events

Chicago Jazz, Colonials Earn Berths to World Challenge Cup for Juniors

For icenetwork.com's coverage of the World Junior Selection Competition, click here.

For U.S. Figure Skating Online's World Junior Selection Competition event page, including detailed results, click here.

The Colonials Photo by Paul Harvath

(1/9/08) - The first major event of the 2008 synchronized skating season takes place this weekend as nine junior teams battle it out for a spot on the 2008 U.S. World Junior Synchronized Skating Team.

For the fifth consecutive season, the World Junior Team will be selected at a special competition in early January. This year's event will be held in conjunction with the Mid-America Championships in Fraser, Mich., Jan. 11-12, 2008. Two teams will earn bids to the World Challenge Cup for Juniors, with the winning team earning an automatic berth and the second team selected by the Synchronized Management Subcommittee.

Chicago Jazz (Chicago FSC), the reigning World Junior bronze medalist, enters as the favorite. The Jazz finished the highest among all U.S. teams last month at the Dr. Porter nonqualifying competition with a free skate score of 97.80.

The Jazz faces a deep pool of challengers, one which includes the 2007 U.S. silver medalists, the Colonials (Colonial FSC) of Acton, Mass., who joined the Jazz last year at the World Challenge Cup for Juniors. There, the team finished fifth, the highest placement ever for a second U.S. team.

Team Braemar finished third at this event last year but steadily closed the gap over the course of the season. The team took home the bronze at the 2007 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, finishing less than two points behind the Colonials. Braemar went on to capture the gold medal at the 2007 Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy, its first-ever ISU event.

The Hockettes ave struggled in early-season competition, but they can't be counted out. They were sixth at this event last year but came from behind to win the junior event at the 2007 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships.

Last year's fourth- and fifth-place teams are also serious contenders to earn a spot on the World Team. Miami University's first-ever junior team finished fourth last year and fifth in its first appearance at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. The maximum age to compete as a junior is 18, which means the team is composed of mostly freshman. This team does, however, boast a wealth of experience as many of its members have skated on other top synchronized teams, including the Chicago Jazz.

The Skyliners were surprise winners of the short program at the 2007 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, but they fell to sixth after the free skate. The team earned a spot on the U.S. Reserve Team and, subsequently, its first international assignment – the Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy in Croatia this March.

Also competing are the Lexettes (Hayden Recreation Center FSC), the Starlights (Wagon Wheel FSC) and Revolution (Northern Illinois FSC).

The short program will be skated at 7 p.m. EST on Friday, Jan. 11, followed by the free skate and the announcement of the 2008 U.S. World Junior Synchronized Skating Team on Saturday evening, Jan. 12. The two teams selected will travel to Rouen, France, to compete in the World Challenge Cup for Juniors, March 6-8, 2008.