Tag Archives: figure skating

“Smile, Shake It, We Love You, Woot Woot!”: A Figure Skating Chant

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Professional Figure Skater/Coach
Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Performance Date: 3/11/19
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

The following is MA’s recollection and interpretation of a common Figure Skating chant.

 

MA details how this popular chant is performed before a figure skater begins their performance at a show or competition. “Smile, Shake It, We Love You, Woot Woot!” is a figure skating chant that younger skaters chant as a group before their friend takes the ice. It is used to give the skater confidence, luck, and support before they perform and to encourage them to put some spunk in their program. The group of skaters who chant this are usually all from the same figure skating club, so it shows a sense of camaraderie and association between the skaters in the club as they support their friend from their club. Likewise, it differentiates them from other figure skating clubs, especially if others say a parody of the chant or use a different tone.

 

MA is used to saying the chant with a brief pause between each part of the chant (there are four parts) and will only say it when she’s with friends. She adds that she would not be confident enough, nor project her voice enough, to yell out the chant by herself. MA says that “even if I go out and do a bad program, at least I know I gave it my all and my friends will always have my back.”

 

My Interpretation:

As a figure skater, I know the isolating feeling of competing or performing under pressure and not having a teammate to rely on. Figure skating is a very independent, individual sport, but with this chant, a skater can still get team-like support. It seems like this chant is pretty mainstream among younger skaters, most likely between the ages of seven and sixteen. It would definitely be surprising to hear it at a bigger event, such as a grand prix competition or at the Olympics, mostly because it is considered slightly immature for older skaters to say. Overall, the chant builds passion for the sport, camaraderie in the group and, in general, lasting friendships between the skaters in the same club through showing/performing their support for a fellow club member.

Figure Skating and Stuffed Animals

Nationality: American
Age: 58
Occupation: Photo Agent
Residence: New York
Performance Date: 4/23/19
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

Interviewer: Can you think of any superstitions or rituals you had when you were figure skating?

Informant: Me? No I wasn’t superstitious at all. I remember other girls that would do stuff. Stuffed animals are a big part of skating culture. Some skaters have one singular stuffed animal that they carry everywhere, throughout their entire career. Sometimes when a skater performs really well at some event, fans will throw their animal onto the ice.

Background: The informant is my mother. She started skating at a very young age when she was growing up in Maine. For her, figure skating was an outlet from a rough home life. She learned of the significance of stuffed animals to figure skating through first-hand experience at her local ice rink. This interview was recorded in person when she came to visit me here at school.

Context: The informant remembers the symbolism of the stuffed animal through continued exposure to high-level figure skating, where it is common-place for fans to throw stuffed animals onto the ice after a successful routine is completed. However, the informant stated that the act of continually carrying around the same stuffed animal is hardly mentioned on TV broadcasts. I did some extra research into this and could not find any info regarding the continued possession of a singular stuffed animal. However, the practice of tossing a stuffed animal onto the ice is widely known, even among those not familiar with the sport of figure skating.

Analysis: I assume there is probably good reason for the relatively low notoriety of this piece of figure skating lore. For one, it is exclusive to high-level figure skaters who are performing in a competitive environment. As such, this tradition hasn’t permeated into the mainstream due to the difficult barriers-to-entry within the figure skating community. The informant stated that fellow skaters would treat their own stuffed animals “like they we’re diamond encrusted”. Off of that, I assume that high-level figure skaters are naturally protective of their totems. If the most prominent members of this community are reluctant to speak on this significance of the stuffed animal to the figure skater, it is difficult anyone to learn of this tradition. I was also curious to see if the informant could remember why one skater would pick a certain animal over another. The informant couldn’t remember exactly but thought the decision was based on personality. If you consider Figure Skating to be a form of artistic communication, which is the consensus, than the significance of the animal combined with the act of throwing stuffed animals on the ice in praise takes on a different meaning. The figure skater chooses a specific stuffed animal that aligns with her identity. When they are performing they are conveying their own identity through their art form, which is figure skating. If done successfully, the audience will then affirm the figure skater’s performance and identity by throwing the same stuffed animal onto the ice in an act of approval.