For the past 12 years, junior Jillian Schmottlach has been figure skating. Shortly after learning to skate, Schmottlach began competing in synchronized skating events at the age of six. On March 1, Schmottlach and her figure skating team, the Ice Mates, won the gold medal in the intermediate section in the 2019 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship.
“I was excited and felt so proud that everyone’s hard work had won us gold,” Schmottlach said.
Synchronized skating is when a group of 8-20 skaters skate together in unison. Teams are judged primarily based on two elements: executed elements based on the groups technique and their program components. Teams can also receive deductions from the judges during their performance for various reasons, including falls, music violation time and late starts.
Schmottlach competed with her synchronized ice skating team and won first place in the Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championship on Feb. 1. This win qualified the Ice Mates to compete in the national U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship. Schmottlach and the Ice Mates competed against 14 other intermediate teams from all over the country. Schmottlach and her team received a 34.94 on their executed elements and a 40.11 on their program components. The Ice Mates got zero deductions on their performance, giving thema final score of 75.05 points.
“I’m really proud of this win,” Schmottlach said. “It feels really good and all our hard work paid off.”
Some executed elements that were judged in the Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championship include the rotating circle, artistic line, pivoting block and the wheel traveling. Program components include the teams overall skating skills, transitions, overall performance, composition, and their interpretation of the music.
Schmottlach joined her current club, Hayden Synchronized Skating, in 2014. Schmottlach has been competing with the Ice Mates since 2017. The Ice Mates is run by head coach Saga Krantz and assistant coaches Eliana Marostica and Ashley Tomich. The team’s ages range from 13-17, and they compete together in regional and national events at an intermediate level.
“We have a really supportive and tight-knit group of people. We are all really close with one another,” Schmottlach said.
Going into nationals, Schmottlach and her team achieved all their goals, which included getting all the elements into their program in an attempt to an increase their overall score. Additionally, they “aimed to really perform and connect with the judges and the audience,” according to Schmottlach, “as well as enjoying the program be Jillian Schmottlach places first nationally for figure skating WHS junior has competed in synchronized figure skating for the past 12 years because it was our last skate and we had worked so hard for that moment.”
In the national competition, Schmottlach and her team competed against 11 other intermediate teams at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Competition in Plymouth, Michigan. The Ice Mates received a 38.60 for executed elements and a 42.29 on their program components. During their nationals performance, the team got zero deductions from their score, giving them an overall score of 80.89.
“We were ecstatic because we broke 80 points with a season’s high score. We were all jumping up and down crying with our coaches because we were so excited,” Schmottlach said.