All Five Colonials Teams Medal at the 2007 Colonial Classic and World Junior Challenge in Lowell , MA

(January 7, 2007; Lowell, MA) All five Colonial Synchronized Skating teams showcased their talent at the 2007 Colonial Classic Synchronized Skating competition and the World Junior Challenge Cup Selection Competition on January 5-7 held at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA. The competition was hosted by the Colonial Figure Skating Club.

In the World Junior Challenge Cup Selection, the Colonials Junior team qualified to represent the United States in at the 2007 World Challenge Cup in Nottingham, Great Britain on March 8-10. To qualify for Team USA, the Junior team needed to finish in the top two against eleven of the best U.S. teams. Overall, the Colonials Junior team finished second to the Chicago Jazz. The Chicago Jazz won the Short Program and the Colonials won the Long program but the Jazz won the overall competition based on a higher point total. Winning the Long or Free Skate program is especially significant because the Chicago Jazz Junior team is the current World Challenge Cup bronze medalist. This was a very competitive event – with all the teams vying to qualify for international competition – and the skating level of all the competitors was scintillating.

In the Intermediate division, the Colonials Intermediate team continued to demonstrate that they are the team to beat in the Eastern region with another first place finish. Skating to a medley of Superman music, the Intermediate team flew past the field of seven teams.

In the Juvenile division, the Colonials Juvenile team executed their program superbly to win the Gold Medal. They did so against a field of eight teams that included the 2006 US National champion and an international team from Canada.

The Colonials Senior team, the newest addition to the Colonial Synchronized Skating teams, finished second to the Haydenettes. Although only two teams skated in the Senior division, the Colonials Senior team showed a strong improvement in their total points score over the Dr. Porter competition in early December.

Finally, in their first competition of the 2006-2007 skating year, the Colonials Masters team won the Pewter medal for a fourth place finish.

About The Colonial Classic

Although the Colonial Figure Skating Club has hosted the Colonial Classic Synchronized Skating Competition for 23 years, this year was the second for the combined Colonial Classic and the World Junior Challenge Cup Selection competitions. Nearly 80 teams skated in thirteen different events but the highlight of the competition was the Junior Challenge Cup Selection Competition in which the two top finishing teams are selected to represent the United States at the 2007 World Challenge Cup in Nottingham, Great Britain.

After the Colonial Classic, the Colonials Synchronized Skating Teams will compete at the Eastern Sectional Championships in Providence, RI. All five Colonial teams (Juvenile, Intermediate, Junior, Senior and Masters) will skate at the Eastern Sectionals on Jan 25-27.

About The Colonials Synchronized Skating Teams

Based in Boxborough, Massachusetts, the Colonials skate out of the Colonial Figure Skating Club. The Colonials will field Juvenile, Intermediate, Junior, Senior and Adult Masters teams during the 2006-2007 skating season. Being one of the elite teams in the eastern region, the Colonials are frequent competitors at US National and International competitions.

The Colonials Synchronized Skating Team's mission is to train and develop teams that will be national and international competitors, encouraging teamwork and sportsmanship, and supporting individual skaters as they seek to achieve their unique potential, and teams of skaters as they seek together to achieve their full potential as a team.

Merita Mullen (Wayland, MA) is the Director of Synchronized Skating at the Colonial Figure Skating Club. She is joined by Assistant Coaches Nancy Schricker and Nancy Rossi as well as Intern Coaches Lindsay Howie and Colleen Rafus. Jane Gruber is the Physical Therapy and Fitness Coach. Amy Boucher coaches the Adult Masters team.

The Colonials Synchronized Skating teams recently launched a new website at www.ColonialSynchro.org. The website is an excellent source of breaking news about the Colonials. It also features information about each of the teams, the staff and the sport of synchronized skating. The new website incorporates the Adults Masters website, which was previously separate. New content, including action photos, will be added on a regular basis so visitors are encouraged to return on a regular basis. Members of the media may request permission to re-use any of the content on the website from the Jeff Sokolov at Publicity@ColonialSynchro.org .

About the Sport of Synchronized Skating

Synchronized skating is the newest discipline of figure skating, having started 50 years ago by Dr. Richard Porter in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is a specialized branch of skating distinct from figures, free skating, ice dancing or pair skating. It involves eight to twenty skaters on the ice at the same time, and is characterized by intricate formations and maneuvers, footwork, changing arm and hand holds, deep edges, sharp changes of direction and absolute uniformity.

Programs are judged for technical difficulty and presentation (artistic impression). On the junior and senior levels, teams are required to perform a short program and a free skate. At all the other levels, teams only perform a free skate. In the U.S., synchronized skating teams compete in U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned competitions in 15 levels. The levels are differentiated by the age, skill level and the number of skaters on each team.

Jeff Sokolov
Publicity Chair ( Publicity@ColonialSynchro.org )
Colonials Synchronized Skating Teams