After placing 4th in yesterday’s short program at the 2011 SynchroFest International in London, Nexxice was untouchable tonight, winning the free skate by a solid margin of 13.44 points, and finishing nearly 10 points ahead of silver medalists, the Haydenettes, overall. In addition to their gold hardware, Nexxice also took home $15,000 in prize money.

The final standings were as follows:

1. Nexxice (CAN) 185.15 ($15,000)
2. Haydenettes (USA) 175.44 ($12,000)
3. Rockettes (FIN) 174.05 ($9,000)
4. Paradise (RUS) 160.92 ($6,000)
5. Les Supremes (CAN) 153.76 ($3,000)
6. Crystallettes (USA) 142.51 ($1,000)
7. Jingu Ice Messengers Grace (JPN) 118.03 ($1,000)
8. Fusion (CAN) 112.07 ($1,000)

Detailed free skate protocols are available here, and if you missed the performances, you can still view them in the Skatebuzz archive.

While Nexxice placed 3rd behind the Haydenettes and Rockettes on the Program Component Score, they won the day on the Technical Element Score. No one team got all their calls, but Rockettes and Les Supremes both gave up huge points with No Value calls for the Line–an element that earned over six points for Nexxice. Viewing on a laptop screen with a completely different angle than the Technical Panel, and not being privy to panel discussions from my couch, I can’t confirm the reasons for the No Values, though they’re most commonly given when an element doesn’t meet minimum ice coverage requirements.

Most of these teams won’t meet again until the World Championships, pending their nations’ qualifiers. However, Nexxice and Rockettes are headed for a rematch at the Mozart Cup a month from now in Austria. That will be a key event for the four Finnish teams attending, who are typically in a tight race with each other to qualify for Worlds every year. Finland has had two teams on the podium at each of the last two World Championships, so the competition will be fierce.

Congratulations to all of the competitors at SynchroFest, and job well done to Skate Canada and the City of London for bringing international synchro back to Canada with a bang!