All three teams, Collegiate, Junior, and Senior, showed off their skills by running through some team drills and moves-in-the-field together. Then each team performed their programs as a bit of a tune up prior the Dr. Richard Porter Classic the first weekend in December.
The five-time defending National champions at the Collegiate level are skating to music from "Sex and the City" this season. I thought it was a fun and well-paced program.
Miami Collegiate Synchro
Next, the defending National Champion Senior team debuted their short program with a Romeo & Juliet theme. The music selections came from Prokofiev's "Montagues and Capulets" and both Nino Rota's and Baz Luhrman's movie scores.
Miami Senior Synchro - Short
This was a strong senior program. I enjoyed watching their intensity and think this will be a great short for them for this season.
The Juniors came out for their short program debut to music from Moulin Rouge. I think their program will grow over the year. They opened with an excellent circle footwork sequence.
Miami Junior Synchro - Short
The senior team then treated the audience to a warm up of their lifts. While interesting to see them practice their lifts, it made me realize how much these varsity teams have to learn in practice in a short amount of time.
Miami Senior Warming Up Lifts
Since Miami is a varsity team, their practices start in the fall as the academic year begins. They hold their tryouts and assign teams in August and September. Most of the internationally competitive teams start the process of organizing the team and new programs in April and May! These teams are learning new routines and lifts just a few months away from competitions.
I think this is a reason why the Junior team is still searching for its first National title. The Junior team follows the ISU age levels, so the skaters are 18 and under. At a college level, this generally creates a freshman only team. (There may be a sophomore here and there who has a late fall birthday and turn 19 as the season starts.) The team only gets one season to gel. The Senior and Collegiate teams consist of skaters who skate together for at least two seasons.
I also wondered if the Senior team has several new faces on the team. Lifts are only allowed at the senior level, so maybe they needed some extra warm up with several skaters making the team after being on the Junior and Collegiate teams.
The Senior long is a medley of 1940s music from Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter. The choreography reflected the upbeat tunes. The skaters seemed a little slow at times and the program wasn't polished yet. I'm looking forward to seeing this program grow as the skaters get familiar with the routine with time and really begin to perform and skate with the music. 
Miami Senior Synchro - Long
The Juniors wrapped up the evening with their long to "Bohemian Rhapsody." Again, I thought the skaters had just learned all the choreography, but the program will be competitive throughout the season.
Miami Junior Synchro - Long
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