Through hard-working students, volunteer moms, and a shared commitment, South’s Figure Skating Club has been a strong community for athletes to skate competitively and get a taste of synchronized skating, junior Samantha Urso, skating team member said.

South’s Figure Skating Club has run independently for six years, improving their program, recruiting new members and competing at higher levels, Captain Skylar Adler, a senior, said. The skating team is not a school-sponsored sport or activity, so it does not have a coach, nor does it receive funding from South, Adler explained.

“[Since] a lot of other teams have coaches, we rely on each other during competitions to give corrections while warming up,” Adler said. “We also have a group of moms who volunteer to help with [the team].”

The team was created by South alums Rachel Buchanan (‘22) and Lauren Lee (‘22) in 2019 after they heard about a league, High School Skating, that was solely for high schoolers, Rebecca Richards, team manager and mother of a team member, said. The league currently has 45 teams from high schools across Illinois, Richards said.

“The skaters get the opportunity to do the sport that they love while representing [South],” Richards said.

As Figure Skating is a club sport, the skaters do not have access to any South facilities, Richards explained. Instead, the team is supported by South’s Booster Club, which the volunteer moms help promote. Additionally, because the sport is not confined to the rules of a South sponsored sport, girls from other schools can participate under the “South” name, Urso said.

“[The Figure Skating Club] is a fun way to execute your sport and get good feedback, but it is also fun [to be] with skaters from other schools,” Urso said.

The captain, Adler, functions as a transmitter of information from the moms to the team, she shares to the team the information regarding competition times, outfits, forms and due dates.

Although all the club members make a big commitment of being on the team, the managers and moms do a lot of the work a coach would traditionally do, Adler said. Richards overtakes the responsibilities of keeping the team registered with U.S. Figure Skating and making sure it complies with the rules of Safe Sport, an organization that ensures there is no misconduct with skating coaches, Richards explained.

“U.S. Figure Skating has requirements for skaters to compete at various levels,” Richards said. “I ensure we are following their rules [and] register [the club] for competitions.”

The team is looking forward to their Sectional Competition from April 4-6 at Robert Crown Ice Arena in Evanston, Richards said.

Although competition season only runs from January to April, the members still become close, as they spend time with the same girls through their year-round skating team, Urso said.

“We all bonded really well, because most of us do [year round skating] together,” Urso said. “The girls from the other schools are on our club teams, so we already spend at least two of our days together throughout the week.”

The skating team also gives girls who mostly compete solo the unique opportunity to be in a synchronized skating environment, Adler said. This change creates a positive atmosphere for the team, along with the support shared at competitions.

“We all try to be as supportive as we can,” Adler said. “While on the ice, we constantly cheer for each other to create the best environment before doing our skills.”