Major Events in 5 Year Club History

December 10, 1997
Zagreb Snowflakes Synchronized Skating Club (Klub sinkroniziranog klizanja «Zagrebačke pahuljice») was founded on the initiative of Danica Jurković, President of the Croatian Skating Federation, after two years of being a section of the Zagreb Skating Federation and its informal participation at the Zagreb Championship held on February 21, 1997. Since the very first day, Kristina Blat has been the team's coach. We are not exactly thirlled about our club name, although we must admit, it "doesn't sound all that bad" in English…

December 27, 1997
We bought our first "real" skates from the funds of the ISU development programme. Twenty-four pairs … We are no longer "barefoot"…

March 13, 1998
We took part in an ice show "Fairy Tale on the Ice," in which 50 skaters participated and which was seen by some ten thousand pupils in its three shows. We "earned" our first blue-and-white dresses… We are no longer "naked" …

March 21, 1998
We received more equipment, rejoicing at leggings, T-shirts and track suits bearing the club logo.

March 27, 1998
Our enthusiasm, dedication and marked team spirit on and off the ice "charmed" the high ISU official Brita Lindgren during her inspection visit to Croatia …

May 2, 1998
Our two novice teams participated at the Zagreb Championship and won their first medals. The best team, "Ice Cats," took gold, while the "Sparks" won a silver medal … We are still too young to make a junior team because only five girls are older than fourteen …

November 4, 1998
For the first time, the junior and novice teams participated in the same event - at the opening of a new skating hall at the Zagreb Fair. Dina Vlahov, the team captain, led the juniors, while the novices were led by Kristina Radaš.

November 12, 1998
We got beautiful Elan winter jackets and caps bearing the club logo. We are no longer cold …

November 29, 1998
For eight days we worked as hostesses at the World Junior Skating Championships in Zagreb, went to school, and in the end took part in the exhibition. We skated in front of four thousand spectators and showed them the beauty of synchronized skating still unfamiliar to all of them.

December 19, 1998
We are Croatian champions for the first time, as juniors. For the first time we took part in the short and free skating program, wearing our white dresses for the first time.

December 30, 1998
The 1999 club pocket calendar was published.

January 22-24, 1999
Our club successfully organized the ISU seminar for judges and coaches. While the club leadership was delighted with the praises for the organization, which were given by Monique Georgelin, a commissioner from France, we were delighted with the joint training with the seniors, a tream in the top ten, the Hungarians from the Neptadion Esma … Everything was great. We skated and listened to lectures in English alongside judges and coaches, while our moms made coffee, sandwiches and served cakes.

February 10, 1999
Prior to our first trip abroad, each junior got a calling card.

February 13, 1999
At one of the major European competitions, the Spring Cup in Milan, we did not embarrass ourselves, even though we placed twelfth (last). The Italian judge awarded us the eleventh place for the short program … We made many new friends, especially with the South African "Sun Things" and "Rainbow" teams. Participating in the final sound and light spectacle on ice, along with six hundred skaters from all over the world, will be remembered by everyone for the rest of their lives.

February 20, 1999
Although our memories of Italy were still vivid, we were already in Hungary. At the Hungarian Championship in Szekesfehervar, the juniors placed third and the novices (7 to 11 year-olds), who were very excited about their first trip with coaches instead of their moms, placed sixth …

April 29, 1999
We passed the fifth synchronized skating test.

May 15, 1999
At the annual club assembly the president told us: "Train as hard as you have trained so far and in 2001 you will go to Orlando!" Orlando!? Is it possible? … He took us by surprise, and we hadn't yet recovered from the shock before he reeled off again: "In the past season, during nine and a half months, you had one hundred and thirty-seven trainings, you trained for two hundred hours and spent one hundred and nineteen hours on the ice" … The club has forty-eight members, thirty-four juniors and novices together and four coaches. Sara Perl and Danka Pivac joined Tina and her assistant Ivana Petljak …

August 16, 1999
Lying on the beach is over. We are back in Zagreb, ready for the new season in which we shall be the Croatian junior team. At the first meeting we got T-shirts, bags and beautiful track suits bearing the club and state emblems.

August 24 - September 4, 1999
We learned the true meaning of summer preparations! After taking part in the seven-day ISU camp in the Hungarian Agard and Szekesfehervar, we spent four days with the famous "Esma" coach, Ilona Berecz-Vedres, and our coach Tina, putting together the programs for the upcoming season. We would get up before five o'clock to be on the ice at six … Our new friend, choreographer Mihaly Mishi Kiss showed us how important and interesting off-ice choreography is… Ana Nekić was elected our captain for the season.

