With three national titles under their belts and four undefeated seasons, Dartmouth's figure skating team is busy training for what promises to be another successful season and preparing to host the National Championships in April.
Dartmouth's figure skating team has qualified for every National Collegiate Figure Skating Championship since 2000, and this past April, the Big Green won a third consecutive national title, continuing the Dartmouth skaters' undefeated streak that began in the fall of 2003. Figure skating is the only Dartmouth team that currently holds a national title.
This year, figure skating is celebrating its 10th year as a Dartmouth team. It was started in 1997 by Amy Stetson '00 and is now one of the largest teams on the East Coast. The team is composed of 21 women and Dan Dittrick '08.
Dittrick is taking an off term this winter in order to lead the organizing of the National Collegiate Figure Skating Championship. The meet will be held April 13-15 in Thompson Arena and will include the top nine collegiate teams in the United States.
"Hosting the National Championship started as a tiny idea last April, and we've been working on it slowly," said team captain Katherine Kalaris '07.
The team is particularly excited because this will be its first opportunity to compete on its home ice.
"We're really excited to be able to host nationals and we want a lot of fans to come down and support us," Kalaris said.
The team's first priority is qualifying to attend the championship. "We would love to qualify since we will be hosting nationals," Kalaris said.
"We have our first competition in a few weeks, and we would love to put strong performances together."
The team's first competition of the season will be held on Feb. 17 at Boston University. Dartmouth will compete against 15 other schools from the East, including their closest rivals, Boston University and Cornell. In order to qualify for the championship, Dartmouth will need to finish the season as one of the top three teams in the East.
"We have a really big team, including a group of really strong freshmen," Kalaris said.
A successful collegiate figure skating team must be composed of skaters of all levels. There are seven levels of both freestyle and dance. Skaters in all seven levels can earn Dartmouth points at competitions.
"Team depth is very important," Kalaris said.
Though all the skaters earn points for Dartmouth as a team, the competitions are individual. The team practices together six days a week.
"Although the whole team is on the ice together, everyone is doing their own thing," Kalaris said.
Kalaris attributes Dartmouth's success to the team's ability to attract talented skaters with strong academic backgrounds. Several members of the team are also members of other varsity teams. "Skating was why I looked at Dartmouth in the first place, but I was convinced by everything else it had to offer," Kalaris said.
The team is coached by Michael McGean '49 and Loren McGean '92. McGean, in addition to being one of only two people to ever compete at the same U.S. Nationals in freestyle, dance and pairs, is also a former secretary of Dartmouth College, and in 1992, he was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
Figure skating at Dartmouth is a club sport. Dartmouth's club sports program provides training ice at Thompson Arena, but the majority of funding comes from the Friends of Dartmouth Figure Skating organization which solicits money from alumni, parents and the Dartmouth community.
