Canada

2015 World Championships Quick Links

ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships
April 10-11, 2015
Hamilton, ON, Canada

(more…)

Marigold IceUnity: 2014 World Champions

The 2014 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships wrapped up today in Italy, with some familiar names landing on the podium. Finland 1 (Marigold IceUnity) were gold medalists after last medaling in 2011. Canada 1 (NEXXICE) won the silver medal for the third straight year, narrowly edging out Finland 2 (Rockettes), who won bronze after not qualifying for the event last year. All three teams skated clean in both segments, and were the only teams to get all of their technical calls in the short or the free.

Complete results are available here.

Some other fun facts about the 2014 Worlds podium:

(more…)

2013 Worlds: Videos from Boston

If you were in Boston last week at the 2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships, you were fortunate to witness some of the best skating this sport has ever seen. If you couldn’t make it to the event, you can thank the magic of the Internet for providing access to the performances on video, below.

I make a point to attend the World Championships whenever they’re in North America, and while each time I leave feeling that our sport is headed in a great direction, this time I was truly blown away by the improvement I saw across the entire event since being in Colorado in 2010. Every single team has upped their game. The quality of skating from the top teams was particularly incredible, but there wasn’t a team in Boston that didn’t contribute something positive to the intense competitive atmosphere of the event, and didn’t impress me with some aspect of their skating. Thank you to every athlete, coach, manager, choreographer, trainer, and supporting cast member for working your butts off so the rest of us could watch such fabulous skating! (more…)

Synchro in the media – what?!

Maybe I’ve just noticed it more because I was involved with the Skate Canada Synchronized Championships taking place last week in Calgary, my sometimes-hometown, and was on the look-out for media coverage. Or maybe this is all a dream. OR, maybe synchro is finally getting some of the R-E-S-P-E-C-T it deserves in the media, indicated in particular by the appearance of this very well-written article about our beloved sport in the high-profile New York Times yesterday: A Move to the Front Line.

Don’t question it. Let’s just appreciate it.

Here are some of the other pieces I came across last week about the Canadian Championships:

And before the die-hards among us start to nit-pick some of the inaccuracies scattered throughout, I think it’s fair to say that as the sport has improved, so had the media coverage. I think each of these pieces shows synchro in a great light overall, and introduces the general public to it in a way that enhances its appeal as a bona-fide athletic endeavour.

The future looks bright, folks.