September 6, 1999
Sandra Pavičić became the new coach of the youngest "Snowflakes".

September 23, 1999
We opened the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Zagreb with our new short program, clad in the new, orange dresses.

November 7, 1999
Again we took part again in the Golden Spin exhibition. Our performance was broadcast live on TV, for the first time, and four thousand of Zagreb's inhabitants saw our mascot, the big, sweet mouse named Diddle, specially delivered from Vienna …

December 19, 1999
After the Zagreb Championship, we loudly celebrated the club's second anniversary in the dressing room. We won as many as forty-three gold medals and deserved a big cake indeed … This season the junior team has eighteen skaters. Our two novice teams skated their respective programs for the first time.

January 21, 2000
We contributed to the success of the event celebrating 125 years of skating in Croatia.

January 22, 2000
We were national champions again …

February 5, 2000
We were the main attraction at the ice show in Sisak, a town some 50 km from Zagreb. It was our first official participation at an outdoor skating rink.

February 8, 2000
We have the club badge!

February 12, 2000
At the Spring Cup in Milan, we skated our short program in our new blue dresses. The Italian judge awarded us the eleventh place and three out of seven judges awarded us the thirteenth place among fourteen teams. The American judge rated our free skating with the twelfth place. In the end we ranked last, but our marks were considerably higher than a year ago… The Canadians from the "Ice Image" and "Ice Infinity" teams and the Czecks from the "M-Style" team were our loud and ardent supporters throughout the competition. We gave away many gingerbread hearts, symbols of our town, and made many new friends, especially from Canada and the United States …

February 19, 2000
At the Hungarian Championship in Szekesfehervar, the juniors won third place and the novices won fourth. What's even more important is that one judge awarded first place to the juniors for their short program, while the average mark for the free was 4.0. During dinner, the first club badges were officially presented to skaters with twenty-five performances as club members. Zrinka Kovačević got the first badge, along with nine other girls whose twenty-fifth performance would be the following day: Azra Delić, Iva Grilec, Ivana Ilić, Sarah Ivanković, Edita Lukić, Mateja Mahnić, Lana Orban, Dina Vlahov and Petra Vujaković. Coach Tina Blat received the badge as well …

March 19, 2000
Two "Snowflake" novice teams took part at the national championship for the first time.

March 25, 2000
The club leadership and parents held the first meeting about the trip to Orlando (January 4-6 2001). Everyone is for it!

April 10, 2000
There was a report about our club on the Croatian Television.

April 17, 2000
We passed the fourth synchronized skating test.

June 2, 2000
We have our competition! We found out that the ISU has included in its 2000/2001 calendar the first Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy, planned to be held from February 16-18, 2001.

June 7, 2000
There is no doubt: we are going to Orlando! In the presence of some one hundred club members, skaters and parents, it was confirmed at the annual club assembly … Our endeavours in the 1998/1999 season were "summed up": in nine months the juniors trained for two 262 hours, the novices 159 hours; in eight months the juniors trained on ice 164 hours, the novices 96 hours!

August 7, 2000
Although the temperature outside was +35o C, ice replaced the beach. At the summer camp in our hall, cooperating with Ilona Berecz-Vedres, Mishi Kiss, Tina and Danka, we put together both programs for the upcoming season. We trained twice a day, and in total spent 75 hours in the hall in fifteen days. We trained despite bloddy blisters - just grit our teeth and endured it … When the classes begin there will be less time and less ice-time, and we cannot disgrace ourselves in Orlando … Ana Nekić is again elected as the team captain …

November 12, 2000
Once again we opened the Zagreb Golden Spin exhibition. There was a live coverage on TV … Vesna Biljak, Ivana Mahnić and our captain, Ana Nekić, were awarded the badge for the jubilee, the twenty-fifth performance with the "Snowflakes" …

December 17, 2000
We are national champions again, and have celebrated our third club anniversary. Already excited, we pack slowly for the trip to Orlando. Although we are snowflakes, we hope we will not look as if we fell from the sky when we arrive to the Waterhouse…

December 23, 2000
We received an original Christmas present: the first club publication. On its eight pages the publication shows our photographs, the number of performances as club members, a summary of the most important events in the club's history… We will no longer have to explain who and what we are. And since it's written in English, we are truly ready for Orlando… Thank you to Renato Branđolica for excellent photos and to Morana Kukec for the marvellous visual-arts in the publication.

