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CALGARY, Alberta — Nine years ago two coaches and three skaters had a wonderful idea to run Synchronized Skating teams that offered more opportunities, a sense of family, and competitive programming for skaters. Back then there were two teams, and today there are nine teams that make up the Solstice Synchronized Skating organization.

Andrea St. Cyr, Monique Wasmann, Charlsey Whittemore and Cheryl Case are the coaches of Solstice Synchronized Skating.

The goals for this past season for the Junior level team were to get the team established and competing at a national level. They achieved that goal and are now hoping to receive an international assignment representing Canada next season.

Lauren Penman of Airdrie, and Jenna Cullum of Three Hills are the team captains. Head coach Andrea St. Cyr explains, 鈥渂oth girls are very supportive and encouraging to all their teammates, and they have a lot of synchro experience competing at high levels, are good under pressure and can make decisions for the team if need be.鈥�

The team has a few pre competition rituals/traditions. For example they have to do everything in the same order for every skate. They do a dance circle, hype the team, team pats and hugs, and then coaches high fives and handshakes. They enjoy celebrating with team dinners, team send off parties and team activities.

This current year they set a record as the first team in Alberta to compete at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Championships which included Synchronized Skating as a discipline for the first time ever. The girls were all excited and motivated to be on skate AB- NWT- NUN team and they wore their jackets with pride.

Andrea says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 been a rewarding and exciting season for the Solstice Junior Team. They have accomplished what many others couldn’t do before them! I am so proud of the team, coaches, and the organization!.鈥�

Andrea St. Cyr, head coach for all teams at Solstice Synchronized Skating, is in her 25th year of coaching. She is a triple gold skater with free skate, skills, and dance as per the Skate Canada Standards. She teaches all levels of skating from learn to skate, canskate, starskate, competitive skate and adult skate. She is the 2009 national champion in synchronized skating.

When asked what the team does in training that are keys to their success, Andrea says, 鈥渟ome of the things our junior team does for success is sharing a common goal to work hard when on the ice and maximize their time together. They also are dedicated single skaters and skate extra sessions to improve their skating for the synchro discipline.鈥�

Andrea’s most memorable competition would have to be the junior team qualifying and competing this past season at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This was a huge accomplishment and very rewarding as it was the first skate Canada nationals that included the discipline of synchronized skating. They made history by being there. And they also were the first junior team in Alberta in over 2 decades. So she was very proud of that as well.

The Solstice Junior Team is the first Junior team in Alberta and they’re making great strides every time they go out and compete. Andrea tells them to remember how hard they have worked to get there and that they are all talented and exceptional skaters. The experience and the time away from teammates cannot be replaced so she always reminds them to cherish those moments.

Andrea’s biggest life lesson that she’s learned from being a coach is that it’s more than skating, they are sowing into young minds and bodies to be the best that they can be on and off the ice. She hopes to leave a legacy of lifelong love of the sport and instilling confidence in the skaters. She wants her legacy to remember that the skater always came first and that she’s enjoyed every moment she had with them.

To Andrea this season was a historical moment not only for the team but for the sport of Synchronized Skating. The organization was so thrilled to be able to have a Junior team representing Alberta and Andrea says 鈥渢hat she looks forward to continuing to provide the communities with a competitive synchronized skating program.鈥�

Lauren Penman, of Airdrie is 19 years old is in her second year at Mount Royal University and she’s been participating in figure skating and synchronized skating for seven years and belongs to the Solstice Junior and Solstice Open teams.

A goal of Lauren鈥檚 is to become a high-level synchronized skating coach. It’s been a big dream of hers as not only does she get to be involved with the synchronized skating community, but she’ll also be able to share her love for the sport with athletes.

Although there are many challenges that come with synchronized skating she thinks the greatest challenge of all is bonding with the team. At the beginning of every season you may have a few friends already there but in order to have a successful season the team needs to gel and become one. So synchronized skating requires all of the skaters to be on the same page and trust each other which is why bonding with the individuals surrounding you is such an important factor in this sport.

