Members of OSUFSC pose for a group photo. Credit: Courtesy of Cate Rukin
Figure skating is usually an individual sport.
At Ohio State, the sport becomes a shared experience.
Intersecting passion with community, the Ohio State Figure Skating Club offers the chance for people to skate while forming long-lasting bonds with teammates.
“I’ve met some of my closest friends there,” Vinnie DiNatale, a second-year in food business management, said.
Figure skating is a mental sport just as much as it is physical. Discipline is key, especially when working toward competitions.
“[That’s when] skaters see the most success,” Abby Schmitt, OSUFSC team coach, said. “Nobody can want it more than you do.”
As for any sport, when given the proper financial and time commitment, success eventually follows.
To join, the club asks for skaters to have at least a US Figure Skating membership and experience with skating. This could range from learn-to-skate involvements to skating in a qualifying system.
“It’s more of a safety measure,” Zachary Fogt, president of OSUFSC and a third-year in economics, said. “You have to have people who are familiar with what it’s like to skate on freestyle ice.”
Having a broad range of skill across the club means more skaters can represent different events during competitions, such as solo dance or free skate. The former focuses on edge work while the latter emphasizes the techniques of jumps and spins.
“It’s not that we have to have the highest skills to have the team,” Jenny Fogt, advisor of OSUFSC, said. “There’s a place for everybody.”
The skating club consists of two types of teams: competitive and recreational. The fees for skaters depend on their involvement in the club.
Competitive skaters pay $400 for the year. This includes ice time, entry fees, and travel costs. Recreational skaters pay $265 for the year, which covers ice time.
For competitive skaters traveling to different states to compete, the annual costs may vary based on the logistics.
Starting in 2024, OSUFSC faced further travel commitments after US Figure Skating moved all Ohio based collegiate skating teams from the Midwest division to the Southeastern division due to oversaturation of the former region.
“I think collegiate skating is just growing at a very rapid pace,” Zachary Fogt said.
There are three competitions in a collegiate season: two in the spring semester, and one in the fall. Case Western Reserve University and Miami University of Ohio are respectively the final competitions for the 2025-2026 season.
A trip to Nationals is secured if the team places in the top four of their region once the season is complete.
To prepare for these competitions, Schmitt sets a program order for skaters to run through their routines during the team practices held on Tuesday evenings at the Ohio State University Ice Rink.
When not practicing a routine, skaters train individual skills.
“It’s a really good atmosphere for them,” Schmitt said. “Especially [since it acts] as a way to keep skating in college when it can’t be as much of a priority as it was in their childhood.”
The club requires competitive skaters to dedicate at least 2 ? hours of skating per week. Schmitt recommends around four hours, but it ultimately depends on each skater’s goals, she said.
“A good thing about collegiate skating and being a little more pressed for time is that you really learn to be efficient with how you practice,” Fogt said.
Still, most members tend to find a way to get on the ice despite balancing their academics with other responsibilities.
“The positives you gain from the club outweigh the time commitment,” DiNatale said. “The balance would not be there if there wasn’t skating.”
Regardless of the levels of figure skating, all skaters are guaranteed to learn much about themselves and gain meaningful experiences through OSUFSC.
“All of those skills, resiliency and determination are going to pay off,” Fogt said. “It’s a sport for life.”