January 2, 2001
We have just entered the new millenium, and have already gone on a "trip from dreams:" Orlando, USA. We took the bus to Vienna, and then flew to the town everyone wants to see via Frankfurt and Wahington. The truth is, people want to see it for Disney World, Seaworld, Universal Studios, Island of Adventures…not that much because of skating. We were going there for both!…

January 6, 2001
We finished twelfth out of twelve, but we didn't embarrass ourselves. Our marks ranked from 3.0 to 4.0. The applause coming from some five thousand people was thunderous and the competition gave you chills: four US teams, four Finnish teams, three Canadian teams, and - us!…

January 10, 2001
What the guys would give to be in our shoes now! We're at the Waterhouse Centre again (17,000 seats! Wow!) across from "our" Hotel Marriot, in the hall where we skated. We're sitting in the last row on the bleachers, the ice is covered with parquet, and on the parquet an NBA game: Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs!…

February 10, 2001
We were first for the first time! Skating outdoors, in Hungary, at the Frost-Work Cup in Miskolc! We were better than best junior team from Hungary, the competition host "Jegvirag" ("Frost Work"), "Kek Holda" ("Blue Moon") from Szombathely, the Romanians from Brasova ("Edelweiss") and the German "butterflies" ("Les Papillons") from Germering… Our novice team did great as well; they placed second to much older "penguins" ("Pingvinek") from Szekesfehervar, but in front of "Blue Moon" ("Kek Hold"), "Frost Work" ("Jegvirag") and "Zuzmara" from Kazincbarcik!…

February 17, 2001
The day finally arrived: the ISU sycnhronized skating competition on our ice, in Zagreb, in Dom Sportova!… There were nine teams, juniors and novices, altogether, 130 skaters from Italy, Hungary and Croatia. This was our first international competition and performance with three participating teams!…

February 18, 2001
The trophy is staying with us! The junior "Snowflakes" won! "Ice Crystals" from Varese, the third team at the Italian championship, followed, with "Frost Work" behind them, and "Ladin's Girl" from Canazei (Italy) and "Blue Moon" followed. Our novice teams, "Zagreb Snowflakes" and "Ice Cats" were third and fourth, following an Italin team "Big One" from Trent i "Pingvinek," the Hungarian champions. Everything ended in our usual way: with a party hosted by our parents, the volunteers, who had perfectly organized the competition. "Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy"delighted Marie Lundmark, the president of the ISU Technical Committee for synchronized skating, and her numerous spoken and written praises inspired our club and federation to nominate Zagreb for the 2004 World Synchronized Skating Championships…

February 25, 2001
We're first again! For the third time in one month! After Miskolc and Zagreb, we won in Szekesfehervar! We are first at the Hungarian championships, better than "Frost Work" "Blue Moon" and the team from Pecuh. Our novices did great as well; they were second out of five Hungarian teams. Upto now we have been learning from the Hungarians, but now their students are becoming their role models.

March 11, 2001
At the Zagreb Champonship we were traditionally up against ourselves. But after the international "hat-trick," this gold shined more brightly. A record of 47 skaters in three teams, one junior and two novices, won medals.

March 17, 2001
We're tenth in the world! At the first junior World Challenge Cup in Neuchatel, Switzerland we placed in front of Great Britain ("Ice Metrics"), Hungary ("Frost-Work"), The Czeck Republic ("Balance") and The Netherlands ("Sweet Lake Pearls"). Only 39 months and seven days ago we held a meeting to found the club!

March 25, 2001
While the juniors were climbing the world ranks, the novices were becoming popular in Croatia. Among numerous television reports about our club, one was shown in a popular children's show which airs on Sundays - "Dizalica".

April 23, 2001
We passed the third synchronized skating test and said good bye to junior competitions. Next season we will be the youngest senior team in Europe.

May 28, 2001
We received two sets of new dresses from Canada - a new donation "Skate Canada" for a new senior image in the 2001/2002 season.

June 9, 2001
We closed the most successful season in the club's history with the annual meeting. Zoran Kovačević was unanimously voted president for the next four years. Krešimir Ivanković, Danica Lilić, Darko Mahnić, Slavica Milić, Marija Radaš and Branko Vujaković were voted to be in the executive committee. Of course, Darko Mahnić remained the club's secretary, Davorin Orban the president of the cechnical committee, and Jasmina Biljak the treasurer. Very pleased with ourselves, we received the ISU pins for passing the third synchronized skating test. Training nine months for a total of hours (juniors), and hours (novices), and hours (juniors) and hours (novices) on ice, surely paid off.

