The UCLA club figure skating team exists out of sheer coincidence.

Some team members met through random encounters at Culver Ice Arena. Others met in even more random situations, such as in a Hedrick Summit elevator or through overhearing the words “figure skating” while passing through Covel Commons.

Chance meetings such as these occurred until enough interest was generated to create a team this fall, which now consists of about 12 members.

Even more diverse than their introductions to each other are the backgrounds and origins of these athletes: Third-year communication studies and world arts and culture student Sydney Adams currently tours with Disney on Ice, and first-year bioengineering student and club founder Joey Millet qualified to compete in the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, while second-year biology student Mericien Venzon represented the Philippines in the 2011 World Figure Skating Champions.

Despite the unpredictable foundation of the team and the varied experiences – from competition to showcase – the figure skaters are excited be a part of a team environment.

“The team aspect is what’s most exciting about it, because I’ve never competed on a team,” Venzon said. “Just from my friends from Cal, I hear they really love it, and we’re excited to bring it here.”

Competing as a team will present challenges as well. Because most of the team members have only competed individually, they will have to adapt to a new style of competition known as the team maneuver.

“It’d be pretty cool, because you do it as a team, and each person does some sort of element like a jump or spin, and we’ll place based off of how we perform together while designating parts,” Millet said.

“Learning about teamwork, collaboration,and communication will be interesting. It’s very different just because we’re so used to figure skating being an individual sport,” fourth-year world arts and cultures student Dami Seung added.

Although UCLA won’t be entering any competitions this year, the team will be going head-to-head against other college figure skating programs throughout the nation next year, including California and USC. Competitions will be facilitated through the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

The figure skaters for UCLA mostly practice on their own time at the Culver Ice Arena or at the Toyota Sports Center. Other schools with more established figure skating programs, such as 2010 U.S. Intercollegiate Team Figure Skating national champion University of Delaware, have their own ice arenas.

Although the Bruins missed the chance to compete this year, they are ready to hit the ice when next season comes around.

“So many people come out of state to this particular city just to train,” Seung said. “It’s remarkable that we haven’t had a team yet.”

Although figure skating doesn’t get much press, the sport demands a unique athletic ability seldom seen in other competitions.

A mutual adoration for the sport’s combination of grace and power attracted these Bruins.

“I chose figure skating because it felt the most unique, and because it was a way by which I could express myself artistically but also utilize athleticism,” second-year physiological sciences student Coral Chou said.

The Bruins will not only be promoting their sport to the general student population as a whole, but also to those who are interested in joining the team.

Despite the accolades many of these figure skaters have achieved individually, they are still looking for others to join their small team.

“There are a lot of people that stopped skating in high school, and we’re trying to get them back into it,” Venzon said. “Skating was very high-pressure back then because it was individual, but now we have this team environment that will attract new members.”