Record Number of Synchronized Skating Teams from the United States and Canada Compete at the 2008 Colonial Classic

(Jan, 2008) The 2008 Colonial Classic Synchronized Skating Competition was held on January 4 – 6th, 2008 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA. Sponsored by the Colonial Figure Skating Club of Boxborough, Massachusetts, the event drew a record 97 skating teams and 1360 skaters. All of The Colonial teams competed at the event including the Senior, Junior, Intermediate, and Juvenile teams along with the Masters team.

Under the new International Judging System (IJS), The Colonials Junior team commanded a strong, gold-medal winning performance with their long program, set to 80s rock music. The Junior short program, choreographed to "Colors of the Wind" from the Disney classic, Pocahontas, was characterized by beautiful edges and captured second place by a razor-slim .05 point differential to the first- place team. The Colonials Senior team also skated demanding short and long programs in a highly competitive field long-dominated by the well-established Haydenettes. The Senior long program was skated to Motown music from “Remember the Titans” and the Senior Short, set to “High School Musical 2,” was a real crowd pleaser. Their Senior Long program scoring (IJS) improved over 11 points since the Dr. Porter competition, demonstrating the tremendous dedication and commitment of these athletes.

The Intermediate division, one of the largest and most competitive qualifying divisions this year, fielded eleven teams from Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Colonials delivered a fast-paced, strong, pewter-medal performance, skating to a medley of Michael Jackson selections including all-time favorites, Thriller and Beat It. The Intermediates placed fourth at the Dr. Porter competition held in December in Ann Arbor, MI, amid a large and highly competitive Intermediate field; they earned a silver medal at the Thanksgiving Classic.

The Colonials Juvenile team delivered a strong gold-medal winning performance at this year's Colonial Classic amid a field of six teams from Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The Juvenile lines skates to a "Good Day/Bad Day" theme including the music of "Hannah Montana." The Juvies won a silver medal at the Thanksgiving Classic and a pewter medal at the Cape Cod Synchronized Skating Competition.

Merita Mullen, the Director of Synchronized Skating, has choreographed the programs for each line, combining in every case fast-moving elements, intricate transitions and complicated footwork sequences. The end results are dynamic routines, both graceful and technically demanding. Merita is joined by Nancy Schricker, Assistant Synchronized Skating Coach, Jane Gruber, Physical Therapist and Fitness Coach, and Kara DeFreitas, Guest Coach.

For the athletes on The Colonials synchronized skating teams, success is based upon sustained hard work, dedication to achieving their full potential as a team, determination, a healthy dose of fun, and the firm belief that anything is possible. The Colonials Juvenile, Intermediate, and Senior teams will next be competing at the 2008 Eastern Synchronized Team Skating Sectional Championships, held January 24-26, 2008 in Richmond, Virginia. The Juniors have a bye for Easterns; they will next be competing in the highly competitive Junior World Team Selection Competition held in Fraser, Michigan on January 11 and 12th, 2008.

Fran Bernitz, Carol Marine
Publicity (Publicity@ColonialSynchro.org)
Colonials Synchronized Skating Teams