Sectionals run through Thursday, Nov. 10 with approximately 300 skaters performing. Singles and pairs events are scheduled throughout the day with participants ranging in skill levels of juvenile, intermediate and novice.

Two Michigan State students, math sophomore Catie Glascott and physiology freshman Baleigh Costello, competed in senior women’s events on Tuesday and will compete again on Thursday. 

Glascott and Costello are also members of MSU’s Figure Skating Team. Glascott has been skating since she was a child and joined the team as a freshman.

“That was something I was looking for in school,” Glascott said. “I knew I wanted to join the team … so I was looking for it at Sparticipation.”

Costello is in her first year on the figure skating team and started skating at three years old. Growing up in the East Lansing area, Costello said she was familiar with the team prior to attending MSU.

“I knew a lot of the girls that came in last year, and they're standing at our rink and I got to talk to them,” Costello said. “I just knew I wanted to be in the same area and with the same people that I knew.”

Both Glascott and Costello are not participating in the competition through MSU’s figure skating team, but rather through their individual hometown clubs. 

Skating is more of a hobby for Glascott now that she’s in college, but said she practiced the sport more when she was younger. 

“When I was in high school and in middle school I was skating 20 hours a week," Glascott said. "Here in college, I’m skating five to 10 hours a week. It's not a lot."

Following the figure skating team’s practice Sunday night, Glascott said she prepared for her events by running through her program, which is up to four minutes long. Glascott performed the shorter program on Tuesday and will perform the longer program on Thursday. 

“I had to do a lot of endurance training, so running and just running those programs all the time … just skating a lot,” Glascott said. “It's just a big competition and I've always wanted to compete in it. … I'm just looking to have fun, because I know I'm not going to qualify for nationals.”

This is Costello’s second time participating as she was part of the junior level of the competition in 2019. 

“I'm definitely not skating as much as I did and not as seriously,” Costello said. “Last year, I would have taken this so seriously and worked really, really hard, but this year is just about being where I can be and throwing up what (score) I feel like.”

The competition runs through Thursday afternoon and spectators can purchase tickets at the door for $15 per day. Events can also be streamed online.

All about the Michigan State figure skating team

The Michigan State Figure Skating Team is composed of about 50 members of all skill levels who practice once a week on Sunday nights.

“We have people who are putting skates on for the first time this year, all the way up to sectional competitors, so it's a really good range,” Neuroscience junior and team president Sydni Nikolai said. “We have skaters put in hours every week, and we have skaters who come in and skate for an hour, once a week. So it's very self driven.”

Members participate in three competitions annually against about 25 universities in the Midwest region. Most recently, they competed at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, placing sixth out of 21 schools. 

“We'll skate at these collegiate competitions individually, but represent Michigan State University, so that's a really fun opportunity to skate for your school,” Nikolai said. “We have two more coming up, one at Western Michigan University and one at Trine University. … If we place in the top three in our region, we qualify for nationals which is at UCLA, which would be super, super fun.”

Nikolai said skating is a way to stay active for people of all ages and skill levels. She added students should join the team for the opportunity to represent MSU at competitions, as not everyone has the opportunity to do so. 

“It's a great way to meet people," Nikolai said. "I personally met my best friends on the team. It's just a good way to stay on the ice for these competitive skaters who have skated their whole life and want to continue to skate in college.”