Ice skaters who perform during breaks and non-play sessions of Falcon hockey games are planning to cement their place on campus as an organization.
The team of performers, who call themselves the Spirit Skaters, look for recognition as a University-approved organization within the next year, expecting the process to be completed during the fall 2018 semester.
Precious Jackson, one of the budding organization’s co-presidents, said one of the main reasons for this wanted recognition is more support from students, audience members and staff.
“It’s because of the hard work,” Calli Ragotzy, the other co-president, also said about the group’s desire for official approval. “Each and every one of us puts in a lot of work.” She explained she and others in the group wanted recognition for such efforts.
“A lot of people don’t know … what (our) name is,” Ragotzy, a junior exercise science major who has skated since the age of six, added. She said that, to many audience members, the Spirit Skaters were just “those girls” who skated during games.
While emotional recognition is a matter of emphasis for the group, an even greater matter of importance was the possibility of official University support.
Jackson, a sophomore who is also an exercise major, said no operational funding for the group currently comes from the school, despite the fact it performs very frequently at the Slater Family Ice Arena with the hockey team. The group’s current skates and dresses were purchased through group-raised funds. Even the group’s pompoms were bought through group-generated funds; the team’s leadership set up a fundraiser through GoFundMe to purchase said accessories.
Jackson said relief from that type of financial pressure, possible through group recognition, would be preferable.
The group began as a volunteer cheer team, organized by Coach Laura Fischer at the behest of the ice rink in 2013. Fischer, who is the arena’s assistant director of programming, gathered some students from the figure skating club, an officially-recognized organization, as well as other non-members to form this initial team. The team at that time skated in gray Nike shirts instead of the orange dresses they now wear, due to fund restraints, and were not yet registered as an official group.
Late in the 2017 fall semester, around the time of the pompom fundraiser, support in the group for attaining official organization status grew, and plans were made to begin the application process early in spring 2018.
The skaters’ efforts toward organization status, however, have not been entirely smooth. Though the team had two more members than the school’s minimum member amount and had a figure in an adviser role, it lacked a constitution.
Jackson, who became a co-leader by Fischer’s approval before the constitution was polished, said the hardest part of pushing for organization status was “making it a priority to get things done.” She said the group, as whole, did not make the necessary concerted effort at first due to other interests; most of the current members are part of the figure skating club and tended to focus on those responsibilities more at first.
Now, with most of the constitution and officer issues sorted, the Spirit Skaters are now ready to enter the application and approval process.
Both Ragotzy and Jackson said they looked forward to working with other cheer entities at the University, including the Bleacher Creatures, to encourage school spirit.
“The process will never be finished (for recognition),” Ragotzy said, but added she will look forward to official University approval for the group.
