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2003 U.S. Synchronized Skating ChampionshipsHighlightsMarch 16, 2003 The 2003 U.S. National Synchronized Skating Championships brought over two thousand ladies and a handful of men to compete in Huntsville, Alabama for the coveted team medals. Unlike most skating events, synchro is about the team, not about the individual. That shows in the atmosphere in the arena, where club members and their supporters try to outdo one another with their cheers. There are card sections, flag wavers, and even mascots in costume. Many Miami University supporters even garbed themselves as witches to support their collegiate team's bewitching program. The camaraderie often extends itself to other teams as their opponents chant, "G-O-O-D L-U-C-K, good luck to you in every way" before and "We are proud of you" after other teams compete. The University of Delaware teams were especially diligent, with support for everyone. Teams competed in several divisions based on age and experience levels: juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, senior, collegiate, adult, and masters. Most teams are between 12 and 20 skaters although collegiate teams may have 24 members and senior teams must have at least 16. Juvenile skaters must be eleven or younger on the preceding July 1, intermediates 15 or younger, novices 14 or younger, juniors between 12 and 19, and seniors at least 14. Adult skaters must be 21 with 75 percent 25 or older while masters skaters must be 25 or older with 75 percent over 35. Collegiate skaters must be full-time students. Some clubs, such as the Colonial FSC, Hayden Recreation Center, the Detroit Skating Club and the Chicago Figure Skating Club fielded teams in many divisions. For other areas, one or more clubs combined to field one small team. One of the smallest was the University of California at Davis, which had only nine members, one of whom had to leave the ice after suffering a concussion in a fall. But they finished their program with eight skaters and got a standing ovation for their perseverance. Many of the competitions were extremely close. In the juvenile division, Chicago Jazz from the Chicago FSC out pointed The Colonials by a 5-3 margin, with The Starlights from the Skokie Valley Skating Club finishing third. The Jazz skated to a piano music medley that included "Chopsticks." But The Colonials came back in intermediates to take a 5-4 win over the Fond du Lac Blades from Fond du Lac Blue Line FSC and the Chicago Jazz. The Colonials used a medley of Beatles tunes. In novice, the Ice Mates from Hayden Recreation Center triumphed 5-4 over the Chicago Jazz and The Crystallettes. They skated to a variety of songs with a Hawaiian theme. But the Chicago Jazz were back on top in juniors with a near unanimous win over Team Elan from the Detroit FSC and The Colonials. The Jazz used "Spy Game" for their short and "The Three Musketeers" for their long. In seniors, the Haydenettes won easily over Miami University and Team Elan. The Crystallettes from the Dearborn Figure Skating Club finished fourth, but got the biggest ovation from the crowd for their innovative moves. The Haydenettes short program, Ballet Class, began with half of the team imitating a ballet barre while the other half practiced ballet moves. The program continued with turns and spins in a ballet on ice. For the long program, the Haydenettes skated to "Slaughter on 5th Avenue", a contemporary ballet.. Perennial champion Miami University won the collegiate division, skating to "The Witches of Eastwick", while the three Michigan rivals were 2-3-4. Western Michigan University took the silver, Michigan State University the bronze, and University of Michigan the pewter. The top three schools are among the few that receive any university funds, but none of the universities offers any scholarships for synchronized skating. The adult division was won by Hayden's Espirit de Corps, skating to the soundtrack of "Doctor Zhivago", with Team Elan second and the IceSymmetrics from the St. Moritz Figure Skating Club in third. The masters gold also went to Espirit de Corps, with Gems on Ice of the Plymouth Figure Skating Club second, and the tiny Cleveland Edges team, which included two men, third. Espirit de Corps had a Stars theme using Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon", "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Would You Like to Swing on a Star" and Barbara's Streisand's "I'm the Greatest Star." |
