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Adult skater tries a new footwork sequence
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It used to be that Caroline Paras was a fixture on the Sunday night adult freestyle ice at the Portland Ice Arena. But lately, she has become a student of another skating discipline, and in 2 different states.
Synchronized skating involves a team of 8-20 skaters, who perform skating skills with precision and speed, and are typically in unison. Caroline is now on the Nor'easters Open Adult local adult synchro team and one in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts team, the Esprit de Corps, per Caroline, '…is the only Master’s team in New England and certainly the most decorated in the country. Sometimes I feel like the American tourist in the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain: one false move and I might be trampled to death!'
Caroline is the only skater on the team never to have done synchro before. But her impressive ice dance and freestyle skating backgrounds will help her conquer these new challenges. Caroline didn't learn to skate until she was 26 years old, but she has passed the Adult Bronze Freestyle, Adult Silver Moves in the Field, and the Standard Bronze Dance Test (plus two Pre-Silver Dances) under the USFSA test system. Her resume also includes 8 times competing at adult nationals, and includes a 2002 US national title.
Caroline skates 11 hours a week on average, 3 of those hours with her synchronized team members. Caroline's commitment also includes a 4 hour round trip drive to Lexington, Massachusetts, every Sunday.
By taking on the challenge, she hopes that more opportunities for adults to perform right here in the state will be created. Though she's already inspired other adults to skate, it will be interesting to see who she inspires next.
FMI about adult synchro, check www.nafsc.org or http://www.haydensynchroteams.com/masters.htm. FMI about the local adult synchro team, check http://tinyurl.com/yzc2sb4 and http://tinyurl.com/ygnr65u.
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