By Amanda Kennedy


Winter break has a lot in store for Bryn Mawr freshman Katie Zeigler.

With ice dancing partner Baxter Burbanks, Zeigler will lace up her skates and participate in the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash from Jan. 14-24. The competition will feature Zeigler and Burbanks in the Junior Ice Dance category.
 

One of five disciplines of figure skating, ice dancing involves the pairing of a male and female skater on the ice. “You skate with a partner and do lifts, spins and footwork to different types of music,” Zeigler said. “Ice dancing is very similar to ballroom dancing as it is truly two people moving together as one.”

 

 

 
Zeigler and Burbanks, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University, qualified for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships after placing third at the Pacific sectionals in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The pair has taken to the ice together since June 2009 after having other partners. They practice six days a week for 20 hours under the coaching of Robbie Kaine, Cheryl Demkowski-Snyder and Tommy Kaine.
 

An ice dancer for the past seven years, Zeigler began competing with a partner three years ago after watching teams compete at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships. Now in college, she and Burbanks must take on the challenge of scheduling and making time for practice.

 

However, being at Bryn Mawr does have its perks. “I also have the benefit of skating five to thirty minutes away from school depending on the day and rink,” she said. “For the past two years I had to skate in New York, about an hour away from my home in northern New Jersey, so I really appreciate not having to travel so far.”


Besides practice at a rink, the pair also participates in “off-ice conditioning” each day, Zeigler explained, during which the three competitive dances are prepared.

Zeigler and Burbanks received the Junior Dance Gold Medal at the 2009 U.S. Collegiate Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. on Aug. 6-8 this past summer. Skaters were required to be full-time college students in order to participate, which Zeigler said is uncommon for those who take to the ice.


Although she will be missing the first week of the second semester and will be finishing missed schoolwork over break, Zeigler is nevertheless ecstatic about her appearance at the National Championships in Spokane. “Especially because this is an Olympic year, nationals is going to be very exciting,” she said. “I don’t really feel that nervous about it because as a new team, Baxter and I aren’t trying to defend any titles or…improve on prior placements, so we’re just excited to show what we can do.”

 

 Zeigler is currently contemplating a math major and also enjoys seeing movies and going shopping. The bi-college community wishes her and Burbanks the best of luck at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.