IU figure skaters qualify for nationals for 1st time ever

The IU Club Figure Skating Team is the first figure skating team in school history to qualify for nationals.\nThe women have been practicing the entire season for the event, which takes place Feb. 20-24 in Providence, R.I.\nTo prepare, the team has been practicing on the ice twice a week and off the ice at least once a week all season. The IU team is ranked fourth in the nation.\n“Compared to other teams that were at qualifiers, we practice way less than other teams,” Christell said. “Most teams practice twice a day.” \nMiami (Ohio), Michigan State and Illinois were just a few of the teams IU competed against for a spot in the national competition. \nThe women have two coaches, Victor and Rae Ann Farrow, who often drive several hours a week to train them into the athletes they are striving to be.\n“They drive down three times a week. They choreograph and train pretty much the whole synchronized skating team,” said junior and team president Elizabeth Millis. \nOn the car ride to the Midwestern Sectional Qualifiers in Nashville, Tenn., many of the women were a little skeptical about how they would perform, Millis said. To their surprise, the women skated well enough to place sixth out of nine in the qualifier. \n“We all hoped we would skate our best. We didn’t know if we would place, because we didn’t beat the teams we needed to during the season, so we worked hard to beat them at qualifiers,” Millis said. “It wasn’t something we were banking on, but we skated really well.”\nPre-competition jitters were normal for the women, but they coped with it as a team. \n“Some athletes need to relax before they compete, and some need to get tense. I need to relax,” sophomore Alicia Aronson said. “I try to relax and pretend I’m at practice. I try to get into music and just dance. We listen to music as a team and dance, and the comedians on the team crack jokes.”\nAfter their performance, both the coaches and the team stood on the ice together and awaited the live presentation of their score, Millis said.\n“Once we realized we placed, people were jumping up and down and crying,” she said. “Our coaches were really excited to see us achieve the goal that we made for ourselves this year.”\nAlthough they’ve reached their goal, Millis said they still have more practicing to do.\n“We will still be practicing the same amount now that we’ve qualified,” she said, “but we are going to try to add a little more difficulty and drill it over and over again.”