This week’s campus celebrity, Shanon Farley, is from Newburyport, MA. She is a senior at UNH, majoring in Sociology, and a dual graduate student in the Elementary Education Masters Program. She loves to run, running in both the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC and the Smuttynose Half Marathon in Hampton Beach. On top of her already busy shcedule, she is also on the UNH synchronized skating team. I caught up with her to learn a bit about her experience with the UNH Synchronized Skating team!
How long have you been skating?
I started skating and taking lessons when I was 3 years old and started synchronized skating when I was 9.
Did you always want to do Synchronized Skating?
Synchronized Skating has always been my focus with skating. I started off with a small team, The Ice Liners, from Newburyport MA for 2 years before switching to a more competitive team, The Colonials from Acton, MA. I skated with the Colonials for 3 years, winning a U.S. Championship in 2003. Many of my current teammates on UNH have skated for the Colonials and represented the U.S. in international competitions.
I also skated for a synchronized skating team out of Lexington, MA- The Lexettes with several other girls who are now on the UNH team. Through skating with the Lexettes my senior year of high school, I realized that skating was something I wanted to continue throughout my college career.
When did you start wth the UNH team?
I started skating for UNH my freshman year, and have loved being a part of such a strong team throughout the past 4 years. It was a great experience as a freshman starting off with 20 great friends to make the adjustment easy. Since then, I now live with many of my teammates and they have become my best friends.
What is your practice schedule like?
The UNH SST practices 6 hours a week on the ice from September to March, coming back early January for winter break training. We usually skate 3 days a week, 5:45-7:45 in the morning because of ice availability. Although it is a struggle to get up every morning, we all show up ready to work hard and focus to prepare for upcoming competitions.
How often to you compete?
We compete in 5 competitions a year starting in December and end in March at the U.S. Synchronized Skating National Championships. We recently competed in Hersey, PA in January for the National Qualifier and finished strong with a 2nd place finish. This is the highest place UNH SST has finished
What is your favorite part of being on the team?
My favorite part of being on the team is being able to come together with all the other girls to focus on one goal. We all work together extremely well and support each other on an off the ice. Everywhere you go on campus you are bound to be with or see your teammates. We are constantly getting together off the ice for dinners, outings, and whatever else is fun and exciting.
Favorite memory?
My favorite memory of being on UNHSST was our trip to Lake Placid, NY in 2011 for the Eastern Sectional Championship. During our week in Lake Placid we had so much fun dog sledding, walking around Olympic village, skating in the 1980 rink, and enjoying all the winter activities in Lake Placid. I had skated in Lake Placid for my first synchro nationals, and it was great to get back and see and relive all the excitement.
Who does the choreography?
Our coaches Amanda Werner and Kelly Richall choreograph our program. This year our music is to the theme of “ a breakthrough”. It is a melody of music from Linkin Park, the Foo Fighters, and Adele.
The UNH Synchronized Skating Team had a national send off show this past Sunday, February 26. Next, they head to US Nationals March 1-3!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNH chapter.