With terrific skills on the ice and a knack for team-building and leadership, senior Elsie Gilder, a skater on the Northernettes’ Junior team, has excelled in her skating career. Her grit and positive attitude helped the team to be named Team USA last season and compete at the international level twice within just the past couple of years. 

In her sixth season with the Northernettes, a typical day for Gilder is packed. “I either skate with an individual coach before or right after school, and I work on either passing more tests or skating skills,” Gilder said. “So, I’ll have skate, come home, do homework, and then, later in the day, I’ll have a Northernettes practice, which [is] usually downtown, and we have to be there 30 minutes early, so it takes a big chunk out of my day.”

Gilder is no stranger to the packed lifestyle of an athlete. She has been skating for nearly as long as she’s been able to walk. Around age three, Gilder’s mom, a former figure skater, encouraged her to join her first skating classes at Braemar. After her initial lessons, she moved on to taking Learn to Skate USA classes where she learned to jump and spin, and then joined the Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club in third grade and took private lessons. 

“Doing a team sport and being on a team, I’ve learned how to work together and work with other people…with different personalities, and I can apply that a lot to school and coaching skating,” Gilder said. “Also one thing that I’ve learned is how to be coachable and take criticism. I think that’s something important you need in your life.”

With such a busy schedule, Gilder’s mom supports her in any way she can. This includes helping get gas in her car, prepping meals, and other lifestyle errands. “We try to make sure there is, [for] most competitions, at least one family member there to support her, whether it’s her dad or I or a grandparent. We want to have somebody there cheering her on,” Gilder’s mom said.

Gilder’s love for synchronized skating evolved partly due to watching the higher-level team at Braemar Arena, Team Braemar.

“I always remember watching some of their practices — and we’d have an annual ice show — and they always did a number in there, so I just remember watching them and being like, ‘Oh, this is so cool. This is something I want to do,’” Gilder said.

In March of seventh grade, Gilder was recruited by the Northernettes as they expanded the program to younger skaters. The organization was just starting as it was only in its second year.

Starting as one of the youngest skaters when she first joined the team and now being among the oldest, Gilder’s leadership skills and unfaltering positive attitude have motivated the team before competitions. Her teammates praise her ability to get the team excited in the locker room and up and on their feet. 

“Seeing her throughout the years, I can really see [that] this year, her leadership has shown through the most,” Maria Manley said. She’s been on the team and has known Gilder for four years. “She knows when to be serious, and she knows when to bring humor into a practice to have a positive community and make things light and enjoyable.”

In 2021 and 2022, the team was named Team USA and has been nominated a third time for their performance in a qualifying competition this past month. The Northernettes’ coach and founder, Alanna Christie, attributes a lot of the team’s successes to Gilder’s growth, not only as a skater but as a person. 

“Elsie definitely sticks out because she’s really been here since the beginning and has put in the work to help put our organization on the map and accomplish these things from year to year that take other organizations a really long time to get there,” Christie said. “We did it pretty quick, and she’s a huge part of that.”  Gilder brings a sunny presence to the team despite suffering serious injuries that put her skating on hold. Last year, she underwent a double knee surgery that took her off the ice for around seven months. Christie and her teammates found that, as usual, Gilder was exceptional once she recovered.

“She handled [the surgeries] so well, and it was always just so inspiring to know that no matter what, she was gonna bounce back,” Christie said. “She’s stronger than ever, even after these surgeries.”

In anticipation of continuing her career in college, Gilder hopes to be recruited onto the Miami Senior Synchronized Skating Team at Miami University in Ohio. The competitive team has recruited former Northernettes, including Christie. 

“I think [that] this is a unique opportunity that I have been super grateful to have,” Gilder said. “It’s not very common that people get to travel across the country with a group of girls that they love and represent their country.”

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on November 30, 2023.