2022 Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships Preview
by Grace Leonard & Taylor Kennedy
It’s one of the most fun and highly anticipated times of year for synchronized skaters! After a one year hiatus, the Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championships will kick off this week at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts. For the first time at sectionals, all non-qualifying teams will compete under the IJS scoring system and there will not be separate qualifying and championship rounds. Every team will skate once. To further add to the excitement, teams at the juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, collegiate, adult and masters divisions will be vying for a spot at the national championships in Colorado Springs at the beginning of March. Depending on the depths of each division, teams may still advance to nationals without medaling this weekend.
The preliminary division will be the first event of the weekend with 14 teams competing.Team Excel has been strong in this division this season, putting out their season’s best score of 25.04 at the Cape Cod Classic in December. The Colonials are also one to watch here, scoring a 23.48 at the Colonial Classic earlier this month. Skyliners, New Jersey Skyliners, and DC EDGE Blue are also teams to watch, having all broken 20 points at various competitions this season.
The pre-juvenile division will follow with 15 teams. Connecticut Rinkettes have put out strong showings this season, scoring a season’s best 38.27 at the Cape Cod Classic. Skyliners have had podium finishes at all of their competitions this season, placing second with a 37.28 in Cape Cod. DC EDGE, Synchro Stars, and Team Image are also podium contenders. They faced off at the Colonial Classic earlier this month, scoring 35.68, 33.57 and 31.11, respectively.
The open juvenile division will open the competition on Friday and the competition will be fierce! The Colonials will be skating in pursuit of the gold medal having placed first in Boston and Cape Cod and second at the Colonial Classic. They have the highest score of any East Coast teams with a 44.47 earned at the Boston Classic. Other contenders include Synchro Stars, CNY Blizzard, Team Excel, Superettes, and DC EDGE. This division could end up being the most surprising of the weekend – the difference between third and seventh place at Colonials was just 1.48 points!
The juvenile division will follow with eight teams competing and six advancing to nationals.The Skyliners will be seeking an 11th Eastern Championship title, but will face some stiff competition from Team Image. The two teams went head to head at the Boston Classic earlier this season and Team Image came out on top, scoring 47.27 to Skyliners’ 44.15. Team Image then went on to win Porter with a 46.65. Skyliners posted their season’s best score at Cape Cod, where they won with a 45.14. Mini Mates, who finished just behind Skyliners at both Cape Cod and Colonials, will also be looking for a podium finish. Team Excel, Carolina Formation, DC EDGE and Team Ashburn will also be fighting for a chance to compete in Colorado Springs.
The intermediate division will be one of the most anticipated events of the weekend with 14 teams going head to head for four medals and four spots at nationals. Star Mates have scored the highest of any East Coast team this season with a 65.41 at the Cape Cod Classic. They’ll be looking to improve on that score and secure the gold medal this weekend. Team Image Black and Skyliners will also be fighting for a podium finish. These two teams have gotten close to the 60 point mark, with Team Image earning their season’s best 59.12 at Porter and Skyliners earning their top score of 57.80 at the Colonial Classic. Team Excel trailed close behind Skyliners at Colonials, with a 56.07. They’ll be looking to improve that score and earn the team’s first ever trip to nationals at the intermediate level. DC EDGE and Mirror Images will both be looking to claim the fourth and final spot at nationals. The two teams scored within a point of each other at Porter, although DC EDGE has the higher season’s best of the two teams – scoring 50.20 at the Boston Classic.
Team Delaware will compete uncontested in the junior division with an opportunity to improve and earn season’s best scores before nationals. So far this season, the team has competed at the Fall Classic and Porter and earned their season’s best score at Porter with a 33.97 in the short and 65.89 in the free. They will skate their Unwritten Glory short program on Friday and their Jurassic Park long program on Saturday.
