WPCNR RINKSIDE By Katharina Devitofranceshi, The German School, White Plains. May 4, 2008: Synchronized Skating: Those are two words you don’t hear very often and most likely tell you nothing (that is unless you’re in the 10^th grade of German School New York in White Plains, then you know all about it.)

The Skyliners of New York, the Tri-State Area's Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Junior Gold Medal Winners, skating in the Frasier, Michigan  Syncrhonized Skating Junior Qualifier in January. The Junior team holds tryouts tonight in Rye, and here a member of the team, attending the German School here in White Plains, Katharina Devitofranceschi reflects on the team's unforgettable journey, representing the USA in Croatia in March.

Skyliners 2008 Juniors skating their Short Program in Frasier, Michigan in January.

Sounds easy? It’s not. It’s hours of hard work both on ice and off, laden with sweat, lots of yelling, tears and blood, and I’m not over-exaggerating either. Most of us have the scars to prove it.

But, as a team with an incredibly close bound, we are always there for one another.

Being on The Skyliners is much like eating candy: We bit through the hard candy coating and are rewarded with a yummy, soft center.

In this case, the chewy center was an international assignment from United States Figure Skating to skate in Croatia and the title TEAM USA.

So overseas we flew in March to compete in the Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Competition March 9-14, a first flight abroad for most girls on our team, and 12 hours later we made it all the way to Zagreb. We all agreed that it was a surreal sensation to finally be there, after all the anticipation which had built up since August.

We spent most of the days leading into the competition having extra practices, fine-tuning the programs to perfection and listening to our coaches’ (Josh Babb and Jenny Gibson) and parents’ “motivational speeches.” (They got old fast, trust me.)

When the Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Competition actually began, it was absolutely nerve-wracking, knees shaking and jitters, all that good stuff. Our first shock came when we got our scores. They were much lower than anticipated. Dissappointed and heads hung low, we made our way to the locker room in silence, despite the fact we were in first place. But it didn’t mean anything because the favorite-to-win had yet to skate.

But our biggest surprise came when we found out, we, the underdogs, had won! Twenty of the loudest screeches erupted simultaneously. Naturally, celebrating and partying (with the awesome Aussies) ensued.

This year (2007-2008) has undoubtedly been the most trying year, what with juggling school and skating constantly, but our parents’, coaches’ and teachers’ support made everything that much easier. Those last moments in Croatia, standing up on the podium, were unforgettable. The Skyliners’ organization is still pretty young, so to have won the gold at our first international assignment (an accomplishment in itself, was unexpectedly incredible!

I know no matter what happens next year internationally, for good or bad, nothing can make me forget that unimaginable sense of accomplishment as a team.