June 15, 2001
The ISU called: Zagreb will be hosting the 2004 World Senior Championship in Synchronized Skating!!! Can that really be? Is it true? Few hoped that Zagreb would get it in the first nomination, regardless of all the superlatives for the organization of the "Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy." We were so happy, and so proud. The World Championship only three and a half years after the formal beginning of this sport in Croatia! Only three and a half years after the founding of the club! Thank you all who have supported us!

June 28, 2001
We also have the junoir 2002 World Challenge Cup!!! It is to be held from March 7-9, 2002, together with the "Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy." Some 30 junior and senior teams with about 800 skaters from all over the world will gather in Zagreb. It will be an exhibition on ice and probably the biggest skating competition (as far the number of skaters is concerned) ever to be held in Europe. We will try our best to skate well and to be even better hosts.

August 15-29, 2001
From the beginning again! We were on the ice for five hours a day, in mid-summer. Now, for the first time, as seniors… Ilona Berecz-Vedres is with us again, from morning to night. We said good bye to junior performances, and our best novice team had for the first time felt the pains and wonders of a summer camp. Sara Perl rejoined the team after a year's pause - she was too old to be a junior the previous season. There are 24 seniors: nine university students and 15 high school students, and 13 who have been in the club since its first day. Ana Nekić is again chosen to be the captain.

November 8, 2001
We opened the 34th Golden Spin of Zagreb, this year the qualifying figure skating competition for the Oympic Games in Salt Lake City. For our first senior performance we received an applause from Croatian President Stjepan Mesić and President of the Croatian Oympic Committtee dr. Zdravko Hebel.

November 11, 2001
We skated at the Golden Spin exhibition. The long and loud applause by some four thousand spectators and the praises given by the commentator in the live and very effective TV coverage which was seen by more than half a million people, gave us another encouragement for a season full of new challenges. After exceptional results in our junior season 2000/2001, an intense senior competition awaits us: the Frost-Work Cup in Miskolc, the Spring Cup in Milan, the Snowflakes Trophy in our city of Zagreb and the world championship in France at the beginning of April…

November 25, 2001
For the first time, the novice team went to a competition by themselves (ie. without the juniors). In Olomouc, in the Czeck Republic, tired and excited, they placed fourth (last), behind three Czeck teams. Despite all that, it was a successful initiation… One judge placed them second, and one in third place…

December 22, 2001
Croatia has senior synchronised skating champions for the first time. The "Snowflakes" celebrated their first senior gold and the club's fourth birthday at the annual party. The first edition of a big wall calendar with all the club members was a unique Christmas present for 63 skaters and their parents. Everyone was pleased with the party which took place at the arena…

January 19, 2002
We published the new club year book in 16 coloured pages, photos of all our teams, a mini-poster of our club members, all our results and the most important events in club history… Many thanks to our excellent photographer Renato Brandolica and designer Morana Kukec.

January 27, 2002
Zrinka Kovacevic is the first skater with 50 performances for the "Snowflakes." Along with a gold medal awarded at the Zagreb Championship, she also received the traditional club badge for her 50th performance.

January 29, 2002
We also got a new web-site! Gifts, gifts, gifts…

February 3, 2002
We cried our first tears of disappointment caused by the judges' bias and the "stolen" first place at the Frost-Work Cup in Miskolc. At our first international performance as seniors, we were by far the best, but placed only second to the Hungarian team Black Rose, which apparently was destined to win. "Injustice is also a part of sport. It's something which also needs to be experienced, gotten over… You are better than the Hungarian team and you will soon have a chance
to prove it at the big competitions, in front of impartial judges," the club president tried to console the disappointed girls. It's not easy breaking our spirit, and the Snowflakes found a reason to celebrate: Ivana Ilic, Sarah Ivankovic, Mateja Mahnic, Lana Orban and Edita Lukic received badges for their 50th performances…

February 10, 2002
More new stuff: we got a new club pin - three snowflakes on skates. We like it and know the other teams will too…

February 17, 2002
We are 12th after the short program and placed13 out of 16 teams at the biggest European competition, Spring Cup in Milan. We beat Sydney Ice Impressions from Australia, Ice Cubes from Iceland, and what's most important, we beat Black Rose from Hungary. But that was only the beginning of our "getting even" with Hungarians for the injustice in Miskolc… During dinner, just before heading back home, Azra Delic, Iva Grilec, Petra Vujakovic, Ivana Mahnic and Dina Vlahov were given badges for their 50th performance…

