Perry Hall Native to Compete in World Synchronized Skating Championships

The 2011 World Synchronized Skating Championships will begin this week in Helsinki, Finland. As a first-time competitor, Aziza Alaoui, couldn't be more excited.

"The day we found out we were going was one of the best days of my life," said Alaoui, 19.

A sophomore at Miami University in Ohio, she grew up near Snyder Lane in Perry Hall and graduated from in 2009. Alaoui has been preparing for this competition since she was 3.

"I basically worked everyday pretty hard my whole life," she said.

She first remembers watching Miami's world class synchronized skating team when she was in elementary school. "I became fascinated," she said. As a child, she pushed herself through rigorous training on and off the ice.

She remembers becoming frustrated that she was unable to compete with stronger teams in areas like Chicago. "I would say, 'Mom, let's move. I can make these teams.'" But said she later realized, "You can't change you whole life, you have to wait for it to come."

Looking back, she misses life in Perry Hall. "It's great being able to walk outside in a safe environment with your family," she said. "I went to a lot of football games, homecoming dances, stuff like that—those are the moments you'll never forget." 

Playing sports at Perry Hall High School, including varsity volleyball, helped prepare her for the rigor of collegiate synchronized skating, Alaoui said.

She compares the sport to geometry on ice. Unlike figure skating, the emphasis is not on the jumps, she said. Intricate footwork, hard turns in close proximity to teammates and difficult lifts help squads advance to national and international competitions.

In teams composed of 15 to 20 young women, coordination is often the biggest challenge, Alaoui said. But large teams also provide a network of support.

"You have a wonderful backbone, you don't have to be out there by yourself," she said. "It's a nice bond."

On March 5, at the U.S. National Championships, the Miami RedHawks won their seventh consecutive national title. The senior team placed second with a silver medal, "the best silver medal I have ever gotten," Alaoui said, and received their blue Team USA jackets.

The upcoming world championships mark the sixth appearance for the RedHawks at the world championships in the last seven years.

Synchronized skating is not an Olympic sport—at least not yet, she said. The world championships, held April 6-9 this year, is synchronized skating's most prestigious competition.

But Alaoui has no intentions of giving up the sport after college. "I want to stay involved in skating for the rest of my life," she said.

Majoring in execrise science, with an emphasis in kinesiology, she plans on going to graduate school and possibly becoming a physician assistant.

It's a misconception that athletes have to sacrifice their academic performance, she said. "I think that when you push yourself on the ice, it also helps you to push yourself in the classroom."