Above photo credit: Cynthia Slawter
By Darci Miller
Last season, the Skyliners senior synchronized skating team got to exactly where it wanted to be.
Climbing to the silver-medal position on the U.S. podium for the first time since 2020, the Skyliners earned their first World Synchronized Skating Championships berth since 2019. (The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
It was a huge milestone.
“Last year, a majority of the team had been there for quite a few years, so for them to get back on the World team was obviously a goal of theirs,” coach Josh Babb said. “They just worked extremely hard and well together all season to achieve that goal.”
And then came the 2024–25 season and a hard reset.
Just nine skaters from that 2023–24 team returned to the Skyliners, while they added 11 new skaters.
Turnover varies from year to year, but Babb said that usually five or six skaters move on in a season. Eleven is, needless to say, a lot.
“There’s always pros and cons to every situation,” he said. “I think it’s nice to have new energy, people who want to improve their skating and want to be on a high-level team. With that, you also have to develop that skating with these skaters, so that can take a little bit more time when it’s not the returning group.”
Skater Maddie Beery, who’s one of the returning skaters, has been in the trenches with her new teammates.
“There’s definitely a transition period at the beginning of the season, because no matter what team you’re coming from, moving up to the senior level is already a big adjustment, and with everybody coming from different places, we obviously have to all adapt to skating together,” she said. “So those of us returning have done our best to support the new skaters through that process. I think it’s also been really cool, with so many new skaters, to bond as a group and see how the new dynamic has started to take shape.”
Indeed, the Skyliners do have skaters from many different places, boasting athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, California and Massachusetts. While most of the team calls the tri-state area home – Beery, billed from Illinois, is attending college in Boston – other members fly in for weekend practices in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
“People come from far and wide, and a lot of us end up staying together on the weekends,” Beery said. “Just being in that close proximity to each other definitely helps with the bonding.
“I think the vibe is pretty similar to last season. On the ice, we definitely work hard and it’s strictly business, but off the ice, we have a lot of fun together. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we’ve gotten close, especially getting to spend the weekends together. It’s really just a big family.”
That family has had a tall task this season in trying to replicate what the team accomplished last year. After finding their footing in a few domestic competitions to begin the season, they started their international slate with the Santa Claus Cup, where they finished third with a total score of 193.56.
“It was great for us to get to make our international debut so early on because in previous years we hadn’t gone overseas until January or February, even,” Beery said. “It was just good to get that experience under our belts, and I think we were pretty proud of what we put out there.”
The Skyliners’ first Challenger Series event was the Mozart Cup in mid-January, and they placed fourth with a total score of 187.81.
Not the result they wanted, but there were … extenuating circumstances.
“During our holiday boot camp, which is a week of intensive ice, we had many skaters out with the norovirus,” Babb said. “Oh, god. And, poor kids, they tried to get back but everyone is just physically drained. Austria was a little more challenging with the performances, because they hadn’t had an opportunity to really train properly going into it.”
Beery said the team was down a few skaters for a good two weeks of training.
“At that point, you have to rely on the team to step in and fill in those spots so the team can still make progress,” she said with a laugh. “I’m definitely proud of us for being able to step up despite those challenges, especially with the Mozart Cup being so soon after that. It was pretty crazy.”
Earlier this month, the Skyliners competed at their second Challenger Series event, the U.S. Synchronized Skating International Classic in Norwood, Massachusetts. They finished sixth overall with a total score of 182.58, with a veritable crowd of family and friends in the stands to see them perform three hours from home.
Despite all the challenges, the Skyliners are still keeping their eyes on some big goals.
“Obviously, the ultimate end goal is to qualify for Worlds again to continue improving our world standing,” Beery said. "I think our main goal is to skate for ourselves and be able to put out two programs that we’re proud of. I don’t think we’ve hit our peak yet and we all feel like there’s some untapped potential from the team in the programs, so we’re excited to see how the rest of the season goes.”
Regardless of what happens, Babb knows he has a special group of skaters on his hands.
“I’m always proud and in awe of all my skaters, because it takes a lot of dedication and a lot of time,” he said. “I’m always in awe when I watch every team perform. Sometimes you take that for granted. I’m proud of the way they’ve worked through their illnesses and worked through the challenges.
