The Shades of Synchronized Skating: Avery Diary #4

by Avery Clark

I can’t believe a year has passed since I last competed. My skate bag sits idly by waiting for its next trip to the rink, as do I. It looks like our region could be heading back to the rink soon, still with many restrictions, such as only 10 on the ice at one time etc. It’s a start and I will consider it a win! 

I left you last month with a bit of a challenge and that was to ‘skate a mile in their skates’. I hope you accepted that challenge and considered what your ‘tights’ (hairpiece, dress etc.) would mean to someone who is a different skin colour than you. 

As I have spent most of my time considering tight colour, given this project of course; I chose to take a different approach and set my competition lipsticks on the table in front of me. Yes, you are correct, I have saved every lipstick since my very first juvenile competition! It’s a sentimental thing, I guess! As I considered how my lipstick shades would appear on girls of various skin tones, it was apparent that every shade would appear very differently on each girl. So it got me thinking and giggling a bit, why would a synchro team use the same shade of lipstick for all 20 skaters when the shade may look so different on each skater? 

Tight colour or lipstick colour, or whatever your “skate a mile in their skates” symbol was, it is apparent that we need to step outside the box, learn from and celebrate our differences and remember that it is our skating skill that should be in sync, not our skin tones. 

At this point, I think I have done a pretty good job at avoiding the subject of who I am and how my differences have affected me. I am not at all comfortable talking about myself, but I think the overall goal here is to learn to talk about uncomfortable things until they become comfortable to talk about. It is also important for me to share a little bit more of myself so maybe it will help you relate better with me. 

I was born in Toronto and I attended my first 3 years of elementary school in a class where I was one of the ‘whitest’ kids. After grade 1, we moved back to my mothers hometown and I entered grade 2, in a class where every student was white except 2 spanish students and 1 black student (that was me). Being half white and half black, I never considered myself one or the other but it was apparent at each school what I was. I don’t ever remember being treated any differently from 

one school to the other, however I can’t help but think that my differences and experiences may have contributed to my personality at the time. I recall in my early elementary years and my first synchro year, that I was extremely quiet and shy. My teacher’s feedback without fail, was always 

the same as Coach Alyson’s “I would like to see Avery participate more with her class/teammates.” My shyness (maybe insecurities) had me sitting back waiting for others to take the lead. Sometimes, this meant I felt left out whether it be at school or at synchro practice. I would share these moments with my mom and her consistent reply was,“Well that’s too bad Avery, so what did you do to make it better for yourself?” In other words, if your classmate or teammate didn’t ask you to play, did you ask them? 

She still uses this strategy on me today when she feels I need it. Sometimes I roll my eyes at her and finish her question for her. I get it though, it’s learning to take that feeling you have and

turning it into a “don’t place blame, but place change” mentality. Maybe that is why that shy, introverted girl is now considered a leader in so many respects.