Laughner builds skating team from scratch over four years

When she first came to IU four years ago, senior Katie Laughner wasn’t ready to lace up her skates and put an end to her competitive skating career that began when she was 2.\nAt the time, IU didn’t have a team. So after attending a seminar on how to start a team, Laughner decided to start her own figure skating team.\n“I wanted to start the team because I had graduated from high school and my real competitive skating career had come to an end,” Laughner said. “But I wasn’t ready to give that up yet. It’s not like other sports where you can go outside and pick up a basketball and shoot hoops. Every time you go skating it takes organization and planning, and ice time isn’t cheap and isn’t available often.”\nNow, four years later, the team has competed for three years at the National Collegiate Competition earning sixth and fourth, and recently matching another fourth place finish.\nThey have also been Midwest Division Champions for the past two years.\nNow Laughner will be graduating and leaving behind a team she started and helped lead to new beginnings.\n“I really hope that this team continues to grow and expand as much as possible,” Laughner said. “I feel as though it has helped a lot of people make the transition from high school to such a large university like Indiana.” \nWhen she arrived at IU, Laughner didn’t start the team immediately. After meeting more girls who seemed to share her interest, Laughner started up the team with only seven members.\nDespite that, the team placed sixth at the first competition and finished fourth in the Midwest. From there, the team has gone from seven members to 24 competitive members, and placing above the top five in the National Competition.\n“We used to beg people to compete in more events just so we could have a chance of getting more points to keep up with the dominant teams,” Laughner said. “Since then we have become the dominant team – everyone looks up to our team and how it is run.”\nLaughner said she loves how the IU team practices every day together, travels together and forms friendships outside of just the rink. She said most teams don’t have that aspect, but the IU team does.\n“I also really hope the team remains as close as it has become over the past four years,” Laughner said. “We have formed friendships inside and out of the rink, something I never had before I came to IU.”\nLaughner said that despite the team being the youngest on the national circuit, other teams already look up to them. The IU team skates on the ice to earn points and uses strategy to get ahead, Laughner said, but the team skates and does well because of the fun it has.\nWhile the team practices and works hard during the season, Laughner said the team is “all just typical college students.” \nThe team typically practices Sunday through Thursday during the late hours, and weekends are filled with competitions. \nThe team receives a small amount of money from the University, but other than that, it is privately funded, Laughner said. \n“We are able to work and succeed as a team because we share the common love of skating,” Laughner said. “This team wouldn’t be as successful as it is today without the commitment that every team member has made to this team and the sport as a whole.”