2023 World Synchro Championships, March 31-April 1, Lake Placid, NY

[victorskid]

Protocols link: http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...------QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

 

[clairecloutier]

I preferred the Helsinki Rockettes to Les Supremes.

I liked the Rockettes’ program more and thought their skating skills and unison were amazing.

Les Supremes did a really good job with keeping their formations tight.

 

[just tuned in]

The major deductions were 1.5 for Ice pattern/coverage req. not met, plus Croatia lost 4.0 for an illegal element, but no info about what that was. Several teams got the 1.5 deduction which is really surprising.

 

[skatingguy]

The major deductions were 1.5 for Ice pattern/coverage req. not met, plus Croatia lost 4.0 for an illegal element, but no info about what that was. Several teams got the 1.5 deduction which is really surprising.

Turkey also had the same deduction -4.0 deduction for illegal element - again not sure what that element was.

 

[just tuned in]

And why exactly is synchro skating not Olympic?

The speakers at the opening ceremony included ISU president Kim Jae-youl and he hyped synchro for the Olympics big-time. Something along the lines of “let’s show why this should be an Olympic sport“ which was an invitation for the crowd to cheer loudly, which we did. He was like, “at Worlds in Saitma the crowd gave a lot of standing ovations, so be sure to please do that here, okay?”

Paul Wylie (as Head of the ORDA) gave a little speech and confessed that he knows nothing about synchro and had never seen it before, but he was so impressed. Not sure whether that goes in our favor or not.

 

[4rkidz]

I love that here in Canada we are combining synchro with nationals. I live the synchro crowds they are so much fun. I volunteered at two worlds and it was really fun. I wish I was in Lake Placid. Looking forward to seeing the long programs.

 

[just tuned in]

Official practice for the long program to be skated later this afternoon and tonight.

Turkey is skating to something funereal, and now Latvia’s music is Hunger Games.

After both of those, Croatia’s first notes of Jackson Five was a welcome respite. Oh, wait, no, it is hideously choppy with like eight different Michael Jackson songs. Make a decision, people, you cannot use the entire catalogue.

GBR “Hit the Road, Jack.” Like some of these skaters next year. Snark.

So, clearly it is a feature to do an Arabian out of a death spiral exit, but some of the teams do this very badly and should reconsider.

Australia up next. They should not be skating so early in the order! Eleanor Rigby cover(s) as full orchestra and chorale, as if arranged as the 1st act finale of a Broadway show. They do some very cool and interesting stuff. Love their spin sequence.

After Australia, NED looks hunchy in their crossovers and their blades are scratchier. Space exploration theme ending with “Major Tom” cover. Labored ending.

Spain. Their blades are dyed red and yellow, which looks really cool but is a little distracting. Requisite middle-Eastern program. Whoa, saved the lift, but it was scary.

SUI on the ice — and in the stands with cowbells. Their music is all over the place evoking forests and oceans and jungles. Oh, Cirque du Soleil. The skaters are wearing floppy curly ponytails but I wish they wore buns. This hair style is too juvenile and goofy for this serious program.

FRA. This is another piece of music composed of big noise augmented with moaning and wailing. However, these gals are wearing buns, so points for that. Skating elements executed very well in these run-throughs.

CZE had a good practice—beautifully synchronized and strong.

Japan. Hello! A breath of fresh air, light, refreshing and lovely. Covers of Clouds and other ‘60’s classics. Really pretty.

Poland delivers a new shape of lift! Thank you! I hope they do really well in the competition.

GER - Another performance to look forward to. Interesting choreography and skated enthusiastically. Maybe too many music cuts. One of the music cuts is a female vocal of Take Me to Church.

 

[caseyedwards]

I don't know if it's ever been explicitly said, but I'm sure the fact of adding 400+ athletes to a Games isn't something the IOC is looking for, especially with the reduction of other quotas even in figure skating.

They want a million types of snowboarding

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

I watched last night, and enjoyed it, but have a newbie question I’m sure those in the know can answer.

How do these teams warm up? I’m used to each flight of singles or dance/pair teams having a five or six minute warmup before their turn. I don’t see that happening here, unless they do it in the practice rink and then head over.

Just curious!

 

[Sylvia]

Figure Skaters Online has tweeted mixed zone photos & quotes after the SP:

1st Les Supremes (CAN): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1642002587015688198

2nd Helsinki Rockettes (FIN)

3rd Team Unique (FIN): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1642189809463574534

4th Nexxice: https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1642184387822329857

5th USA2 Miami University (2 tweets): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1641963593611485185

6th USA1 Haydenettes (2 tweets): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1641961000801914880

17th Team Fusion (ESP): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1641948974377586691

20th Team Icicles (GBR): https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1641933596557557761

ETA that Jordan Cowan is an accredited photographer at Synchro Worlds in Lake Placid and is sharing pics via his Instagram stories: https://www.instagram.com/oniceperspectives/

ETA #2 - Ice dancer Peter Beaumont is in Lake Placid to support his girlfriend who skates in Les Supremes.

