Senior Anna Medina is a synchronized figure skater. She began skating when she was three years old, started skating competitively when she was ten, and has continued ever since. Not only is she a star on the ice, but she has also been very successful in the classroom. Medina has learned countless lessons and is prepared to take the next steps in her education and skating career. 

Medina is a part of the Northernettes Synchronized Skating team, which is the only big synchro organization in Minnesota. The Northernettes team is made up of 16 other skaters from all over the Minneapolis area and even a few girls from Wisconsin. “The community is very tight knit and all of the teams in the organization know each other pretty well. It is my second family,” Medina said.

Medina has practice on and off the ice seven days a week for about one to three plus hours each day. Her off-ice practices often consist of pilates, cardio, weight training, and flexibility training, whereas on-ice practices often consist of running her program, drills, and mastering different techniques. Medina’s training spots differ depending on what type of skating she is practicing. When she is in Edina, it is for individual skating; she goes to Minneapolis for pairs, and often is found in Bloomington, Shakopee, St. Paul, or even Coon Rapids for synchro practice.  “A couple of times I had to drive all the way to Wisconsin to practice because there weren’t any local arenas open,” Medina said.

Medina’s demanding schedule all pays off when she is able to compete. Each competition, on average, is a five-day trip. The first day being a travel day, the second being a practice day, the third and fourth being competition days, and the fifth being another travel day. She has competed in various different states all across the country including Oregon, California, North Dakota, Michigan, Rhode Island and many more. “A really great thing about synchro is that I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people from across the country and have friends from all over,” Medina said.

These long competition trips have definitely impacted Medina’s education. Although most would think it would be very difficult to balance school and practice seven days a week, Medina has done it and maintained good grades though it all. She has been able to learn very important skills such as communication with teachers, staying caught up, teaching herself lessons, not procrastinating, and most importantly not being afraid to ask for help. “One year I had around 160 absences from traveling to competitions,” Medina said.

Competitions have many levels and rules for scoring. Scoring is split into two categories: technicality and components. The technical part scores the execution and difficulty of the program elements on a scale from negative five to positive five. While the components side scores the program as a whole on flow, performance, musicality, skating skills, and program makeup on a sale from zero to ten. Points may be taken off for situations such as violations of dress code or not following the specific regulations of an element. “You can get docked points for falling, if stones come off costumes, if you don’t start on time, or if you stand still for too long. There are a lot so it can be very confusing,” Medina said.

Overall, both Medina and the BSM community are very proud of how far she has come and how much she has achieved. Synchronized skating has changed Medina’s life and will continue to do so. “It is my home and has been for many years. It just makes me feel like I am something, and it gives me purpose,” Medina said.

Medina is committed to Miami University in Ohio and will spend her next four years skating at their D1 Collegiate Synchronised Skating Program. Miami University’s team is award winning and one of the best in the country. “I am so excited to be competing for a national title,” Medina said.