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Porter Classic 2021 Preview

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By Isabela Malone

This week, one of synchronized skating’s most anticipated events is making an in-person return. The 25th Annual Porter Classic is scheduled to take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan from December 3-5, 2021. The event will be held in two rinks to minimize crowding, with most national-level events held in the Stadium Rink while developmental levels, as well as adult and masters, will take place in the Olympic Rink. To limit crowds, tickets are limited for each event to the rink capacity or lower depending on the health department guidelines. Tickets will not be sold at the door but spectators are encouraged to purchase tickets online and pick them up at the will call window at the front entrance of the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. 

STADIUM RINK EVENTS  

The junior short program will commence at 4:30 pm on Friday with ten teams all seeking to put out strong performances. Reigning U.S. junior silver medalists Teams Elite will look to take the top spot this weekend and improve upon their Fall Classic total score of 170.70, while newly designated Team USA team, Northernettes, host team Hockettes, Fond Du Lac Blades, DC Edge, and Starlights will look for podium finishes. Saint Louis Synergy and Team Delaware will look to continue their momentum, with Wisconsin Inspire and Dazzlers looking to improve on previous scores from earlier competitions. Skyliners and Team Image have decided to withdraw from the event. 

The senior short program will follow with three teams competing; Adrian College, Crystallettes, and Miami University. Skyliners have withdrawn from the event. These three teams will no doubt bring their A-game, making for an intense and talent-packed event. Miami University will be looking to claim the top spot here after besting Skyliners at the Boston Classic with a total score of 177.54. Crystallettes and Adrian College will be looking to improve on their scores from previous competitions. 

The juvenile division will kick off Saturday at 10:28 am with 12 teams scheduled to compete. Reigning U.S. juvenile champions, Teams Elite, is amongst them. Team Image will begin the event, followed by Hockettes, Dazzlers, and Team Ashburn. Capital Ice Connection, Saint Louis Synergy, and Fond Du Lac Blades are scheduled to compete in the middle of a very competitive division, with Starlights, Carolina Formation, Wisconsin Inspire, and Crystallettes rounding out the event. 

Novice A will begin at 1:17 pm with IceLiners, Dazzlers, Crystallettes, and California Gold to start the event, followed by reigning U.S. novice champions Teams Elite, DC Edge, and Team Ashburn. Northernettes, reigning U.S. Novice pewter medalists Skyliners Black, and LA Synchro will conclude Novice A. Teams Elite will be looking to claim the top spot in this group and improve upon their score of 87.99 from Kalamazoo. Crystallettes, DC Edge, and Northernettes will be looking for podium finishes after putting out strong performances at competitions in November.   

Novice B will directly follow Novice A with nine teams. Skyliners Blue will look to put out a strong performance to continue a strong season, while Team Image will look to possibly overtake them. At the Boston Classic, Skyliners Blue ended on top with a score of 72.92. Team Image trailed them by a couple of points and will be looking to improve upon the 67.36 they earned. Podium contenders also include Fond Du Lac Blades, who scored an impressive 73.26 at Kalamazoo as well as Starlights who earned 68.33 at the same competition. Intensity, Carolina Formation, Team Delaware, Hockettes, and Saint Louis Synergy will all be looking for strong finishes. 

The junior free skate will begin at 5:47 pm, followed by the senior free skate at 8:05 pm, rounding out Saturday’s events. 

Sunday’s events will begin bright and early at 9:23 am with the Unity Team Exhibition performance from the Hockettes, followed by Intermediate A at 9:29 am. Intermediate A will consist of twelve teams with Intensity, Richmond Synchro, Carolina Formation, and Arctic Edge Unity starting the event, followed by Team Image Pink, Fond Du Lac Blades, Dazzlers, and Northernettes, with Northern Lights, Skyliners, Teams Elite, and Wisconsin Inspire closing Intermediate A. Skyliners, Teams Elite, and Fond Du Lac Blades are ones to watch in this division after posting strong scores at competitions earlier this season. Skyliners won Boston Classic with a score of 57.60 and Teams Elite took the top spot at Kalamazoo with a 74.02. 

Following Intermediate A is Intermediate B with another 12 teams scheduled to compete. Team Delaware will begin the event at 11:27 am, followed by California Gold, Chiller Synchro, and Starlights. Team Image Black, Miami Skating Academy, Capital Ice Chips, and Mirror Images will follow, with Onyx Infinity, Team Ashburn, Team Del Sol, and DC Edge rounding out Intermediate B. Capital Ice Chips will be looking to come out on top and improve on their 66.44 from Fall Classic. Team Image Black, DC Edge, and Team Del Sol are contenders in this division as well after impressive scores at competitions earlier this season.

The collegiate event will begin at 2:05 pm with eleven teams competing. Reigning U.S. collegiate bronze medalists Miami University will kick off the event, followed by their rivals from Adrian College, reigning U.S. Collegiate silver medalists, with Trine University and Liberty University following. Both Miami University and Adrian College will be looking to improve upon their strong scores from November competitions. Adrian won Boston Classic with an 82.07 and Miami University took the top spot at the Diamond Classic with an 88.15. Fresh off their win in Kalamazoo Western Michigan University will look to put out another strong performance and improve upon the 85.27 they posted there. Reigning U.S collegiate champions, University of Michigan, are also podium contenders and will be looking to improve on their 77.20 from Kalamazoo. University of Illinois, Boston College, Michigan State, University of Notre Dame, and Team Delaware will be hoping for strong skates as well. Collegiate will conclude the competition in the Stadium Rink. 

OLYMPIC RINK EVENTS

Snowplow Sam will kick off the Olympic rink events on Saturday at 8:30 am with four teams, followed by seven Aspire beginner teams at 8:59 am. Aspire pre-preliminary begins at 9:37 am, with Aspire preliminary following at 10:09 am. 

We return at 11:37 am with Open Juvenile A with eight teams, shortly followed by Open Juvenile B at 12:41 pm with another eight teams. Following the open juvenile divisions are the preliminary divisions, scheduled to start at 2:28 pm with eight teams in Preliminary A, followed by Preliminary B at 3:24 pm with seven teams. 

Open adult is scheduled to begin at 4:53 pm with only two teams competing; Evolution and Lake Effect Flurries. Masters will follow at 5:18 pm with six teams scheduled to compete. Teams to watch for include 2020 U.S. silver and bronze medalists Allegro! and DC Edge as well as Starlights, who won Kalamazoo with a 44.77. These teams will be looking to claim the top spot, with Starlights and Allegro! hoping to improve their scores as well. 

The last event of the day in the Olympic Rink on Saturday is adult, with five teams competing. Crystallettes, the 2020 U.S. silver medalists, will be looking to claim the top spot, with DC Edge and Team Delaware looking for podium finishes as well. New to the division this year are Saint Louis Synergy and Michigan Adult SST. 

On Sunday, open collegiate will begin bright and early at 8:30 am with eight teams scheduled to compete, followed by two flights of pre-juvenile with eight teams in each flight. Onyx Infinity, Arctic Edge Unity, and Allegro! will conclude the Olympic Rink events at 1:42 pm in the open masters division. 

Be sure to follow @GetItCalled on Instagram and @GIC_Results on Twitter for updates and live results from the competition all weekend! Best of luck to all teams competing!

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