Being part of a niche sport such as figure skating has its pros and cons. One of the cons being the lack of recognition from high schools as an organized sport. Lindsay Malkin and Demi Madden didn't like the sound of that so they created the Spartan Skaters. 

The two have been figure skaters since they were three-years-old and wanted to continue through high school and still be a part of Glenbrook North. They reached out to their principal two years ago and solicited interest securing a team coach and team managers. Coach Meredith Eisen was a former skater at the Northbrook ice rink and a former Glenbrook North poms member.

"We really wanted to be a part of GBN somehow, but skating takes up so much time," said Madden. "We came up with this idea because we wanted to be a part of our high school and still play our sport." 

What exactly do the Spartan Skaters do? According to Madden, it's a cheer/poms team on ice. Raising awareness wasn't necessarily easy either but according to Malkin things have been going pretty well.

"People weren't really sure what it was," she said. "They didn't know what we did and now that they have seen our routines they think its' really cool and look forward to our performances."

The team consists of 12 figure skaters who attend Glenbrook North. They have four routines and perform at most home varsity hockey games.

Anyone attending Glenbrook North can try out and as their team continues to grow, the girls hope they can influence other schools to start a skating team. 

"We're hoping that other parents and teams that come to the games will see it and think maybe they can get their school to start something too," said Malkin.