As part of a new feature where we profile some of the University's sports clubs, we interviewed Laramie Hevland from the Figure Skating Society to find out more about this fledgling club and their plans for growth over the next academic year.
How would you sum up what figure Skating is in a couple of sentences?
Figure Skating is both an art and an athletic feat, professional skaters are incredibly strong and work very hard but train to make it all look graceful and even effortless.
How new are you as a society?
We started meeting in January of this year and were officially recognised by the Student's Union at the beginning of this term. Now after a few tasters and training sessions we have over 60 members!
What standard do you expect from people who are joining the society?
We invite skaters from all levels! If you have never even stepped foot on ice or you've been skating for years, it doesn't matter as it is our aim to share the sport with others and train them to be the best figure skater they can be.
Do you guys compete in any local/national competitions? If not, would you like to build up to that?
Unfortunately there are no BUCS Figure Skating competitions, however, we are in the talks of competing in the UK University Figure Skating Competition in London and am I sure we will definitely do well there as we have so many talented skaters in our society. We are also planning a Christmas showcase in December which will be good preparation for our skaters before the competition in February.
How would you try and convince people who have never heard of/got involved in Figure Skating before to get involved?
If you've ever seen a figure skater and thought "Wow, how do they do that?", then this is your chance to find out. Getting started is easier then most people expect, and we have tons of great members to support you in learning. Plus you'll meet loads of interesting people and even get a good workout!
What are your aims as a society for the next academic year?
Our aim for this academic year is to get as many people involved as possible and bring together keen skaters from across the university. We want to train our skaters so that they improve and develop in figure skating and ensure that they have a good time on and off the ice.
Does it ever get cold while you’re out skating?
It can be a little bit cold when you first go into an ice rink, but once you get moving it's just fine.
And how much does it hurt when you slip and hit the ice?
Less then people think! And it's just like riding a bike, falling down is just a part of learning, even the pros do it.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen in all your time figure skating?
There is this really funny video of Evgeni Plushenko (Figure Skating Legend) skating a routine to 'sex bomb' and that is definitely one of the funniest things in figure skating history.
If you could sum up the sport and your experiences in 3 words, what would they be?
Beautiful, challenging, and exciting.
