#why not synchro

I really dig synchronised skating. And not just because it appears to be one big girl orgy (although that's part of the appeal) but it's just seriously compelling stuff. You spend the first few groups thinking, that looks kind of difficult, but by the last group you're all, 16 PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ICE SKATING THAT FAST AND THAT CLOSE TOGETHER. SOMEONE WILL BE KILLED!

It was hard to pick a favourite. The top 3 were all excellent but I think the Rockettes (Finland no. 2) were a little more fierce. Also, nice spiral positions on "who wants to live forevaaaarr..." and the way they went into the circle steps were big showstoppers. Nexxice (Canada no. 1) got a lot of points from me for being so neat to watch. They're are always so in place. Marigold Ice Unity (Finland no. 1) didn't do it for me as much as the Rockettes did, but those ladies KILLED on the step sequence. That part was wow.

Germany, like last year, were great to watch despite the falls (which probably would have put them a place higher had that not happened). The costumes were outrageous but it was a clever routine and it totally worked.

I liked Team Japan too. I was watching them thinking, "it's Japan. Surely there's a bunch of them who could do synchronised axels," and literally not more than five seconds later four of them did synchronised axels. Team Russia 2 did a synchronised axel sequence! Woah.

Props to Team France for doing Requiem for a Dream because in an ice skating competition someone always should, and to Team Italy for the cool death scene at the end of their Romeo and Juliet routine.

Also, if you think it's hilarious to see a skater bawling with happiness in the K and C, it's a lot funnier when there's 16 of them (eg. Team Japan).

It's not all about girls though. There's a few dudes sprinkled throughout. Some of them struggle to get their legs in the nice high spiral position but I noticed the guy from Nexxice had no trouble.

I don't know why more guys don't get into synchro. I mean, if you're gay the benefits are obvious and if you're not, well, the benefits are obvious.

And I would rather see synchronised skating at the Olympics in 2018 than the stupid figure skating team sport any day. And that's not just because sports that are mostly populated by women need to stop being marginalised (although that's a bloody good reason).

Sign this petition, please!

http://www.change.org/petitions/international-olympic-committee-make-synchronized-figure-skating-an-olympic-event

Synchronized skating is a team sport in which 8-20 skaters perform a program together. It uses the same judging system as singles, pairs and dance and is characterized by teamwork, speed, intricate formations and challenging step sequences. As with the other disciplines, all teams perform a free skate with required well-balanced program elements. In addition, teams at the junior and senior level perform a short program consisting of required elements.

Elements in synchronized skating include blocks, circles, wheels, lines, intersections, moves in the field, moves in isolation, no-hold step sequences, spins and pairs moves. The variety and difficulty of elements require that each team member is a highly skilled individual skater. The typical senior-level athlete has passed a senior or gold test in at least two disciplines.