Club History

Founded as the Falconettes in the 1969-70 school year by Phyllis (Hendrix) Preston, the skating team performed at five hockey games between the first and second periods.

In 1967, David and Rita Lowery were hired to teach beginning and intermediate skating, with special instruction in figure skating. Also during this time, the University was the first in the country to have a synchronized skating team. When the club was founded, it was made up of students who were interested in skating, whether recreationally or competitively. Each year, the team would perform before the first and second period of hockey games, competitions, as well as in most Ice Horizon ice shows. In 1972, Sam Cooper hired Frank Sawyer and Susan Barber to teach the PEG classes. Susan taught the Falconettes and the PEG classes from 1972 until her retirement in 1997, although she did return to teach classes from 1998-2000. In 1977, the Falconettes consisted of 22 members and were financed by the Parent’s Club, Alumni Association, President’s Club, and the health and physical education department. In 1982, there were roughly 20 members on the team after tryouts in the fall.

The Falconettes added interest to the hockey games, alongside of Freddie and Frieda. In the fall of 1985, tryouts were held with 16 to 24 skaters making the team. Men were allowed to try out for the team, but the feminine name tended to deter them from doing so. The Skating Club was an associate member of the US Figure Skating Association and was honored in 1992 for 25 years of membership. Ice Horizons returned to the Ice Arena in 1993 and was considered the best amateur program in Northwest Ohio. This skating program showcases the talent of skaters of all ages, including Samuel Cooper and Scott Hamilton. In 1997, Sue hired Lona Leck to assist the team with choreography and to bring them into the US Figure Skating collegiate competitive structure. The same year, the team changed its name to the Precision Skating Team, that included 18 students. The team president was Meredith Eland and, at this time, the University joined the Midwest Collegiate Conference. In 2000, the team changed to its current name, the Synchronized Skating Team.

In 2001, the Synchronized Skating team competed in a national competition in Colorado Springs where they took fifth place. The team competed with 18 members led by President Lana Mastroianni, although a normal team consists of 20 members. Coach Lona Leck states that the interest in the sport is growing, especially synchronized skating. Also called the “Brown and Orange,” the club sport was having difficulties becoming a varsity sport, during this time. The team had to pay for all their expenses, including airfare, competition fees, and more. Becoming a varsity sport allows for all fees to be paid for by the athletic department. With other schools making their synchronized skating teams varsity, the “Brown and Orange” requested this status. The other schools were becoming varsity in order to become funded by the university, as well as gain new opportunities for the athletes and coaches.

The team competed from 1996-2005 in nationals. Due to the lost interest and lack of recruiting after the 2004-05 school year, the club had been absent for a few years, but had returned in 2009. During this time, the club was led by Danni Yurek with Amanda Losch as treasurer. The club had roughly 12 regulars during this school year, but they were seeing new members weekly. With the sale of the “Livestrong” bracelets for Lance Armstrong being such a huge hit in 2004, the team decided to start selling their own bracelets during Parents’ weekend to fundraise for their competition happening that year. Jane Bancroft created the idea of selling bracelets that said “Unfalconbelievable,” and ended up being a huge success. Lana Mastroianni became the coach for the team in 2005, with Sydney Sigler as president. The team practices different skills and choreography on the ice a few times a week with practices off ice as well. There were 15 skaters on the team and they took 7th at the U.S. Synchronized Team Skating championship the previous year, as well as being ranked 7th nationally.

As of 2011, the club was yet to be funded by the University, so the team had to pay out of pocket. A couple years ago the club was formed as Synchronized Skating team, but was then turned into the Figure Skating Club. During this time, the president was Amanda Jagow and Lindsay Willen as the vice president. Today, the club is a part of the United States Figure Skating Association’s intercollegiate skating program. They practice weekly with a range of skills and skating levels between a competitive team and recreational club. In the 2014-15 season, the team came in 8th overall at the Falcon Invitational.

For more Recreation and Wellness History visit https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/telling-our-story/history.html.

Reference:

Susan Barber (personal communication with Lona Leck, January 29, 2017)

[About Us]. (2016). Retrieved from http://bgsufs.wixsite.com/bgsufigureskating/maintenance

[Competition Results]. (2016). Retrieved from http://bgsufs.wixsite.com/bgsufigureskating/competition-results

[Programs Designed to Retain Figure Skaters]. http://iceskatingresources.org/CollegeClub&VarsitySkating.html

Ice Arena Ready To Open. (1967, February 15). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 2055). P. 7. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/2055/

Ice show features various talent. (1993, April 23). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 5535) p. 3. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/5535/

Ice, ice skating. (2011, November 16). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 8465). P. 1-2. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/8465/

Ice skating club returns to campus. (2009, November 20). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 8165). P. 3, 5. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/8165/

‘Synchronized’ effort pays off. (2005, September 22). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 7482). P. 1. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/7482/

Bracelets raise money for synchronized skaters. (2004, November 22). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 7360). P. 3. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/7360/

Determination, practice and sheer talent combine to make the BG Skating Falcons: The hottest thing on ice. (1985, February 1). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 4348). P. 3. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/4348/

Falconettes on B’Rink of success. (1977, February 4). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 3328). P. 4. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/3328/

Skaters place fifth in Colorado. (2001, March 22). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 6782). P. 10-11. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/6782

Club Sports Summary. (1982). [Yearbook article]. Morino, S. (ed.). The Key 1982. BGSU Yearbook. Bowling Green State University. (Book 141). P. 175. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/yearbooks/141

Skating Club. (1993). [Yearbook article]. Davis, T. (ed.). The Key 1993. BGSU Key Yearbook. Bowling Green State University. (Book 152). P. 97. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/yearbooks/152/

Precision Skating Team. (1999). [Yearbook article]. The Key 1999. BGSU Key Yearbook. Bowling Green State University. (Book 158). P. 80. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/yearbooks/158/

Synchronized Skating Team. (2000). [Yearbook article]. The Key 2000. BGSU Key Yearbook. Bowling Green State University. (Book 159). P. 158. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/yearbooks/159/

Synchronized Skating. (2002). [Yearbook article]. The Key 2002. BGSU Key Yearbook. Bowling Green State University. (Book 161). P. 97. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/yearbooks/161/