Following a season of ups and downs, the Texas All Stars, including two Redhawks athletes, sophomore Athena Tseng and freshman Karina Grokhovskaya, are gearing up for their nationals synchronized ice skating competition Saturday and Sunday in Orlando, Fl.

“Our competitions usually include two different events, one shorter program and one longer program,” Grokhovskaya said. “We usually compete against the other rinks around us.”

While this is not the team’s first competition of the year, COVID-19 has placed restraints on the groups ability to assess their competition before taking the ice.

“I don’t really know what to expect,” Tseng said. “The teams we are going against, other than the teams we competed with at state, we haven’t seen before so I’m not too sure of how our levels will compare.”

However, this will not be a typical competition for Tseng as she suffered a concussion in her final practice before nationals.

“My injury shouldn’t affect my performance too much just because it is not a lot of spins or jumps, it is more focused on footwork,” Tseng said.

As the team concludes final preparations, they acknowledge that the experience will be worth far more than any numerical place they could receive. 

“I think it will just be about the experience and getting to travel with your team,” Tseng said. “It won’t really matter if we win or lose because we will still have had a great opportunity.”

Coach Kim Hansen is excited to see all that her team accomplishes both on and off of the ice.

“I want them to feel empowered that they are an important part of a team,” Hansen said. “That their presence is vital and that they add to the success of the team as a whole.  This experience is different than being part of a group of friends as it carries a specific goal and while these girls are friends, they are also coworkers, colleagues, and teammates.”