Ocean State Ice Theatre, which includes athletes from Barrington, earned the silver medal at the Nations’ Cup International Figure Skating Competition held in Epinal, France recently.  

Nations’ Cup is held every two years in various host countries and teams are selected in four divisions from across the globe. This year, the field included strong international theatre on ice teams representing France, Russia, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Mexico and Australia.  

OSIT competed at Nations’ Cup in the novice division. The novice team is comprised of 20 skaters ranging in ages from 8 to 17 — only 16 skaters were permitted to compete at Nations’ Cup due to the strict age restrictions. This presented unique challenges for the squad of 20 as they had to adapt two routines for the international stage. 

The first day of competition included the choreographic exercise, a technically rich skating routine set to the fast-paced music of Bollywood. Teams are required to present a number of technical movements upon which they are judged. This year the programs had to include mirroring and percussive movements, while also performing jumps, spins, lifts, and ensemble skating.   

At the close of the first day of competition, OSIT was solidly in second place ahead of the Russian team from Moscow and behind the US team from Boston. 

During the second day of competition, OSIT skated its theatrical long program, a nearly 5-minute program which retells the tragic story of a fateful day in Joplin, Missouri when a tornado ripped through the town taking the lives of 161 people. After the final team skated and the scores were tallied, OSIT had earned second place at the international competition, a six position leap from its eighth place finish in 2017.

Barrington team members included Barrington High School freshman Santina Jacques and Hampden Meadows School fifth-grader, Iris Yang. Jacques and Yang, were proud to represent Team USA and share in the team’s collective accomplishment on an international platform.  

Both teammates will travel with the team to Pelham, Ala. for Theatre on Ice US Nationals in late June where they will compete with top TOI teams from across the United States. The team continues to train and prepare for nationals at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Mass., and at Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket.