Synchronized skated was a widely unknown sport in Germany, in contrast to other countries where synchro had been an immensely popular sport. While singles and pair skating were struggling to attract the masses, synchronized skating thrived in international championships in Sweden, Finland and America. In these countries, synchronized skating fill stadiums with eager spectators and have an electric atmosphere that reminds you of one at a soccer, ice hockey or basketball match. Synchronized ice skating celebrates a tremendous success even though it is the youngest sport that is internationally recognized by the ISU (International Ice Skating Association / Union).

In 1954, Dr Richard Porter from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was the first person to form a team of more than four synchronized ice-skaters. A new kind of sport was born called synchronized ice-skating. And very soon, synchronized ice-skating spread all over the world, fascinating the people with its 20 skaters per team: In the beginning, synchronized ice-skating was established in the USA and in Canada. Then, it grew more and more popular and in 1976, the fist competitions took place. At the beginning of the 80’s, synchronized ice-skating reached Great Britain, Japan, Australia and then Scandinavia.

The more synchronized ice-skating grew popular, the more competitions were held: In 1983, the first national championships took place in Canada and only one year later, they were held in the USA. In 1989, the first international championships took place in Molmdal, Sweden, where seven international teams were competing against each other.

Finally, the ISU reacted to the immense popularity of synchronized ice-skating by founding an ad hoc committee for synchronized ice-skating in 1991. The task of this newly created committee was to establish general rules for synchronized ice-skating as quickly as possible in order to ensure obligatory national and international standards for this new kind of sport. In 1992, the congress of the ISU accepted the newly imposed rules.

In 1996, the first World Challenge Cup of synchronized ice-skating, which was chaired by the ISU, took place in Boston, USA. Further World Challenge Cups followed in Turku (Finland) in 1997, in Bordeaux (France) in 1998, and in Göteborg (Sweden) in 1999. The first ‘real’ world championships were held in Minneapolis, USA, in 2000. There, the Swedish team named “Team Surprise“ won, and up until today, this Swedish team has been one of the best first-class teams of synchronized ice-skating.

Synchronized World Championships at a glance:
2000 World Championships in Minneapolis / USA
2001 World Championships in Helsinki / Finland
2002 World Championships in Rouen, France
2003 World Championships in Ottawa, Canada
2004 World Championships in Zagreb / Croatia
2005 World Championships in Gothenburg / Sweden
2006 World Championships in Prague / Czech Republic
2007 World Championships in London, Canada
2008 World Championships in Budapest / Hungary
2009 World Championships in Zagreb / Croatia (current season)

Today, 16 skaters perform at the same time. They skate a Short program of 2 min 40 sec and a Free program of 4 min 30 sec. AT the annual World Championships teams from all continents compete. The top 5 nations from the previous year’s championships are allowed to send two teams to the following year’s competition. The teams have a year to compete in at least two ISU competitions to be eligible to participate in the World Championships. Some of the biggest competitions include: Spring Cup (Milan, Italy), Cup of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), Prague Cup (Prague, Czech Republic), Trophy Neuchâtel (Neuchâtel, Switzerland), French Cup (Rouen, France) and Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy (Zagreb, Croatia).