A Letter to the Future

A Letter to the Inaugural United States Synchronized Skating Olympic Team:

     I write this letter to you shortly after returning home from the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in the year 2015. I am unsure of when in the future this letter will actually find you, but do know with all my heart, that one day it will.

     You have been chosen to represent your country on the Olympic stage, so I am writing to remind you what this truly means. I am writing to remind you what this sport it truly about.

Haydenettes celebrate a clean short program at the
2015 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships

     In 2015, there is a common misconception that Synchro is the discipline that skater’s “fall back on”. You and I both know this to be untrue. If you are like me, then the sport didn’t choose you, you chose it. You chose synchro because it was the biggest challenge you had yet faced. You had to master the jumps of Freestyle, the turns of Ice Dance and the lifts of Pairs Skating - all while staying in perfect unison with your 15 team mates. You chose to be a person your teammates could depend on. You took on the responsibility of not only looking out for yourself and improving your skills, but also lifting up those around you with support. I like to call synchro the “Miracle Sport”, because you and I know that 16 people skating a perfectly clean program in perfect unison can be somewhat of a Miracle.

The Haydenettes - my teammates for life 

Nothing will replace the feeling you have after 
you've skated your best

     You are now representing the Ultimate team sport. You will not only skate together on the Olympic stage, but you will become one unit. You are representing the best of what the United States has to offer, past and present. I ask you now not to forget what this sport is truly about. The skaters who competed this weekend in the 2015 World Championships did not grow up choosing to skate synchro in the hopes of one day becoming Olympians. We did it in spite of the fact that the Olympics were not an option. There is something special about this sport that grabs on to your heart and does not let go. It is a sport for fighters, the kind of athletes who do not give up on themselves or each other. It is a sport where you will have your highest highs and your lowest lows, but yet you will never be alone. It is a sport where in those few moments in your career when the miracle does happen, you can skate to the middle of the ice, hug your adjacent puzzle pieces, and stand side by side as you share your accolades with your best friends. You are a part of something so much bigger than one person. So please do not forget the sport and the love for being a part of something that reaches far beyond your own wants and needs. We have been working tirelessly so that you would have this chance.

2015 World Synchronized Skating Team

So please, skate with your heart, skate with your soul and know that generations of synchronized and precision skaters before you are smiling, knowing that all of our dreams came true! We know you will represent us well, now GO GET EM’ USA!

Sincerely,

A member of the 2015 United States Synchronized Skating & World Team