Hannah Meneely, senior, stepped out on the ice ready to seize an opportunity that could end up landing herself a spot on the team. But not just any team, a team that represents the United States in world-wide synchronized figure skating competitions.
Meneely tried out the Crystallettes, a highly competitive synchronized skating team based out of Dearborn, Michigan, on March 22. This 18-member group of young women recently won gold in the international Neuchatel Trophy competition in Switzerland.
Though she has been skating since age 5, Meneely admitted she was nervous during the tryouts.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” Meneely said. “I knew what [skating moves] they wanted me to do and I could do them, but I had never met those people before and I was trying to show them and do my best.”
Meneely had never tried out for another team before then, she had spent her entire career skating with St. Louis Synergy, the synchronized skating program for the Metro Edge Figure Skating Club. But as she graduates and moves on to college, she wants to explore new opportunities.
Before she skated, Meneely was both a gymnast and an ice skater, but made a decision to focus on one.
“I chose skating because I had gotten a lot better at it than gymnastics,” Meneely said. “I just thought it was really fun. The fact that I was getting really good made me want to continue with it.”
Now Meneely skates multiple times a week on her own or with her private instructor. During competition season, which is from November to April, she skates five times a week, three with her team to practice their synchronized program. They spend anywhere from an hour to two hours on the ice each practice rehearsing their program their coach creates each year.
With all the time spent with her team, Meneely does not always mind giving up her weekends to travel for competitions. She has competed in events in Michigan, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas for competitions.
“Sometimes it sucks if I do miss out on a party or something when I’m out of town,” Meneely said. “But I do have fun still when I’m at competitions with my team. We’ve all been skating for a really long time, so we’ve grown together. We’re all striving for the same goal. We’re like sisters in a way, that kind of bond.”
One of her teammates, Ella Foley, sophomore, has known Meneely ever since she started synchronized skating. Foley is confident her teammate can make the Crystallettes team.
“Hannah can make any team she wants to,” Foley said. “She’s passed all the big figure skating tests and moves.”
Ramona Peterson, Foley and Meneely’s synchronized skating coach, also believes Meneely has the talent to compete at such a high level. Peterson praises Meneely’s personality, saying her social skills serve her well on the ice.
“She knows how to work with others well to put out a good product,” Peterson said. “She can work with people and get them to work and move together without being bossy.”
Meneely’s coach also loves her leadership skills during competitions and her aura of calmness that influences those around her.
Meneely will find out if she made the Crystallettes in late April, and if she makes it, she could be skating with them by the end of July.
Whether she makes the team or not, Meneely plans to continue her figure skating career beyond high school. She plans to attend Michigan State University for college next fall and will skate for their synchronized skating team if she does not make the Crystallettes. Unfortunately, Meneely couldnt obtain a skating scholarship because colleges do not offer scholarships of that kind. Nevertheless, the Spartan Synchronized Skating Team, started in 1995 and coached by Erin Donovan, is currently ranked second in the nation and is a 12-time U.S. National Medalist.
Meneely looks brightly on to her future in skating in hopes that she can one day reach the elite level she has been striving for.
“Hopefully, synchronized skating will become an Olympic sport and I can maybe be in the Olympics some day.” Meneely said.
Being on the same team with Meneely for so long, Foley said Meneely’s natural talent and leadership will be missed next year when she moves on.
“As a figure skater, she is really graceful,” Foley said. “You can tell when she skates, she really puts her heart into it.”
