Three times a week, Clayton sophomore Anna Ilivicky spends time with 18 of her friends, but they don’t congregate at any of the usual teen hangout spots. Rather, they meet on the ice. For nine years, Ilivicky has been a member of the Saint Louis Synergy Junior synchronized skating team. “You form this cool bond with 19 other girls, and you go through everything together,” she says. “We’re like a little family.”
Last month, the team represented the U.S. at the Mozart Cup in Austria, the first time a team from Missouri competed, and it placed eight out of 17. Junior teams from all over the globe participated. To qualify, Synergy had to pass muster with the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the sport’s national governing body.
The team hasn’t always been an international contender. Begun as a recreational program at the Webster Groves Recreation Center, it initially focused on local competitions. “Our coach, Ramona Peterson, helped change the way we do things, and we became more competitive and serious,” Ilivicky says.
Ilivicky supplements team practice each week with hours of skating and private lessons. “My biggest strength is that I have a good work ethic,” she says. “If the coaches say I need to correct something, I try to apply that, and I try hard to improve each time I skate.” She hopes her team eventually makes it to the Junior World Cup Challenge, which they missed qualifying for by only .36 points this year. “It’s one of the biggest honors you can have,” Ilivicky says.
Another huge accomplishment for the team was earning silver in the 2013 Dr. Porter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich. “The only team that beat us was Canadian, so we call our silver the American Gold,” Ilivicky says. “We didn’t think we had a chance. It was kind of an epiphany moment.”
Photo by Prophoto STL
Pictured: Anna Ilivicky
