Top skaters gather, looking for a match.(The Gazette)

A couple dozen teenagers will take over the World Arena for two days this week, trying desperately to pair up in new relationships.

If the U.S. Figure Skating Association's pairs and dance camp sounds a lot like "The Dating Game" on skates, that's because it is. Romance, however, isn't the goal. USFSA is trying to find on-ice partners for its unattached pairs and dance skaters, so it puts them together for try-outs this Friday through Sunday.

Christine Krall, USFSA's senior director of athlete programs, says it's more like arranging marriages.

"It's a constant challenge to get them together and keep them together," she said. "To be good, the long-term commitment is huge _ six or seven years together. You can imagine the dynamics of that."

Simply attracting skaters to the pairs and dance events is an uphill climb. They are not the glamour events. Young skaters dream of that final spin in the middle of the ice that wins a women's or men's individual medal.

Add in the challenge of maintaining a partnership with another skater and the hill gets even steeper.

For the past three years, USFSA has organized this camp, inviting pairs and dance skaters who have lost partners for one reason or another to help them find a new one. Everyone who attends has agreed to relocate to make a new partnership work. About 60 skaters will gather this week, staying in the Olympic Training Center and skating at the World Arena.