Above photo credit: Cynthia Slawter
By Taylor Dean
As the holiday season winds down, Team Image is gearing up, with eyes on back-to-back international assignments to chase their goals and prove their improvements from seasons past.
The 2024 junior bronze medalists want to push boundaries at the junior international level while showcasing their power, speed and elegance.
Head Coach Cindy Kim sees a lot of potential in this season’s young and versatile team, full of skaters willing and ready to take ownership and chase team goals together. Coming off two domestic competitions in the fall, she knows they’re ready to tackle the next challenge.
“Our goal through the season is to continue improving, whether that’s on the team side or performance side,” she said. “This month-long time period between our last competition and the Brittania Cup gives us a lot of room for improvement. This is our first time doing a back-to-back international, so I think that could be a challenge, but I think it will really benefit the team.”
With the goal of season-long development in mind, the team chose two programs that Kim believes showcase their well-known strengths of power, speed and elegance while providing opportunities to improve and try new things. They took feedback from previous seasons with the hope of elevating their programs and proving the team is capable of skating to different styles of music.
Team Image’s short program, “As If We Never Said Goodbye” by Barbra Streisand, is slower and more romantic than last year’s. They chose the song during the COVID-19 pandemic when events were canceled. Unable to skate it to its full potential, Team Image is revisiting the program for the season.
“It’s meant to highlight more of their skating skills quality and ability to emote and perform to different types of music,” Kim said.
For the free skate, the team chose a theme exploring the battle between good and evil. This intense and elegant theme balances power with artfulness and speed with grace. The choreography and elements will incorporate dramatic tones like last year’s free skate but include more beauty and artistry.
“It’s a very intense piece of music, with battle-type composition followed by a beautiful piece in the middle of it,” Kim said. “We want to showcase the things the skaters are good at but also increase our repertoire and what we’re known for.”
With three internationals ahead of the U.S. Championships in February, Team Captain Evelyn Cheng wants the team to take one competition at a time and use feedback whenever possible.
“We want to make sure we skate each competition fearless and put in all our effort for each one,” Cheng said.
To get there, Kim’s leadership as she coaches her seventh season with Team Image has been invaluable. She grew up skating with Team Image before competing on the Haydenettes for three years, where she was co-captain. While working in New York, the Team Image staff approached Kim to help them grow and revamp the organization, coming back full circle to a team that helped her foster a passion for synchronized skating. She used her experience on the Haydenettes to fuel her ideas and grow Team Image into the success it is today and continues to aim for.
“Skating at that senior level is very eye-opening,” she said. “When you’re on a top senior team, it’s a different level of training, preparation and understanding. For this junior team, that experience helps me understand how to push them where they want to be and how to train them accordingly.”
Kim’s coaching style will prepare them for their three internationals, kicking off with the Britannia Cup in Great Britain, Jan. 10-12, followed immediately by the Mozart Cup, a Challenger Series event, in Austria the following weekend, Jan. 16-18. The team will have a short break before heading to Norwood for their second Challenger Series event, U.S. International Classic, Feb. 7-8.
Team Image skaters will spend most of their days together as they travel the world, and Cheng is looking forward to exploring new places she hasn’t been before.
“When we travel with the team, we get to spend a lot more time together,” Cheng said. “It’s a really good chance to bond with everyone and build trust among teammates.”
Cheng is in her third year with Team Image and her second season with Team Image Junior. She recognizes the importance of bonding off the ice and how much it affects their on-ice performance. As a team leader, the University of Maryland freshman hopes to guide the new skaters and provide a welcoming experience.
“I think it’s really important to share all that I learned last year and help out as much as possible,” she said. “It’s important to get everyone on the same page so that we all understand our goals.”
Catch Team Image this weekend at 2025 Britannia Cup, the first international event of 2025. For more information about the event, visit the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
