WALKER, Mich. (WOOD) — A group of West Michigan athletes has joined an worldwide push for the International Olympic Committee to add their sport to the Winter Games.

Grand Valley State University’s Synchronized Skating Club is just one team in the United States pushing to see the sport recognized by the IOC. There are currently more than 15 countries around the world with elite competitive teams.

Synchronized skating intertwines a lot of the bells and whistles you find in other Olympic sports. While GVSU’s club team isn’t a worldwide competitor, its athletes still think the sport would be a fan-favorite.

At 6 a.m. Thursday mornings, the GVSU synchronized skaters have their hair pulled back into tight buns and skates laced and ready to go.

Coach Jessica Tuzinowski was tuning up tiny details of this year’s routine when 24 Hour News 8 dropped in on practice. They glided across the ice in pairs, on one leg and gracefully made risky pass-throughs called “intersections.”

“I try not to make silly faces during [the intersections],” said GVSU sophomore Nicole Grover.

Tuzinowski is a lifelong member of the sport. She skated for the Hockettes for a while. It’s the Ann Arbor-based team that once started the sport in the 1950s.

The group of GVSU students attended multiple regional competitions this year. They told 24 Hour News 8 that they are still wowed watching elite teams compete internationally.

However, they’re ready to see the sport gain Olympic recognition; and they’re not alone. There are loud calls for the IOC to add synchronized skating to the docket, especially online.>>Inside woodtv.com: Complete Pyeongchang Winter Olympics coverage

“#WhyNotSynchro,” Tuzinowski explained, “There are huge movements at international competitions. There is also a movement — ‘one team’ movement — that started in Canada. They sell shirts, they are on Instagram, they’re on social media trying to promote our sport because not many people outside of the skating world realize that it’s a thing.”

There will be five new sports competing at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Tuzinowski and her team hope to see they’re sport added to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

—–Online: GVSU Synchronized Skating Club’s Facebook page