March 8 and 9, 2002
We have become a part of world synchronized skating history thanks to our organizational abilities. We were hosts of the second World Challenge Cup for juniors and of the second Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy for seniors where twenty-five teams participated - 600 skaters from 17 countries all over Europe, North America and Australia. The patron of the competition, which was closely covered by different media, was the Croatian Olympic Committee, and the president of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic, received members of the Organizing Committee… Our seniour were second out of four teams - Shooting Stars from Germany were in first place, but the Snowflakes beat Team Synchr-On-Ice from Hungary and Les Nereides from Switzerland… Mrs. Marie Lundmark, president of the ISU Technical Committee for Synchronized Skating, wrote a letter to the club's president and to the Organizing Committee, pointing out the competition's excellent organization and her delightment with more than a 100 volunteers who truly love this sport and who helped to make it all happen…

March 10, 2002
Hooray for Croatian Television! It aired a great half-hour report on the competition during prime time…

April 7, 2002
Twenty-eight novices (two teams in two categories) became Croatian champions…

April 12 and 13, 2002
This is our first World Championships as seniors in Rouen, France. We were 19 after the short program, ahead of Australia, The Netherlands, Hungary, Iceland and Belgium, but 20 after the long (the Australian team jumped ahead of us). We were pleased, though. Extremely pleased! We were also thrilled about the news of Anu Jaaskelainen, the world's leading coach and coach of Marigold Ice Unity, the Finnish national team and the new world champions, coming to coach us during the summer. Our club president Zoran Kovacevic and team-manager Davorin Orban closed the deal on the night of the Finns' great celebration, who were also staying at "our" hotel. Good job!…

April 15, 2002
First serious injury in our club history during the first practice after our return from France - Paola Kolar broke her leg… Hospitalization, surgery on the same night, long recovery… But Paola took it all well and came back in the summer, albeit with "screws" and metal plates in her leg…

May 10, 2002
The first "official" proof that we are not just skaters, but good-looking skaters… Sarah Ivankovic took part in the finals of Croatian Miss Athlete pageant…

May 18, 2002
At our sixth annual club assembly, in a hall filled with skaters and parents, we proudly quoted the ISU synchro-leaders who said that we are "among few European teams who are making extremely quick progress." We also stressed that our sport was finally becoming recognized and appreciated by figure skaters, and that even hockey players had started saying - get this - that synchronised skating is a real sport! Once again we were fascinated by what seemed to be mere statistics of the 2001/2002 season: senior skaters spent 323 hours training in nine months - 184 were spent on ice, 46 hours in dance class and the rest on stretching, warming up and strength excercises… The Novice A team trained 161 hours - 101 on ice - while Novices B and C trained 130 hours - 87 on ice… Now we know why we're getting better and better…

May 20, 2002
We started working with a to be the fastest Croat in 100 meter sprint and a professional in conditioning trainer, Dejan Vojnovic, who happens conditioning training. From now on, he's also a part of our team…

August 6, 2002
It's summer, everyone is swimming in the sea, and we're swimming in sweat… Summer camp has already started…

August 11, 2002
In a secret ballot, Mateja Mahnic was elected the new team captain…

August 13 to 23, 2002
Eleven unforgettable days with Anu Jaaskelainen… While others were tanning on beaches, we were the ones who were really enjoying ourselves - even though we trained five hours a day!… Working with Anu was great, wonderful, unforgettable,… We were a bit "worried and scared" upon hearing she is tough and strict on ice, but all our fears soon disappeared and it soon seemed that she was friend we had known for years. We put together both our programs for the upcoming season in no time (the short to "Boogie" and the long to the "Robin Hood" soundtrack). Our best novice team also worked with Anu every day… Hopefully she'll come again next summer…

December 21, 2002
Three huge events in one day! First, Renato Brandolica photographed all the teams, now with 85 skaters, for the new club yearbook and 2003 calendar. Then we skated the "Boogie" at the Croatian Nationals in our brand new dresses, which were the first ones designed by one of the "Snowflakes," Zrinka Kovacevic. And after all that, we celebrated the club's fifth birthday at our traditional pre-Christams party, around a wealthy buffet table, served by twenty of our moms, in the middle of which was a huge cake with our club logo… Each skater received a Christmas present, and the world's best secretary, Darko Mahnic, surprised everyone with his Santa Claus appearance. At first, not even skaters Mateja and Ivana Mahnic recognized him - his own daughters…

December 22, 2002
We are Croatian champions for the fifth time, and the second time as seniors…

December 23, 2002
Our novices took part in the opening of a new skating rink in Karlovac - a town 50 km from Zagreb, where they were a sensation…

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