The best piece of advice that Lauren has ever received is 鈥渢rust your training.鈥� Heading into a competition season can cause many skaters to feel those nerves that everyone talks about but how you handle yourself on the big day is crucial for success. Throughout the whole season, in a past season a former- alumni who has gone on to become a world champion come to some of the practices and Lauren remembers one day she told us to trust our training. Even though we may be nervous we have practiced all season for those competitions and we can do it. We just need to focus on the job at hand and be a team.

Synchronized skating provides you with many opportunities, some of which include representing your province at a national level as well as making friends that will last a lifetime. Being on a synchronized skating team requires many hours of training a week while being surrounded by the same group of individuals, sometimes for a week at a time. Although it can be hard at times everyone is all aiming to achieve the same goals and being able to share the joy of achieving those goals together is the best feeling there is.

Andrea, head coach says that Laurens is normally the one on the team who hypes up everyone else but once she’s fully dressed and ready to get on the ice she steps away from the team and she has a moment with herself in silence to get in the right headspace and give herself one last boost of confidence and that has become a pre competition ritual for her.

Outside of skating many hours a week Lauren is a full – time student studying Early Childhood studies. Working with children brings so much joy to her and being able to study their development and in person practicums has been such a wonderful experience. Because she loves working with children so much she also coaches Canskate at the Calgary Winter Club which has been such a fulfilling job as she gets to be surrounded by young athletes who she can share her love of skating with.

She remembers when she first started synchronized skating she was extremely uncomfortable being so close to people all the time as she grew up skating along for the majority of her career, so it was all very new to her. After a while she finally got into the groove of a team sport and started to understand the dynamics of how a team operates. She has learned so much about working together and being a better friend to her teammates as well as allowing herself to grow in order to be the best person she can be on the team. She learnt how to share the joy of skating with her closest friends and mentors which is all she could have ever asked for.
She has an incredibly special relationship with her coaches, they are not only her mentors but her friends as well. Every time Nationals comes around she likes to take a moment with just her coach who always gives the best pep talks. These are important moments for her that she will never forget and is so thankful to have them in her life.

Unfortunately she fell at Regionals two years in a row and it really knocked her confidence as a skater, because she felt as though she not only let herself down but also the teammates and coaches. Attending Regionals, the third year was really nerve-wracking for her because she didn’t want to fall again. She took a moment with herself and allowed her emotions to be felt and then she told herself that those previous falls don’t define her as a skater. She knew she was better than that, so she built up her confidence before each skate that weekend. Allowing herself to get over those personal doubts was important for her as it assisted her growth in the sport and now she knows that if she believes in herself she can do anything.

Her parents have been such an incredible support system for her ever since she started the sport. They have taken every opportunity they can to come watch her skate: whether it’s flying across the country to driving many hours, they’re always there supporting her and being her loudest cheerleaders. She could never have gone as far as she has in this sport without them and she is forever grateful to them and their continuous support over the years.

Kendra Dowden, 16 has been synchronized skating for 9 years, she also competes in Singles Figure Skating and has danced for 12 years. She is in Grade 11 at George McDougall High School.

Kendra’s goal is to skate on a Senior level team. One of her biggest challenges is learning new elements. To manage this she practices them a lot and never gives up, she continues to keep on trying and continuing to improve. She is always up for the challenge of learning new elements and loves to improve her skating.

The best piece of advice that she was ever given was , 鈥測ou can do anything that you set your mind to.鈥�

What she loves about the sport is that everyone is like one big family, and you get to spend multiple hours a week together. The team becomes some of your best friends and you all get to make so many memories together.

A pre-competition ritual for her is just to listen to her program music and get in the mindset for the competition. During the offseason she likes to do outside activities. Being a member of the team has taught her that you are all there for each other, and it also helps you to be able to work well with each other. Her best piece of advice that she’s ever received from a coach or mentor is to be proud of what you’ve accomplished.

A mistake she made while competing at a very young age was, she fell during the program and broke her wrist. In order to overcome this, she had to overcome her fear of falling.

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