Hamilton’s Club Figure Skating Team held a festive winter showcase at Sage Rink on Sunday, Dec. 3. Many Hamilton students and families were in attendance at the rink, which was adorned with holiday colors, props and decorations. There were 13 routines performed by members of the figure skating team as duets or solos. The showcase ended with a Mean Girls-inspired routine to “Jingle Bell Rock,” which was performed by most of the

figure skating team.

The showcase displayed a wide range of skating styles and holiday song choices, including graceful movements in Anni Ojanen ’26’s “Walking in the Air,” playful humor in Julia Smith ’25’s and Eve Karmozyn ’25’s “Medley from The Grinch,” impressively strong technique in Maggie Mieczkowski ’25’s “Nutcracker Medley: Arabian and Pas de Deux” and contagious energy in India Macdonald ’27 and Reilan Garczynski ’26’s “You Make Every Day Feel like Christmas.”

Co-Captains Julia Smith and Maggie Mieczkowski have been involved with Club Figure Skating since their freshman year. As the new co-presidents of the team this year, they decided they wanted to start a holiday showcase to get back into performing for campus-wide events.

Preparation for the showcase began in Sept., when the club started having regular practices to choreograph routines and worked with Steph Kowell, Assistant Athletics Director for Fitness & Recreation, to organize the event. Many members choreographed their own original routines or adjusted past competition programs to fit their chosen holiday song. For beginner skaters, Smith and Mieczkowski helped choreograph and teach their routines.

Once choreography was learned and taught, Smith says the club “did run-throughs of everyone’s program each practice so that people could get comfortable in their routines and in performing for an audience.” Smith wrote a script to introduce each skater before their routine, which Christina Spanier ’25 and Emily Ferguson ’24 announced during the show.

Smith says a big part of getting ready for the show was the holiday decor. “We had crafting nights twice a week to make all the decorations, and tried to have team members come in at least once to make something to hang on the boards or put on the ice,” she said.

“Actually, all of the presents were boxes that we stole from the mail center!”

The team meets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for two-hour practices. Mieczkowski says they spend practice time “doing group exercises at the beginning of practice and then give everyone time to work on their own [exercises].” Once competition season begins next semester, the figure skating practices will mainly consist of “learning programs and working on skating skills, jumps, spins and choreography,” says Smith.

According to the captains, there is a “great deal of comradery among the members” that grew as a result of spending so much practice time together. Smith says that she and Mieczkowski have “tried to foster a supportive environment” in the team. Since the team does not currently have a coach, the captains provide most of the coaching and support to

the other members. Mieckowski encourages skaters of all levels to join the club, as the goal is to “provide the opportunity for people who might not have the resources to learn how to skate.” Smith says that as someone who began figure skating her freshman year, she was able to improve as much as she did because of “how willing everyone on the team was and is to help me try new things and correct mistakes.”

The Club Figure Skating Team will be performing at the Citrus Bowl and Winter Classic next semester.