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Centerville twins in sync  on Miami U skating rink

The Brown twins joined the sport in elementary school and have put their talent to use ever since.

Sarah Brown competes with Miami University's varsity synchronized skating team at the United States National Championships March 5-7, in Portland, Maine. Contributed photos

Contributed photo Sarah Brown competes with Miami University's varsity synchronized skating team at the United States National Championships March 5-7, in Portland, Maine. Contributed photos

ENLARGE PHOTO

Contributed photo Centerville grads (from left) Mellissa Brown and Sarah Brown compete in synchronized skating for Miami University.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Pamela Ferris-Olson, Contributing Writer 8:18 AM Thursday, April 9, 2009

Sarah Brown can skate circles around her twin, Mellissa. Instead, she skates circles and other geometric patterns with Mellissa. The 2007 Centerville High graduates are synchronized skaters at Miami University.

Synchronized skating is a team sport. Sixteen skaters perform precise coordinated movements. It’s similar to what the Radio City Rockettes do, but they perform in skates instead of high heels. Teams perform a short program and a long program, set to music, during competitions.

The Browns, fraternal twins, began skating in elementary school. They were members of Ice Force, a synchronized team sponsored by the Kettering Recreation Complex, for eight years.

“It has always been really nice skating with my sister,” Mellissa said. “We were almost always working on similar skills, and it was nice to have someone to practice with.

“Also, like most sports, figure skating has its own language, and it was nice to always have someone around who understood what I was talking about.”

Both Sarah and Mellissa made the cut when they tried out for Miami’s synchronized skating team, but they perform with different groups. Even so, the sisters practice five to eight hours a week, weight train and dance together.

The work has paid off for them in many ways, and for Sarah it has meant competing at the highest level. Sarah, who is on the university’s varsity team, recently competed in Harbin, China, at the World University Games. Her team placed fourth behind Finland, Sweden and Russia.

“Harbin is known for its snow and ice sculptures,” Sarah said. “We took a tour of the sculptures, and it was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my entire life. It looked like a city made out of ice and was lit up in bright colors.”

Sarah had a week to re- adjust to the 13-hour time difference and catch up on the school work she’d missed before the RedHawks varsity synchronized team left for the United States National Championships. Miami placed first at the national competition held March 5-7 in Portland, Maine.

Mellissa, who was born eight minutes before Sarah, expresses pride in her baby sister’s accomplishments.

“Representing the United States in Harbin, China, at the World University Games was such a great honor,” Mellissa said.

The sisters don’t know how the future will affect their career choices, but both agree they’d like to coach a team some day. Whatever happens, they’ll always share a passion for the sport and each other.

“My sister and I are very close, and I think part of that is because we have shared skating for all these years,” Mellissa said.

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