ALL FIVE COLONIALS SYNCHRONIZED SKATING TEAMS QUALIFY TO COMPETE AT THE US SYNCHRONIZED TEAM SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

(January 27, 2007; Providence, RI) With fine performances at the 2007 Eastern Sectionals held at the Dunkin Doughnut Center in Providence Rhode Island, all five Colonials Synchronized Skating Teams qualified to compete at the 2007 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships. The Eastern Sectional competition was hosted by the Warwick Figure Skating Club.

In the Juvenile division, the Colonials’ gold medal performance was punctuated by straight lines, synchronized footwork and elegant moves. This is their second straight gold medal performance and they have medaled in every competition in which they have skated this season.

Skating to a medly of Superman music, the Colonials Intermediate team also won the gold medal in their division. Their choreography is highlighted by a number of intricate moves including interacting lines, traveling wheels, circles and a spiral that the whole team holds through a series of turns. The Superman theme of their program inspired the Intermediate team to support the Christopher Reeve Foundation for Spinal Cord Research by purchasing the Foundation's Superman Tags.

The Colonials Senior team, the newest addition to the Colonial Synchronized Skating teams, was the only team that competed in the Senior division. By virtue of their performance, they also qualified to compete at the U.S. Championships. Interestingly, their overall total score was high enough to have earned them a bronze medal at the recent 2007 Midwestern sectionals.

After qualifying for the 2007 World Challenge Cup, the Junior team received a bye to the U.S. Championships. They are currently training in preparation for the upcoming French Cup in Rouen, France on Feb 1-4. The 2007 World Challenge Cup will take place in Nottingham England on March 9-10.

Finally, skating in only their second competition of the season, the Adult Masters team also earned the right to compete at the U.S. Championships.

All the Colonial Synchronized Skating teams will be competing at the U.S. Championships hosted by the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, CO. The Colonials website at www.ColonialSynchro.org is an excellent place to keep track of the latest Colonials news.

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