The Middlebury figure skating team just keeps on gliding — backwards, in complex spins, but most importantly, forwards. The team has recently increased their activity in the intercollegiate figure skating circuit since competing in the Northeast Conference for the first time in several years in the spring of 2022.
On Nov. 8–10, their six competitive members travelled to Monsey, N.Y. for the 2024 Violet Ice Classic hosted by NYU and took 15th place among 30 much larger teams, such as Boston University, Cornell University and Sacred Heart University, despite being a small group and lacking a coach.
The team attributes their success to their tight-knit group of six competitive skaters, who range from beginners to experienced skaters to club co-president and Team U.S.A. figure skater Ting Cui ’25.5. Cui took first place in the Northeast Conference in November and will compete in the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kan. in January.
Cui and Maya Henning ’25 restarted the competition team, which had been dormant for the 10 years before spring 2022. The team has the opportunity to attend three competitions each academic year — one in the fall and two in the spring. Making it to all three is ideal, but the team typically attends one or two a year, according to Cui.
“I think it means a lot that we can have such a wide range in level and still have a tightly bonded team with great chemistry,” Cui said. “We’re very welcoming.”
At every competition they attend, each member skates their own individual program, which fall into event categories of levels from beginning to senior. Cui choreographs and coordinates these programs to ensure they adhere to the competition’s rules. They also take part in a team event, a feature unique to collegiate competitions.
Team events require a minimum of three participants, all of whom skate solo, but must collectively perform a total of seven “elements,” or specific figure-skating moves. The judges then score the technique and skill of each of these seven elements individually, and these scores are totaled to determine the winning team. According to Cui, strategizing based on which team member can perform each element with the most skill is especially important for this event.
Every member of the team practices individually multiple times a week on the ice at Kenyon Arena and aim for weekly group practices in the weeks leading up to a competition.
The club offers skaters like Kate McDonald ’27.5 the opportunity to continue with a sport she’s been participating in since childhood.
“I started to figure skate when I was probably around eight or nine, and I’ve been competing ever since. It’s really great that Middlebury has a community and opportunity to do that,” McDonald said.
Team member Esteban Molina ’27 grew up speed skating in Colombia, but turned to figure skating when someone at his local rink recommended it to him. He began practicing and fell in love with the sport.
Henning remarked on Molina’s impressive skating abilities.
“He’s totally self-taught. He didn’t have a coach yet he is still doing all of these doubles,” Henning said. Double jumps are a move in which a skater jumps up and performs two rotations in the air.
After moving to the U.S in 2020, Molina had to sell candy to pay for his equipment after being kicked out of the rink in Houston where he was living.
“The Houston Chronicle published an article about me… and then some people donated for figure skating,” he said.
At Middlebury, he is fortunately able to skate for free, an aspect of the club which Henning said was an important part of making figure skating at Middlebury more accessible.
“It’s not super accessible to skate, especially because you have to pay for coaches,” Henning said. “It’s not something where you can just step on the ice and go like in other sports.”
However, at Middlebury, students can do exactly that. This J-Term, Cui and club Co-President Lizzy Sherman ’26 will teach a J-Term figure skating workshop. At no cost, students will be able to learn the basics of skating and have a chance to perform in the team’s annual Winter Carnival Ice Show on Feb. 15 and 16 — two shows on each day — and will surround the theme “All You Need is Love.”
Each of the six team members will perform individually at the show and skate together in a group number. In 2023, they skated to “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys and were met with ample enthusiasm from the audience, according to Cui. Guest skaters from University of Vermont (UVM), additional Middlebury student skaters not on the team and many skaters from the local Middlebury Figure Skating Club in town, who help organize the event, will also participate.
Sherman enjoys the ice show because it gives the skaters a lot more creative freedom than competition skating. It also involved many community members from the town of Middlebury’s figure skating club which makes for a display of unity between the school and town.
“[It’s] my first time being in an environment where we’re all training but there’s no animosity, there’s no competition, it’s just fun,” Sherman said.
The team also hosts open skates throughout the year on Sundays from 1-3 p.m., where anyone can join and be coached by the team, regardless of their skill level. Skates at these events and for the workshop are provided by the team.
“There’s also a place for everyone in terms of preferred skill set — creatives can do the show, more technical skaters can compete, and skaters with passion but who might not be interested in either can help with the J-Term workshop or recreationally come to open skates if they are beginners,” Cui wrote.
Editor's Note: Ting Cui '25.5 is a Sports Editor for The Campus. She had no role in the publication of this article.
Madeleine Kaptein '25.5 (she/her) is a managing editor.
Madeleine previously served as a staff writer, copy editor and local editor. She is a Comparative Literature major with minors in German and Art History. In Spring 2024, she studied abroad in Mainz, Germany, from where she wrote for the Addison Independent about her host country. In her free time, she enjoys journaling, long walks and runs, and uncomplicated visual arts projects.
