Canada

World’s top teams will compete for $50,000 in prize money in London

Wow.

It’s been years since a Senior International was held in Canada (other than Worlds), so the announcement that London, Ontario, host of the 2007 World Synchro Championships, would be holding an event this December was exciting simply on its own. But now there’s $50,000 in prize money involved?

That’s a big deal.

The news comes from an article on the John Labatt Centre’s website, where you can also purchase tickets. Yes, $50,000 is a pittance compared to what singles skaters, ice dancers, and pairs teams earn on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, when you consider how many individual athletes a synchro competition involves. It doesn’t matter whether the prize money for Synchro in the City is in Canadian or American dollars, or some other currency entirely–split $50,000 among one team, some teams, or all of the teams, and it disappears pretty quickly no matter whose mug is on the bills. What’s worth more than the amount, however, is the additional legitimacy this brings to the sport. If this trend continues, could we actually see synchro skaters start to regularly earn money as professional athletes?

That’s a very big deal.

Tickets for the 2011 Synchro in the City — London Synchrofest International (could they have chosen a longer name?) go on sale Friday, October 21st. Maybe Santa will bring me a seat sale for Christmas.

 

Requirements and summaries of calls and GOEs, oh my!

I wrote with great excitement about the publication of ISU Communication 1678 waaaay back in May, and had grand intentions of further dissecting and analyzing the new rules here…and then I blinked and all of a sudden it’s October. It has only been within the last two weeks, however, that the final pieces of this season’s rules pie fell into place. With the publication of the ISU Summary of Calls and Communication 1696, officials can finally become fully acquainted with the 2011-12 regulations, and subsequently provide comprehensive feedback to teams as monitoring season approaches. But it’s not just officials who should have requirements and deductions and GOE guidelines dancing in our heads–coaches, you must be accountable to yourself and your skaters to get intimate with these documents, so you can provide training and choreography that will help your teams reach their full potential. The number of documents to keep track of can be overwhelming, so here’s a snapshot of what you should be reading, and what purpose each piece serves (with a decidedly Canadian focus–apologies, international friends): (more…)

Events update: international competitions; summer clinic in B.C.

A couple of quick updates about coming events:

Competitions

I’ve updated the Events page with the ISU’s 2011-2012 international competitions schedule. Most competitions don’t have an event website yet, but I’ll add these as I find them. I’ve moved links to last year’s events to an Archive page.

Of note: a Senior international is scheduled to take place in London, Ontario at the end of December. If it goes ahead, it will be the first international event (other than Worlds) to take place in Canada in a number of years.

Also of note: The World Junior Championships are referred to as just that on this year’s schedule–World Championships–rather than having the usual World Challenge Cup designation. I don’t know if that means next year’s event will be the first official World Championship for Juniors, or if it could just be a typo. Stay tuned.

Summer Synchro Clinic in B.C.

The B.C. Section is hosting a summer synchro clinic in Burnaby on July 23 & 24, 2011 featuring world-level coach and ISU Technical Committee Member, Cathy Dalton. On- and off-ice sessions for Pre-Novice synchro/Senior Bronze level to Senior synchro/Gold level skaters will focus on individual and team skills. An on-ice seminar for coaches will focus on teaching techniques for element variations, and Cathy will also conduct an ISU technical update for coaches, officials, and managers.

UPDATE: The deadline to register has been extended to June 30, 2011. The registration form is available here.

Worlds on CBC from 3-6 PM (EDT) April 23

The most important part of your day tomorrow will be from 3-6 PM (EDT), when CBC broadcasts coverage of the 2011 World Synchronized Skating Championships. It looks like it’s going to be shown online too, which may be good news for non-Canadian residents. Spread the word!

CBC figure skating schedule