Pj Kwong is a Canadian fan in the stands: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqeTHESu6Fe/

 

[Cachoo]

Thank you for this thread. I will be watching today for the first time because of it (and Peacock broadcasting it. )

 

[just tuned in]

Sweden. Their long black practice skirts look kind of dowdy. Their music is a big ugly orchestral piece and operatic choir. I am bored. Come on, any team who can pique my interest after 13 hours of synchro-watching.

… And, Italy does it!! Their last 90seconds in particular are breath-taking.

GER (Berlin) and Hungary were both very good, but I did not find them as exciting as I know they were trying to be.

USA Haydenettes have another good program with lots of highlights. They do the Arabians very well. Huge number of fans in the crowd showing their love, but the skaters don’t acknowledge the crowd. They have tuned out all distractions. Before leaving the ice, they circle up and applaud their teammates. They are breathing for each other. Or possibly I am reading too much into this, lol.

 

[just tuned in]

I watched last night, and enjoyed it, but have a newbie question I’m sure those in the know can answer.

How do these teams warm up? I’m used to each flight of singles or dance/pair teams having a five or six minute warmup before their turn. I don’t see that happening here, unless they do it in the practice rink and then head over.

Just curious!

They warm up in a warm-up area, just like singles skaters. Then each team gets about 5 min on the ice to warm-up together and individually. This is not shown on TV, because the broadcast shows replays of the previous team, and kiss’n’cry reactions to scores.

 

[just tuned in]

USA Miami has mauve sparkly warmup dresses, so that’s nice. This performance is fine. There’s a lot going on in the program, and some of it is not synchronized. Some moves are in canon which I think looks messy.

CAN Nexxice. Majestic! And they skated the program all the way through, which a lot of teams have not done. I think this program might be trying to tell a story, but I am not sure. Maybe there is an evil queen and a battle of some kind?

FIN Unique. No snark, they are special.

FIN Rockettes. Dramatik! Speed, formations impeccable. Spoiler: they take flight! Bravo! I forgive the excessive number of music cuts.

CAN Supremes. They look slow after the Rockettes. (Don’t tell that to the many cheering Canadians in the audience.). Insane number of music cuts, but the program is dynamite.

Okay practice is over. Maybe I will head back to the “fanfest ” (which is pretty lame and mismanaged TBH.

@skatingguy, looking forward to your PBP later

 

[Willin]

The speakers at the opening ceremony included ISU president Kim Jae-youl and he hyped synchro for the Olympics big-time. Something along the lines of “let’s show why this should be an Olympic sport“ which was an invitation for the crowd to cheer loudly, which we did. He was like, “at Worlds in Saitma the crowd gave a lot of standing ovations, so be sure to please do that here, okay?”

Paul Wylie (as Head of the ORDA) gave a little speech and confessed that he knows nothing about synchro and had never seen it before, but he was so impressed. Not sure whether that goes in our favor or not.

The ISU President seemed to be having a lot more fun here than at regular worlds. Their shot of him here was smiling and laughing at the SP.

I watched last night, and enjoyed it, but have a newbie question I’m sure those in the know can answer.

How do these teams warm up? I’m used to each flight of singles or dance/pair teams having a five or six minute warmup before their turn. I don’t see that happening here, unless they do it in the practice rink and then head over.

Just curious!

Off ice you have a team warm up area. Usually you're allowed 20-30 minutes there before you go to the locker room to put skates on. Most teams will have a choreographed warm-up/dance for 5-10 minutes, then do off ice runthroughs of their programs.

You have 90 seconds on ice to warm up. Some teams elect to do stroking as a team (a warm-up block - very old school but making a comeback) while some do individual stroking. You then warm-up individual skills as you need to. As with singles, 90 seconds is the minimum and what the first team on ice will get, but you may or may not get more time if the prior team's score takes longer. When they announce your name you go to your starting position, and then a team member "signals" to indicate you're ready to start. This is usually a small movement or arm wave. If you don't signal, the music starts 30 seconds from when your name is announced.

 

[just tuned in]

These teams have all the time before the prior team’s scores are announced. I guess that might favor some teams if the prior team had a lot of reviews

 

[victorskid]

And the ISU YouTube stream is now live for the free programs - no commentary yet.

