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2003 World Synchronized Skating Championships

Highlights

April 13, 2003
Article and Photo © Barry Mittan

The 2003 World Synchronized Skating Championships drew large crowds to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the first week of April. Despite a late spring snowstorm, the arena was packed as 23 teams competed for the gold in skating's newest discipline. The snow even provided an unexpected treat for the teams from South Africa and Australia, whose members delighted in making snow angels and having snowball fights.

The Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Finland have dominated synchronized skating with Finland winning last year and Sweden the two previous year. But host Canada fielded two strong teams this year and hoped for a gold on home ice. After the short program, the Canadians were even more enthused as Canada I skated a near perfect routine to "L-O-V-E" by Natalie and Nat King Cole to take the lead. They were followed by Sweden 1, skating to "Lord of the Dance" and Finland 1, using "Hook". Both teams had uncharacteristic falls, but highly demanding technical programs. They were followed by Finland 2, which used "Walking in the Air" and USA 1, the Haydenettes, who skated to "Coppelia".

For the free skate, Canada 1 was the first of the contenders to perform. The team entered the rink to thunderous applause from the highly partisan Canadian crowd. One team member later stated that "the whole building was vibrating when we came on. I'll always remember that." Skating to Black Cat, White Cat's "16 Dejo Dance", the Canadians executed all of their moves with precision, especially their straight-line sequences. Their marks were high but the judges left room for the Finns and the Swedes. Finland 1 performed next, taking over the first position with a dynamic routine to "The Circle of Life" from "The Lion King." Finland 2 followed, but their blues oriented program was not as difficult as the two previous teams and they fell below Canada I. The Finns skated to "She Caught the Katy", "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and "Shotgun Blues." Sweden 1 was the last to skate, using "Bombay Dreams" by Andrew Lloyd Weber. The Swedish harem girls pulled out all the stops to outpoint the Finns and Canadians, earning two 6.0s for presentation. Overall, Sweden 1 finished first, Finland 1 second and Canada 1 third. Finland 2 was fourth, followed by USA 1 and Germany. Among the other contenders, Japan's free skate to "Shaolin Soccer", a martial arts themed program, also brought the crowd to its feet.

Results