Figure skating isn’t offered as a sport through Edina High School, which seems odd for a school in a city known for being on the ice. Despite this, there are a plethora of figure skaters at EHS who have found another way to dedicate their free time to the sport.

Braemar Ice Arena, located in west Edina, serves as the home for many EHS figure skaters. Starting from a young age, figure skaters can work their way up through classes and levels by age or coach recommendation.

In order to keep advancing, figure skating requires time and determination. “Figure skaters work really hard, I’m probably at the rink six to seven days a week. It’s not a sport you can pick up and succeed instantly. It’s a lot of hard work, and takes a lot of dedication,” junior Bryn Osborne said.

That being said, most skaters begin learning the basics at a young age so that they can learn the harder tricks and skills sooner. This also allows for community development within the sport. “It’s definitely a sport you should start when you’re really young because it’s a culture that you grow up in,” Osborne said.

However, the beauty of figure skating is also its downfall. “The most challenging aspect of figure skating is the tight-knit community. You often compare yourself to everyone. It’s very image conscious–you have to look a certain way and move your body in certain ways,” Osborne said.

In this way, it can be compared to dance. “It’s an art and a sport, which sometimes makes it hard to judge exactly what it is. You have the jumping elements and stuff that is very athletic. But there’s also an element of dance and artistry,” Osborne said.

Unlike most sports, figure skating can be an individual or team competition. Junior Sabrina Talghader and sophomore Jamie Yuan enjoy the teamwork that is necessary for the latter option- synchronized skating. “Synchronized skating is a group of sixteen to twenty skaters all skating together, like synchronized swimming, in sync and doing different elements together,” Talghader said.

“There is a huge danger aspect to it because there are so many people on the ice.” Despite this danger, figure skaters can’t seem to get enough of the sport and keep going back to the rink year after year.