News

In a month, these synchro teams should be able to compete again


Image

Hot Shivers - ITA (Credits: Ice Galaxy - 2019)

Hopes are high in Italy, a country that should organize its first synchro competition of the season next month. After the difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, how are doing the senior teams? What are their goals for this season? Overview.

ADV picture
“The situation in Italy is under control, but we are still in an emergency state,” says Team Hot Shivers from Milan. Rules in Italy are still very strict, and athletes must check their temperature at every practice and wash their hands very often. In addition, they have to wear a mask and practice social distancing every time they stop skating even for a brief moment.

ADV picture
Although these strict rules, the two Italian senior ISU teams, Team Hot Shivers and Team Ice on Fire, are ready and hopeful for the new season. They came back on the ice between May and June when quarantine ended in Italy and ice rinks reopened, but until the end of July, they trained in small groups working on improving technique without the possibility to touch each other and do any kind of synchro elements.

ADV picture
Italian teams next season
Team Ice on Fire will be pretty much the same next season, with 18 skaters from the season before and only one new member: “We haven’t had drastic changes from last year, we have a great harmony as a team and we work very well together.”

Team Hot Shivers instead has changed a lot: “We are 19 this year with six new skaters either from our junior team or other teams.”



The competitions
Due to the uncertainty of these times, both the teams have not decided to which competitions participate yet, but they are looking forward to being able to compete as soon as possible, maybe in the Trento Cup in November.

Anyway, their goal is to compete internationally, and the main one is the Worlds. “Our greatest hope is to be able to participate at our first World Championship this year; unfortunately, last year we saw our dream vanish a few weeks before it”, says Team Ice on Fire.

Great difficulties, but great hopes
Covid-19 pandemic had stroked very hard in Italy, and all the teams have suffered a lot from this situation; Team Shining Blades, for example, will not be able to compete in the senior category this year and will probably join the Mixed Age division.

Despite all these difficulties, Italian athletes did not lose their hope and worked even harder to be ready for the new season. “We are training to make our programs more competitive, we dream of being able to show them both in Italy and abroad,” explains Team Hot Shivers.

“Our programs are complete we need to work to improve and refine them, we feel like we are at a good point in our preparation” Team Ice on Fire adds.