I watch ESPN or any other channels showing sports when I see too many cartoon reruns. In these moments of boredom I wear down the TV, searching for snowboarding events, boxing matches or figure skating competitions. The buttons on the TV remain slightly depressed because of my indecisiveness; I frequently switch back and forth between two different sports. If the TV were alive it would hate me.

I was a spectator who viewed all sports as nothing more than games that people play. No matter how much publicity the Super Bowl or any other sporting events received, I thought them no more important than sources of entertainment and easy ways for talented athletes to make lots of money. To me, only marketing advertisements and athletes truly seemed to benefit from sports with potential revenue as the main advantage.

I even treated ice-skating frivolously until I interviewed Kristina Lambert, the founder of the Synergy Synchronized Skating Team. I might have continued to misconceive ice skating and to stereotype athletes, but breaking my stereotypes about ice skaters made me doubt the assumptions about sports that I had before this interview.

While questioning Kristina and listening to her answers, I learned not only about synchronized figure skating but also the individuality of her team. She compared synchronized figure skating to a “dance line on ice,” which I found interesting. I cannot think of many other sports that bear so much resemblance to dancing and allow a whole team of people to work together at the same time. She further impressed me with her discussion on the technicalities of the sport and the practice that her team does to prepare for competitions, which brought me to the conclusion that ice skaters do more than jump and spin all over the ice. Somehow, I expected that ice skaters did not need to do anything else. Perhaps, the images of Sasha Cohen, Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton executing double axles, triple axles and gliding have embedded deep into my mind from replays on TV.

Kristina told me that she and her team execute “intricate footwork and make circles.” I had never paid attention to the footwork of any ice skater until Kristina mentioned it. She also says “more footwork tends to score higher in competitions.” Her team of two local coaches and 18 full-time University students participates in two to three competitions a year.

Kristina told me that she “personally skated for 20 years and specifically engaged in synchronized ice skating for 15 years.” She founded her team because she “could not find anything else like it at the U.” She also revealed that she enjoys “performing as a part of a team in front of a crowd” rather than skating alone.

Kristina says that she views synchronized skating more as a sport than as an art, because it involves balancing and turning as well as muscle and flexibility. She says skating requires power. According to Kristina, the workout for her team involves weight lifting, running, cardiovascular exercises and extensive practice on ice. Members on her team “practice two and a half hours on ice and two hours off ice,” two days a week. Although her team has not held practices yet, she says tryouts begin in April.

They hold three-hour tryouts on ice to test individual skating skills, team maneuvers and skaters’ ability to make circles on ice. Even with the amount of work that they put into synchronized skating and exercising, her team has the technique that attracts people to join and others to watch. Perhaps I will watch them too.