 

[Sylvia]

Synchronized Skating - Free Skating Starting Order/Results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/wsysc2023/SEG002.htm

Time schedule by team (Saturday 15:30 to 19:47 Eastern time): http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...----------FNL-000100--_StartListwithTimes.pdf

StN. Name Nation Rank Points (FS music copied from ISU bios)

1 Team Golden Roses TUR 23 18.56 - Mama's Got a Brand New Hammer (Thor: Love & Thunder Soundtrack) by Michael Giacchino
2 Team Amber LAT 22 32.64 - Corpus Rex by Safri Duo / Van Pelt (Jumanji) by Henry Jackman / Flirting With Danger (Jumanji) by Henry Jackman / Joke’s on You by Charlotte Lawrence
3 Team Zagreb Snowflakes CRO 21 34.78 - Selection of music by Michael Jackson
4 Team Icicles Senior GBR 20 39.90 - Hit the Road Jack by 2WEI / Boom Boom by 2WEI, Lady Bri / Funeral March by 2WEI / Toxic by 2WEI / Hit the Road Jack by Throttle

5 Team Unity AUS 19 45.21 - Facing Fears by Ivan Torrent / Eleanor Rigby by Cinematic Pop feat Adam Payne - John Lennon & Paul McCartney / Leap of Faith by AudioMachine - Mark Petrie, Andrew Prahlow
6 Team Ice United NED 18 45.28 - Translunar Triumph
7 Team Fusion ESP 17 45.46 - Uncharted by Greg Edmonson
8 Team Starlight Elite SUI 16 51.95 - The Dance byThe Cinematic Orchestra / Legacy by Cirque du Soleil / Wild Energy by SATV Music, Taylor Middleton

9 Team Zoulous FRA 15 52.08 - music not listed in ISU bio - ETA included "Lost it to Trying" by Son Lux (thanks @skatingguy & @tony!) / "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse, Natacha Atlas
10 Team Olympia CZE 14 52.18 - Siren Song by Summer Davis, Michael A. Levine / Sirens by Rag'n'Bone Man, Daniel Priddy, Fraser T. Smith, Mark Crew, Rory Graham / Stalking the Prey by Peter Jeremias, Revolt Production Music / Angel's Flight by Sound Adventures / Symphonia by Hypersonic Music, Max Cameron / Odyssea by Gabriel Saban, Philippe Briand
11 Team Jingu Ice Messengers JPN 13 53.02 - Coda Ai no Uta by Emilia Jones, Various Artists, Marius de Vries
12 Team Ice Fire Senior POL 12 54.13 - Humanity in Motion by Nathan Lanier
13 Team United Angels GER 11 54.64 - Welcome To The Black Parade by Halocene, Bob Bryar / Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, Bob Bryar / Take Me To Church by Hozier, Andrew Hozier-Bryne / Free (feat. Svrcina) by Tommee Profitt

14 Team Inspire SWE 10 56.30 - Wings for Ukraine by Thomas Bergersen / Lament for our Children by Thomas Bergersen and Kate St. Pierre
15 Team Hot Shivers ITA 9 58.93 - [Love, Actually OST] Glasgow Love Theme by Craig Armstrong / Portuguese Love Theme by Craig Armstrong / PM's Love Theme by Craig Armstrong / Jamie Leaves Aurelia by Craig Armstrong
16 Team Berlin 1 GER 8 58.99 - The Power Of Mind by Anne Sophie Versnaeyen, Gabriel Saban, Phillip Briand / Don´t Speak (feat. Tim Halperin) by Gwen, Stefani Renee, Tim Halperin / Remember Me by Anne Sophie Versnaeyen, Gabriel Saban, Phillip Briand
17 Team Passion HUN 7 61.41 - Storm by Havasi / Duel by Havasi / Imagine by Audiomachine / The Urgent by Bryce Jacobs
18 Team Haydenettes USA 6 64.77 - Quest For Souls by Reliable Source Music, David Marsden / Inner Peace by Reliable Source Music, Robert De Fresnes / Hope and Dreams of Grandeur by Karl Hugo / Ocean Princess by Thomas Bergersen

19 Team Miami University USA 5 70.07 - Ode To Joy by Karl Hugo
20 Team Nexxice CAN 4 72.17 - El Mar Mediterrani by Ryuchi Sakamoto
21 Team Unique FIN 3 76.13 - Voilá by Barbara Pravi / Victoria Station by Shigeru Umebayashi / March by Shigeru Umebayashi
22 Team Helsinki Rockettes FIN 2 78.61 - Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: 3. Sequentia: Rex tremendae - Live by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Majesty by Apashe & Wasiu, John De Buck / Dona Eis Requiem by Karl Hugo / Dies Irae by Apashe & Black Prez, Joseph Leopold Eybler
23 Team Les Supremes CAN 1 79.00 - Good News by Apashe / Empathy by Audiomachine / Madame Butterfly Act II: Un Bel DI Vedremo by Giacomo Puccini / Deceit and Betrayal by Audiomachine / Lord & Master by Apashe / Moonlight Sonata Mvt.3 by Tommee Profitt / Moonlight Butterfly by Karl Hugo


Skating ISU channel's livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsQ-s1p-5Xc

Commentators are Chris Howarth and Danielle ?

