Six time world synchro champs and reigning world silver medalist Team Surprise stops competing

[Willin]

In a shocking announcement right before the start of the synchro season (the first international competition at Finlandia Trophy is this weekend), Team Surprise will disband as of this season. There's no official explanation yet, but it appears it's something that has been brewing for a while. From the ISU article it seems like the coach wanted to move on and for whatever reason this meant that the team had to disband as well. One wonders if Sweden will ever have a team this good again - hopefully they will with all the great synchro skaters they produce.

For those unfamiliar with synchro, Team Surprise was not only known for their impressive collection of medals, but also for their innovation. Included in things they pioneered are the center split lift (something pretty much all top teams are doing now), using many dress colors, certain lift entrances and transitions, etc. many of which are now either standard or became trendy. In true synchro innovation fashion they even sparked a trend that got banned, using dresses that looked too different.

Here's their FS at Worlds last year, their last performance on the world stage.


In other synchro news that was announced this week one of the biggest international competitions, Cup of Berlin, was cancelled due to "organizational difficulties."

 

[overedge]

This is particularly unfortunate at a time when there is a push to get synchro into the Olympics....

 

[Ananas Astra]

Damn, just watched this FS of theirs and I guess I found a "Moulin Rouge!" program I can stand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmuLXVl4hKY

Such a pity.

 

[misskarne]

In true synchro innovation fashion they even sparked a trend that got banned, using dresses that looked too different.

I don't understand a lot about Synchro, but I especially don't understand this. Half the team in one dress, half the team in the other, that would be visually striking and appealing if they did it right (and I'm sure they did) and still contains an element of synchronicity. What was the problem here?

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I don't understand a lot about Synchro, but I especially don't understand this. Half the team in one dress, half the team in the other, that would be visually striking and appealing if they did it right (and I'm sure they did) and still contains an element of synchronicity. What was the problem here?

It's synchro, it's not ice ballet... an event well-known in France. https://youtu.be/FCg8dW1Yoqo
https://ffsg.org/discipline/ballet-sur-glace/

 

[Deleted member 19433]

I'm not that familiar with synchro but sorry to hear the news.

In true synchro innovation fashion they even sparked a trend that got banned, using dresses that looked too different.

I don't understand a lot about Synchro, but I especially don't understand this. Half the team in one dress, half the team in the other, that would be visually striking and appealing if they did it right (and I'm sure they did) and still contains an element of synchronicity. What was the problem here?

The rules under the "clothing" section (Rule 951) don't mention this. Is this really banned and can you point out the rule? As I mentioned, I'm not that familiar with synchro. I was just curious about it once it was mentioned and how such a rule would be worded since I hadn't heard of that before, but on the occasions when I have watched synchro I remember all of the costumes being nearly identical, so it certainly seems to be the norm even if it's not required by rule.
https://isu.org/inside-synchronized-skating/synchronized-skating-rules/regulations-rules-sys/file

 

[allezfred]

Well there's a Surprise......

 

[analia]

Could never come up with a single reason to watch synchro. Seems slow and boring.

 

[BittyBug]

This is particularly unfortunate at a time when there is a push to get synchro into the Olympics....

I really doubt that Synchro will ever be accepted as an Olympic sport. The cost of hosting the Olympics is already out of control, and even if they limited the number of teams to 20, between athletes, coaches and officials, that would add 450+ participants to villages that are already at capacity. Plus, the ice is already fully utilized for figure skating and short track, so they would need an additional ice surface.

I know the ISU is pushing it, but I just don't see how the economics can work. Adding the team event worked because it leveraged existing participants, but synchro would be a complete add, and I just don't see that happening.

 

[centerpt1]

Team Surprise was wonderful! I will miss them. To all those who doubt they would like synchro-give it a watch. You might like it. It has improved in "watchability" over the last 10 years.

 

[gkelly]

Could never come up with a single reason to watch synchro. Seems slow and boring.

If you ever had occasion to watch high level teams live and up close -- or to share the ice with high-level synchro skaters practicing in ones and twos -- you would realize that it is not slow.

You might still find it boring. Matter of taste.

 

[Willin]

I don't understand a lot about Synchro, but I especially don't understand this. Half the team in one dress, half the team in the other, that would be visually striking and appealing if they did it right (and I'm sure they did) and still contains an element of synchronicity. What was the problem here?

Why they did here is not banned, and other teams doing similar things (subtle differences or color swaps) is not banned. What happened after they did this is that teams (mostly at lower levels) started taking this to new heights with design differences. The best example I can think of was a novice team that did a Wizard of Oz program where each group of four skaters (Dorothy, lion, scarecrow, and tin man) had different dress color/designs and different hairstyles. That’s what’s banned (or at least strongly discouraged). Maybe it’s only a USFS rule?

 

[overedge]

@Willin what you're describing sounds like it was closer to Theatre on Ice/ice ballet than it was to synchro. I can see the USFS thinking, "if there's groups of four dressed differently, next there will be groups of two, and then groups of one, so let's crack down on this now".

 

[Willin]

@overedge Interestingly enough, there's a worry about that in the choreography as well. In fact, this year there was a scoring change to weight hooked up skating higher in scoring than skaters skating by themselves. I like to think of part of it (discouraging turning creative elements/transitions into freestyle sessions) as the Haydenettes rule #2.

@misskarne This is the best angle of the program I could find. The worlds performance was kind of a hot mess anyways (6? falls). It was my favorite program to watch in person that year.

 

[BittyBug]

If you ever had occasion to watch high level teams live and up close...

Live synchro is wild. The crowds are crazy enthusiastic, there's a lot of camaraderie and the crowd is LOUD. It also appears to be a slightly younger audience than regular skating, but that may have been my perception.

If you ever have the chance to go to a high-level event, do.

 

[Willin]

@BittyBug The Swedish fans are the best! They're so loud and rowdy. I really hope this news doesn't discourage them from attending competitions in the future...

 

[synchrogirl17]

So sad for the synchro community. We owe a lot to Team Surprise, they pushed the sport like no other team.

I think Sweden will push on. They still have Team Boomerang and the new Team Unity, and maybe these teams can now attract a higher level of skaters.

Will be interesting to see which country secures 2 spots at 2019 Worlds in Helsinki (the top 5 countries qualify)

 

[caseyedwards]

Shocking! They were like the synchro Yankees to me!