Alongside skiing and snowboarding, ice skating is one of the iconic winter sports that friends and family can enjoy casually. However, the idle gliding of an amateur is nothing compared to what more experienced skaters can accomplish on the ice.

With the holidays drawing near, figure skaters begin to prepare for winter ice shows and dances. Senior Jade Hugeback, a seven-year member of the Carousel Figure Skating Club, shared what the figure skating experience is like during the winter season.

How does a typical practice go, start to finish?

“We get there at 7 in the morning and do one big group class. All the skaters in the academy get on the ice and divide by skill level, and we’d warm up together to work on skating skills and conditioning. After that, we split into our groups where we work on our level-based things like jumps and spins. That goes on for 45 minutes. Then we move to freestyle, which is like a public session, but only for figure skaters. It’s a little scary because the rules that apply to public sessions aren’t there, so people can go the opposite direction, or a high-level skater could be running their music so you have to get to the wall because it’s not safe. You’re allowed to jump and spin pretty much anywhere as long as you’re aware of your surroundings.”

What upcoming events are you practicing for?

“The holiday season is a busy time because the figure skaters are all heavily pushed to perform in the winter shows. I know at Lloyd Center, they put a big tree in the middle of the ice, and then do the Tree Lighting ceremony with a Mrs. Claus actor that comes in to narrate through the ice skating programs. Each group will come out and perform a holiday song, and at the end the tree will light up. We also have the Christmas time show, which is a lot longer and has more numbers.”