Pictured here (l. to r.) are team members MinAh Kim, Nina Silvia, Sue Gagne-Rousseau, Heidi Coffin, Sarah Holmes, Coach John Niles Merrill, Chelsea Ferk, Sarah Lawsure Moulton, Maureen Matatall, Suzanne Collins Gagne, Lynne Cote, and Clelia Signaud.

Maine’s only Adult Synchronized Skating team, comprised of members ranging in age from 19 to 63 and with varying levels of skating skills, just completed their first competitive season as the DownEasters. The team finished the season with two gold medal performances, a bronze medal performance and a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Figure Skating Eastern Synchronized Skating Championships in Hershey, Pa. Coached by John Niles Merrill, a member of U.S. Figure Skating and a Certified A-level coach with the Professional Skating Association, the team made their home at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.

Synchronized skating is a discipline in which skaters perform as a team in moving across the ice as a single flowing unit while completing difficult footwork. The team performs a program set to “Hooked on a Feeling,” and required formations including circles, lines, blocks, wheels, intersections and moves in isolation. 

Synchronized Skating uses the same judging system as singles, pairs, and ice dancing and is judged primarily on teamwork, precision, speed, difficulty, and performance. Interested skaters are invited to consider joining them for the 2017-2018 season. For more information, contact Heidi Coffin at hahc@comcast.net.

The team will perform on Sunday, March 20 at the Skate Club of Brunswick’s Spring Exhibition at Bowdoin College’s Watson Arena in Brunswick. The show starts at 4:30 p.m. and tickets are $12 at the door.