The Fond du Lac Blades Are Back, Alright

Everybody, get ready to groove to the music and jam because the Fond du Lac Blades' junior synchronized skating team has got it goin' on. The team is skating to a Backstreet Boys medley for their long program, which is proving to be a crowd pleaser.
 
"In the stadium, you can look up at the crowd and everyone's singing along with the music," said Alyx Sabel, a high school senior from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, who has been skating since the age of two and has been on the junior level synchro team for four years.
 
The medley consists of three of the boy band's most recognizable hit songs—"Everybody," "Larger Than Life," and "I Want It That Way." While the Fond du Lac Blades consists of team members who are in their teens, the Backstreet Boys' music has stood the test of time and has been passed down from generation to generation. Skater Annah Bhanpuri even went to their concert with her mom two years ago.
 
"We try to incorporate their swagger. I don't know about their dance moves, but we try to have their charisma, their essence," said Bhanpuri, a high school senior who has been on the junior team for two seasons.
 
Their costume is a bright, brilliant blue and has a mesh, sparkly diamond on the back. The colorful sleeves allow the audience and judges to see their arms when they are above their heads. Director and head coach Jennifer McMahon was inspired by a costume she saw on the TV show America's Got Talent.
 
"I quickly grabbed my phone and took a picture of this dance team that was on America's Got Talent. Then I contacted our dress maker and I said, 'By any chance, did you make this costume?' And the owner said, 'Yes, we did,'" she recalled of her conversation with the team's dress designer The Line Up. "And I said, 'I want that top and I want to put a skirt on it and I want Backstreet Boys.' They've done our dresses for years and they do a fabulous job."
 
For their short program, the Fond Du Lac Blades glide to a galaxy far, far away with a routine set to Samuel Kim's version of the Star Wars theme song. Their costumes give a nod to
Rey, the film franchise's newest female character. The top of their dress resembles her top and they wear an armband just like she does.
 
Because of rule changes this season, the short program now requires a different intersection than what this group has done before. Also, as the season progressed and they received feedback from judges, McMahon decided to redo their pivot block to score a higher level.
 
"I'm so happy we did because it's looking so much better. The edge quality is better, the flow of it, the overall element looks better," she said. "I'm not afraid to change something completely to get the better score."
 
For some of these skaters, not only music has been inherited from their moms and aunts, but also the synchro gene. Fond du Lac Blades is a multi-generational program that's been around for decades.
 
"Her mom skated, her aunt skated, her other aunt skated all with me initially," McMahon said of Sabel's long lineage with the Blades. "Now she has several family members as far as cousins who are part of the program as well."
 
"Being a part of a team, it feels like a second family to me, so I come and I get along with everyone and everyone's here to do what they love," Sabel added. "We all have the same goal in the end — to improve on our skating skills and our score as we go through the season."
 
Fond du Lac Blades plans to be around for many more generations to come. Their program is a well-oiled machine and oftentimes promotes from within, so McMahon thinks some of the current novice level team members will be ready to step up. They have a training program that allows the level below to sit in on practices of the team a level above them. Sometimes, she even lets the novice skaters sub in for a junior skater during practice to help prepare them.
 
Fond du Lac Blades skates out of two rinks, the Blueline Family Ice Center in Fond du Lac and the Oshkosh YMCA in Wisconsin. The team has such a great reputation in the region, some skaters travel from as far away as two hours to be part of it. That is why they schedule practices for Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, so training doesn't interfere with their school schedules too much. During the school week, skaters can work on individual skills at a rink close to home and off-ice conditioning.
 
The team received one international assignment, participating in the French Cup in Rouen, France, in early February. After taking silver at that event, they extended their stay to include a quick stop in Paris to do sightseeing before flying home.
 
"One of the most exciting things [about going] overseas is picking up the different languages a little bit and learning how to say hello and how to say goodbye and how to say thank you and please," McMahon said. "We're very excited to go and represent Team USA and the United States and there's nothing like hearing that announcement when you take the ice, 'Representing the United States of America.' I think it is my favorite thing as a coach when we travel internationally. It just kind of sums up all the hard work that the team has put in for the season and to know that you're good enough [for] the United States to pick your team to go and represent."
 
Heading into the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the team's candy jar will most definitely be making the trip with them. It is one of their many rituals that gets them in the competitive mindset. All levels of the Blades decorate their own candy jar each season with their music themes, so this year it's Star Wars and Backstreet Boys for the junior team, and the stars and stripes for USA.
 
In the locker room, the skaters form a circle and one-by-one each skater takes a Skittle from the jar and "they go around and they either remind themselves of something they want to remember like if there's been a change in the program or something they want the team to do or something as simple as don't forget to smile," McMahon explained.
 
The team also insists everyone, including the coaching staff, fall on the floor before a competition, they scream chants and have a special breathing exercise when taking the ice.
 
"I feel like they ground us together so that we can skate as one team and not 16 individuals," Bhanpuri said.
 
Fond du Lac Blades will take the ice in Peoria, Illinois, next week at the 2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. For tickets, click here.