Skating News January 2011

Ah, it's January with two more months of winter. Most of the US is a bit sick of winter after record snowfalls, but the snow and cold is all the better to cozy up to winter sports. No, not the football playoffs, way more exciting stuff like ice skating!

Synchro Stuff
Early in the month, the U.S. selected their teams for the Junior World Challenge Cup in Switzerland. There's not an official ISU junior synchro championship yet, so the entrants are not decided at Nationals. The World Junior Team Selection Competition was held in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin with the Skyliners of New York and Team Braemar of Minnesota earning the two spots to represent the U.S. Both teams have several seasons of experience in international competitions.

The international competitive season of synchronized skating kicked off in Germany at the Cup of Berlin. The mighty Finns continued to be mighty at the senior level, with the Rockettes winning the event. They  won by nearly 40 points. At the junior level, Finnish teams swept the podium. I'd hate to be behind the Finnish teams at airport security. That's a lot of medal to check.

California Gold and Chicago Jazz represented the U.S. at the senior and junior levels, respectively. Both teams had solid fourth place finishes. For full results check the Cup of Berlin link above.

National Championships
Several countries held their national championships in December. Canada and the U.S. hold their championships in singles, dance and pairs in January. The Canadian champs are wrapping up  this weekend.

Missing in action from Canadians are Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. They sat out the first half of the season due to a surgery to help with shin splints on Virtue. They decided they weren't quite ready to compete yet. No word yet on if they will be selected to compete at the world championships.

Cynthia Phaneuf won the ladies event, and the team of Moore-Towers and Moscovitch were crowned the new pairs champs. Patrick Chan is leading after the men's short and planning two quads for today's freeskate. Check out skatebuzz.ca for results, interviews and live streaming and archives of some events.

Other News
Johnny Weir has a book out, Welcome to My World. It's made news as he actually talks about being gay in the book and in promotional interviews. I don't think his sexual preference is really news, but if you have googled figure skating in the past few weeks this has come up. If you're a Weir fan, he may be coming to a bookstore near you. Check his site for book signings and other happenings. I'm debating downloading his book to my Kindle or buying for my collection of skating books. While I think there will be some uber-dishing about the skating world, I think it will be more about Johnny covering all things Weir. It may just be a Kindle title. What do you think?

Synchro Sightings Anyone?

The Bryant Park rink opened last night. The Haydenettes usually perform to help ring in the holiday season and outdoor skating in New York City. Did anyone see them? I've not found YouTube clips yet.

I hope the audience realized they were watching the "next big thing" in the world of sports. I'm confident in the next few years synchronized skating will make the list of what's in and out on the "in" side.

Miami synchro has their exhibitions next Saturday. That includes a mini-practice, and seeing the programs of all Miami teams, the collegiate program, and both the short and free for the junior and senior teams. In past years, I've driven up to Oxford, Ohio to see the unveiling. Next weekend my skating club is hosting a competition and I'll be helping with the awards and pictures so I won't be making the trip. If anyone is in driving distance of the picturesque college town of Oxford, I recommend making the trip. You can stop in to the IKEA that's in the Cincinnati suburbs about 20 minutes from Oxford for some shopping or just to fill up on meatballs before heading to rink. They have a gorgeous two-rink arena for their hockey and synchro teams.

With Miami and the Haydenettes debuting their programs, that means the Dr. Porter Classic in Ann Arbor, Michigan is just around the corner. Then synchro season is on!

Has anyone seen their local synchro team lately? If you haven't you should! You'll be amazed at the speed and the sound of the blades moving in unison.

Anyone buzz about the Chicago Jazz? What's going on in Canada with Nexxice or Gold Ice? Who's going to make a move to the podium in Canada? Any of my occassional blog readers from Finland have any news on the Rockettes or any other of those amazing Finnish teams?