 

[4rkidz]

USA Miami has mauve sparkly warmup dresses, so that’s nice. This performance is fine. There’s a lot going on in the program, and some of it is not synchronized. Some moves are in canon which I think looks messy.

CAN Nexxice. Majestic! And they skated the program all the way through, which a lot of teams have not done. I think this program might be trying to tell a story, but I am not sure. Maybe there is an evil queen and a battle of some kind?

FIN Unique. No snark, they are special.

FIN Rockettes. Dramatik! Speed, formations impeccable. Spoiler: they take flight! Bravo! I forgive the excessive number of music cuts.

CAN Supremes. They look slow after the Rockettes. (Don’t tell that to the many cheering Canadians in the audience.). Insane number of music cuts, but the program is dynamite.

Okay practice is over. Maybe I will head back to the “fanfest ” (which is pretty lame and mismanaged TBH.

@skatingguy, looking forward to your PBP later

Thanks for the review I have not been able to catch up after the short, I had wandered why Les Supremes were in 4th.

 

[Karen-W]

Oh, dear, the Turkish team seems almost lost out here on the ice for their FS.

 

[tony]

Oh, dear, the Turkish team seems almost lost out here on the ice for their FS.

Lots of small falls, but the girl who fell on the second instance looked like she had no idea what to do and took a while to get up.

Nice experience for them all the same, but there are very drastic differences in skill levels within the team.

 

[Karen-W]

Lots of small falls, but the girl who fell on the second instance looked like she had no idea what to do and took a while to get up.

Nice experience for them all the same, but there are very drastic differences in skill levels within the team.

That was my impression as well.

 

[skatingguy]

Team Golden Roses, Turkey
Mama's Got a Brand New Hammer

Group Lift Element B
Pivoting Block Element1
Move Element 1< - two falls
Intersection Element 3 + p3- fall
Pair Element 2
Creative Element 1
Synchronized Spin Element 1 - fall
No Hold Element 3 + sB
Intersection Element 3 + p3
Artistic Wheel Element 2

Again today it is clear that this team is very new, very inexperienced, and very low level of choreography, skating skills, and performance.

41.06 = 1st Place
59.62 = 1st Place

 

[Karen-W]

Latvia had some interesting choreo elements and moves that I'd sort of like to see performed by a team with stronger skating skills. Which now makes me wonder when Estonia will start a synchro team.

 

[skatingguy]

Team Amber, Latvia
Corpus Rex, Van Pelt, Flirting With Danger

Intersection Element 3 + pi3
No Hold Element 3 + sB
Creative Element 1
Group Lift Element 3
Pivoting Block Element 1
Synchronized Spin Element 4 - fall
Move Element 2
Artistic Wheel Element 2
Pair Element 2
Intersection Element 4 + pi2

Clearly a step up from the first team across the board, but lots little errors, and the fall on the spin. Hard to judge the performance because the skaters were very focused on the elements.

75.17 = 1st Place
107.81 = 1st Place

 

[Karen-W]

Team Croatia gets negative GOE for the black tights half-covering their boots.

ETA - also, yes, WAY too many MJ music cuts.

 

[skatingguy]

Team Zagreb Snowflakes, Croatia
Selection of music by Michael Jackson

Artistic Circle Element 2
Synchronized Spin Element 3
Pivoting Block Element 2
Intersection Element 3 + pi3
Creative Element 1
Pair Element 3
Group Lift Element 3
Intersection Element 4 + pi4
No Hold Element 4 - Invalid Element
Move Element 3<

Ran into some problems at the end of the routine, but I thought they started well.

88.17 = 1st Place
122.95 = 1st Place

 

[Karen-W]

Team Great Britain has found Amber Glenn's SP music... And that ought to be enough to get @AngieNikodinovLove to take a second look at synchro, lol.

 

[skatingguy]

Team Icicles Senior, Great Britain
Hit the Road Jack, Boom Boom, Funeral March

Pair Element
Pivoting Block Element
Intersection Element 3 + pi3
No Hold Element 4 + sB
Group Lift Element 3
Intersection Element 4 + pi4
Move Element 2 - fall
Creative Element 1
Synchronized Spin Element 3
Artistic Line Element 2

Seemed like they ran out of steam as the program went on, and the fall hurt them on the Move Element, and then on the Creative Element because the fallen skater had to rush to get back in position.

88.18 = 1st Place
128.08 = 1st Place

 

[Icetalavista]

Nice death spirals, crisp footwork. I liked that