I’ve been introducing In The Loop to real life acquaintances and random relatives as ‘the figure skating podcast I’m making with 22 strangers from all around the world that I met on the internet.’
I’m getting used to the double-take I get.
In The Loop started in the fast-moving chaos of a Telegram group chat, made up of figure skating fans from all over the world who became friends on Twitter.
The podcast was born through a shared desire for more from this niche and underrated sport: meatier discussion on topics like media accessibility (as we scrambled for online Olympic streams at 2AM in the morning), judging, gender and race bias; these are topics that aren’t necessarily new in the figure skating community but that we noticed have not been frequently articulated or discussed by its media. There was also a desire for more voices to be a part of the conversation, especially from members in smaller countries without much established figure skating infrastructure or media coverage. We also wanted to help other new fans navigate the often intimidating process of educating themselves on figure skating lore. We wanted something new, fresh and international.
The good thing about a gigantic group chat of international fans is that everyone has different expertises, speak multiple languages and someone is always online at all hours of the day.
Within two weeks of frenzied planning - powered mostly by enthusiasm and a fair amount of sleep deprivation - we had a Cast subscription, gorgeous graphics created by Gabb, an Evie editing the first episode and a transcript team trying to tell the difference between Evie and Lae’s Aussie-accented voices. Suddenly the podcast had meat, claws and teeth, and it’s been growing ever since.
I don’t think any of us could have anticipated how quickly this project would snowball. From a few dot point ideas to planning, writing, researching, and coordinating on a regular basis, this has become so much bigger than the offhand joke that started it, but we are committed to making this podcast as polished and professional as it can be. We have a lot to learn, a lot in the works as the 2018-2019 figure skating season kicks off and we hope you’ll join us on this journey.
The team at In The Loop volunteers their time, energy and own money towards this podcast and paying for running costs. This website, however, has been partly funded by the support of generous donors. We are incredibly grateful to them, and to everyone who leaves us kind comments and constructive feedback. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us on Ko-fi.