It is a Saturday afternoon, and your friends have decided to attend the roller rink for a fun group activity. You are struggling to skate, trying to balance upon two sets of four wheels while there is nothing but the wall to grab onto. While it seems impossible, there are always professionals taking the rink for a spin. Ordinary skaters look up in awe as they desperately cling to the skinny railing. Two of these astounding pros in the rink are Anne and Liza Boguslavsky. These two talented twins happen to be outstanding artistic roller skaters and our very own Glenbard South students, who returned from the Worlds competition in September.
When the twins were six years old, they received a common Christmas present: two sets of rollerblades. This standard but fun gift would soon pave the way to the highest accomplishment: Worlds. After receiving the gift of their lives, the rest was history.
Training intensely day after day, the twins qualified for the 2022 Worlds competition for artistic roller skating after placing first in a competition in July 2022. With that, the twins were off to Buenos Aires to compete in the competition of their lives. Anne and Liza Boguslavsky represented the best artistic roller skaters of America. This honor is similar to how the United States selects the greatest gymnasts–like Simone Biles or Jordan Chiles–to compete under America’s name in the Olympics. The twins made history, performing in Worlds at just fifteen years old! As for their experience at Worlds, Anne said, “For Worlds, there is a qualifying score and a qualifying placement that individuals and teams have to get in order to go. To go, you have to place either top two or top three depending on the event, and you have to earn that placement with a minimum score, which is determined based on the scores at worlds the past year.” Clearly, so much is at stake during the qualifying process each year.
Unfortunately, artistic roller skating is not a conventional sport offered in high schools across America. However, this definitely does not define it, as artistic roller skating is one of the hardest sports to exist. Elizabeth proved this by describing the rigor of the competition in stating “The actual competition takes place over the course of around two weeks, and includes the top skaters from dozens of countries over the world. The competition can take place pretty much anywhere in the world, and we’ve attended Worlds in Argentina, Colombia, and Italy.” These tireless efforts took a lot of time and dedication, making Anne and Liza’s astounding accomplishment even more remarkable. Go ahead and travel to the roller rink to take a glimpse at the realm where Anne and Liza Boguslavsky thrive and try out their beloved sport for yourself.
