By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
MILLSTONE One Clarksburg youth has found a way to sync her friendships with the thrill of competition.
Jessica Torregrossa, 14, will compete this weekend in New Jersey’s Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships in Morristown as part of her 21-member Ice-Lantics Synchronized Skating team.
The Farmingdale-based team, an affiliate of the Garden State Skating Club, will compete in the two-day event for a chance to appear at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship in March. The regional competition will feature about 2,000 coaches and athletes from the eastern portion of the country, according to its Web site, www.synchroeast2009.com.
”We’re skating 10 hours this week to prepare for the big competition,” Jessica said. “We want to be perfect.”
In the synchronized form of the sport, skaters move in tight formations with rapidly shifting shapes, directions and footwork. The emphasis is on skaters performing complex footwork and maneuvers as one, and jumps are not permitted.
But the lack of triple axels or salchows doesn’t mean synchronized skating is easy. For most of the year, Jessica practices an average of eight hours per week with her team and trainers to build strength and perfect her moves.
”When you do jumps and spins in singles, you’re in charge,” she said. “When you do synchro, you have to be more precise and make sure you’re moving with everyone else on your team. It’s a lot more difficult.”
The Clarksburg resident has been skating since she was 7 and joined Ice-Lantics three years later to try something new.
”I started skating individually and slowly worked up to synchro,” she said. “Going across the ice in lines, circles, wheels it hooked my attention, and I thought, ‘This is something I have to try.’”
Although not yet an Olympic sport, synchronized skating has gained popularity in recent years. The first U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship was held in 1984, and the first World Synchronized Skating Championships premiered in 2000. The U.S. Figure Skating Organization says there are about 525 synchronized teams registered with U.S. Figure Skating, and nearly 5,000 athletes participate annually in the synchronized skating sectional championships.
The Garden State Skating Club’s Ice-Lantics Synchronized Skating Association, established in 1996, is a nonprofit organization that aims to attract skaters from all over New Jersey to train and participate in the sport.
The organization fields three synchronized teams. Based on her age and skill set, Jessica skates on the intermediate team (ages 12-17). Along with two-time Olympic ice dance judge Konstantin Kaplan and assistant coach Kaitlyn Buffone, coach Lynne Leger helps to prepare the skaters for their events.
”These girls have been working together since last spring to meet the challenges of competing at a higher level, under a new judging system, while rolling with endless adjustments to the choreography,” Ms. Leger said.
The girls most recently competed in the Colonial Classic competition in Massachusetts and before that won silver medals at the Terry Conners Synchronized Skating Classic in Connecticut their first competition of the season. There, the team performed its “Gladiator” program, a routine featuring music from the film’s score that the girls also will perform this weekend at regionals.
”This program is a lot tougher than ones we’ve done in the past,” Jessica said. “It’s extremely dramatic, and it’s longer 3 minutes and 40 seconds. We’ve also got a lot more people skating this year, and we have to work hard to get everyone across the ice.”
When she’s not performing in competitions or practicing her moves, the eighth-grade honor student at Oak Hill Academy, in Lincroft, enjoys playing guitar and piano, making jewelry and doing arts and crafts.
”The most difficult part is keeping up with schoolwork and family and everything else while still trying to be the best skater you can be,” she said.
The best part for Jessica, however, is the bonds she’s made with her teammates during her time with Ice-Lantics.
”I’ve made close friends here that I never would have made if I didn’t join,” she said. “We go off to competitions, the movies, shopping. … They’re like my second family, and that’s really special to have.”
For more information about synchronized skating in southern and central New Jersey and sponsorship opportunities, contact Angie Rosen at [email protected] or visit www.ice-lantics.com.

