Editorial

"I stay at home, they save lives!"


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Team Zoulous in their "Paris" free program. (Credits: Jura Synchro - 2020)

As French skaters are in the middle of their sixth week of lockdown, here's an overview of how Alicia and her Senior team Zoulous facing these troubled times.

After the Spring Cup, my team and I were so pumped! We had just broken three national records, meaning we were qualified for Worlds in Lake Placid. The only thing in our minds was going back to the rink so that we could improve even more. 

But, plot twist, Worlds got cancelled, France got lockdown, I was put on leave at work AND obviously rinks closed.

I would lie if I'd say that I wasn't sad or upset. It got really bittersweet as we approached the dates Worlds were supposed to happen. But life goes on and we had to turn the page!



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Les Zoulous after a conditioning practice at home

We still don't know when we will be able to take the ice again that is why we are practicing via video calls! It feels great to be able to see everyone's faces and even though we are not all under the same time zone, we are all here on time and ready to sweat!

We practice together three times a week and we also stretch and workout on our own. We have one goal to achieve at the end of lockdown: get better spirals! Setting goals and taking pictures is a great way to see progress and motivates us to work even harder!

This kept me really busy, as I created a whole body stretching program for my teammates at the very beginning of lockdown and later created with the help of one of our coaches a specific spiral/flexibility program. I also got to "teach" my teammates and give them my tips.

One tip I can give you is to practice with ankle weights (or even your skates) as it creates instability and builds up your strength!



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Working on my spiral with an ankle weight

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Even though I stay at home, I am not powerless. Recently I've donated money to an organisation fighting the virus in France. The money I would have spent on restaurants or outings with my friends this month I've given to this organisation.

The restaurant I work at also paired with an organisation called "chiefs with healthcare workers" and helped us prepare meals for the people working at a hospital in Lyon. My boss and I went to buy the goods we needed and the next day the 50 meals got delivered. It is the least we can do for our front line heroes. 

Lockdown is also for me a great way to be able to work on video editing (my other passion after synchro). Recently I've put together the videos from this season and my teammates got emotional watching it which was the main goal. If it moved them, it means I did my job!




To end, here is a quote which keeps me in a good mindset during lockdown: "The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine"

Stay positive and safe, everyone. We'll see each other soon on the ice!


Watch the programs of Les Zoulous this season: