NYU’s Violet Ice Classic, an intercollegiate figure skating competition, in November where we won several medals, including the bronze in the very competitive High Team Maneuvers event. In December we held our Winter Ice Show titled Unity, which had group and solo performances from novice and advanced skaters alike. We also had an outing to see Cirque de Soleil: AXEL before the semester ended.
During IAP we offered free lessons to the MIT community, including for non-club members, and we concluded IAP by hosting a large intercollegiate figure skating competition, where MIT earned several medals, including the Gold and Silver in the Senior Ladies Short Program, a competitive and incredibly difficult event.
We spent the rest of the season gearing up for our Spring show, preparing several group numbers, individual programs, and ice dances to perform. Some skaters also spent this time preparing for our annual test session, where US Figure Skating judges come in to evaluate skaters trying to move up to the next level for competitions (and personal satisfaction). Unfortunately our Spring Show and the test session were cancelled due to COVID-19, but our club will be back up and running in the fall!
Be sure to check out the team’s Facebook page and their YouTube Channel
[Photo Captions]
- Skaters meeting before breaking off into group lessons
- Skaters taking a well-deserved rinkside snack break
- Our annual Skating-In-Socks event!