Bryanston High School’s Rochelle Draper (15) captained the Gauteng Academy Synchronised Ice Skating team to gold in the Prima Vera Figure Skating competition at the Northgate Ice Rink.
Rochelle, who only began synchronised figure skating at the start of this year, was pleased with the outstanding result for herself and her team of 19 girls ranging in age from six to 15 years old.
“I started ice-skating last year after seeing Swan Lake on ice. I saw them skating and I wanted to do it myself,” said Rochelle.
The team performed a routine including wheels, lines, blocks and intersections, which needed to be performed in time to the music and in time with other skaters.
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“With individual skating, you can improvise if something goes wrong, but with synchronised skating, you must all act as one. You win or you lose together and you all have each other to lean on.”
As the captain, Rochelle was the person who counted for the team and made sure they were all in time with the music and did their warm-ups competently.
She believes that it was the trust and hard work of her team that enabled them to stand at the top of the podium.
Her coach, Glenda Slabbert, who choreographed the routine to the music of the Polar Express said, “She is a good leader and holds herself well. We believed that she had potential to lead the team for the competition. She is popular among the skating team. I believe she could go quite far in synchro skating since she looks good on ice and is a hard worker.”
Rochelle hopes to compete nationally and even internationally once she begins her levels. “I love everything about skating. It’s something totally different to other sports. Even though it causes a lot of pain, it’s still fun.”
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