The novice division will feature nine teams with five spots at nationals on the line. Heading into this weekend, Team Image has posted the highest score of the season for East Coast novice teams, winning Porter with an 83.49. Skyliners Blue, who placed just behind Team Image at Porter with an 82.80 will also look to claim the top spot. Ice Mates, who scored their season’s best 82.50 at the Cape Cod Classic are also a contender for gold here. DC EDGE, who placed third at Porter with a 69.73 will be looking for a podium finish as well, but they’ll be challenged by Skyliners Black who finished just behind them at Porter with a 68.18.
All six collegiate teams will advance to the national championships, however University of Delaware will be traveling to Norwood, MA with the extra incentive of winning a 22nd Eastern Sectional Title. They’ll be looking to improve on the 85.04 they scored at Porter, but will be challenged for gold by Team Excel, who scored a season’s best 82.38 at the Cape Cod Classic. It’s shaping up to be a battle for the bronze between Boston University, University of Massachusetts, and Boston College. All three teams have scored a season’s best in the mid 50s. Boston University placed second in Cape Cod with a 56.65 while University of Massachusetts earned the bronze with 54.51. Boston College scored 53.48 at Porter. Rounding out the division will be Liberty University Flames – they’ll be looking for a clean skate and a chance to post a season’s best score heading into nationals.
Sunday will be all about skaters 18 and over. The day will kick off with the masters division. All four teams will advance to nationals, so the real excitement will be seeing which team skates away with the gold. The 2020 U.S. Champions Esprit de Corps have the highest score heading into the weekend, earning a 47.27 at the Colonial Classic earlier this month. DC EDGE scored a 43.40 to earn a silver medal at Porter and Gardens Synchronicity, who is new to the division this year, earned a 31.17 at the South Atlantic Synchro Open. Easterns will be Gotham City Synchro’s season debut and they’ll be looking for a clean skate ahead of nationals.
Eight teams will take the ice next in the adult division, all skating for five spots at nationals. DC EDGE has posted the highest score of the season so far, with a 56.73 at Porter. Esprit de Corps scored a very close 56.65 at the Colonial Classic, so it will likely be a showdown between these two teams for the top spot. Team Excel will be looking to improve upon their season’s best 53.84 from the Boston Synchro Classic. Mirror Images will be skating for a podium finish and the team’s first trip to nationals at the adult level. They scored their season’s best 44.99 at the Colonial Classic and will be looking to improve upon that. Team Tenacity and Team Delaware will both be looking to skate away with a ticket to nationals too. Team Delaware scored a 40.72 at Porter and Team Tenacity earned their season’s best 44.86 at the Boston Classic, but placed third behind Mirror Images at Colonials with a 38.58.
The open collegiate division will take the ice next and feature four teams. This year’s teams are Princeton University, University of Vermont, Syracuse University and Mirror Images, which is made up of skaters from various colleges in the Rochester, NY area. These four teams faced off earlier this season at the Boston Classic, where Syracuse came out on top with a 4/1 majority. Princeton University, who placed second in Boston, will be looking to challenge Syracuse for the top spot. Mirror Images and University of Vermont, who placed third and fourth respectively, will be looking for clean skates. The winners of the Colonial Classic, University of New Hampshire, will not be in attendance.
The open adult division will feature six teams from as far north as Boston and as far south as North Carolina. After strong showings at Colonials, Cutting Edge and Ocean Blades are expected to be in the mix for gold.
The last event of the weekend will be the open masters division. Maine DownEasters won both Colonials and Cape Cod, so they’ll be looking to continue that winning streak this weekend. Philadelphia Symmetry, who finished ahead of The Colonials at the Colonial Classic, will not be competing, opening the door for The Colonials to move higher on the podium. They’ll face competition from Mirror Images and Essex Blades who will both be looking to put out strong skates.
Best of luck to all competitors this week! Enjoy every minute! Be sure to follow Get It Called on Instagram @GetItCalled and on Twitter at @GIC_Results for updates and live coverage from the competition!