Precision skating is an entertaining sport that includes beauty, speed,
and precision on ice.
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2000 U.S. National Championships Pictures:
1999 U.S. National Championships Pictures:
1998 U.S. National Championships:
In Precision Team Skating, a group of 12 to 24 athletes skate as one unit, performing maneuvers and formations set to music. They are judged on the speed and unison with which they skate; the difficulty and accuracy of the formations; and the synchronization of the skaters. They must execute a well balanced program with a variety of circles, lines, blocks, wheels and intersections. In competition, the team skates a short program, not exceeding 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and a long program of 4-1/2 minutes duration. As in singles skating, the teams receive 2 sets of marks from thejudges--one for technical merit and one for presentation.
Precision Team Skating has been a fast-growing, emerging discipline in the United States throughout the past decade. There are currently over 375 teams registered with the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA).
Internationally, in 1994, the International Skating Union (ISU) officially recognized Precision
Team Skating as the fifth discipline in the sport of figure skating--the others being ladies' singles,
men's singles, pairs and ice dancing.
Formed in 1979, the Haydenettes have long been recognized as the premier Precision Skating Team in the United States. Based in Lexington, Massachusetts, the team is made up of 25 athletes ranging in age from 15 to 25.
The team has earned nine national gold medals, and numerous international medals, including a
gold medal at the French Cup in Rouen, France in February, 1997. They placed third at The Spring
Cup held in Milan, Italy in February, 1998. In 1996 they placed fourth at the first World Challenge
Cup, which was held in Boston, MA. In 1997 they placed fourth at the World Challenge Cup held
in Turku, Finland. They placed fifth at the 1998 World Challenge Cup, held in Bordeaux, France.
Recently they finished 2nd in the US National Syncronized Skating Championship and 2nd in the 1999 French Cup. They moved on to finish 8th at the 1999 World Challenge Cup.
The Haydenettes competed at the Snowflake
International Competion in Providence, Rhode Island (January, 1999) placing fifth.
Their record of achievements encompasses numerous "firsts" in precision skating, the most notable being that they are the first and only team to win the U.S. National Championship four years in a row, and nine out of the last eleven years. They are also the first team to receive a perfect score of 6.0 (twice) at national championship competitions in Nevada and Rhode Island.
The Haydenettes are frequently asked to exhibit. The Haydenettes always perform at Harvard University's "An Evening with Champions" ; They have performed at the CBS TV Thanksgiving Day Celebration, televised live from New York City and the U.S. Nationals Exhibition of Champions in Philadelphia, PA (January 11, 1998). They appeared three times on the NBC Today Show, and twice in Nancy Kerrigan's "Halloween on Ice".
This is a work in process, so please excuse the rough edges. Check this reference to better understand what precision skating is all about, from the Colonial Figure Skating Club pages.
Pictures are a great way to see how exciting the sport is. The following World Challenge Cup Pictures, from April 1996 are a courtesy of Harold Cullison, a Colonial Dad.
These pictures are from the Free Skating and short technical portions of the competition in Boston, MA at Northeastern University's Matthews Arena
