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

[Sylvia]

Starting a thread in GSD for higher visibility...

ISU's event info page: https://www.isu.org/synchronized-sk...onized-skating-championships?templateParam=11
Detailed time & pracctice schedule (official practice starts on Thursday, March 30): https://results.isu.org/schedules/SYSWC2023_Schedule.pdf

Entries as of March 10: https://results.isu.org/events/wsysc2023_SynchronizedSkating.htm
No. Name Nation
1 Team Unity AUS 1
2 Team Les Supremes CAN 2
3 Team Nexxice CAN 2
4 Team Zagreb Snowflakes CRO 3
5 Team Olympia CZE 4
Team Darlings CZE 4 S
6 Team Fusion ESP 5
7 Team Helsinki Rockettes FIN 6
8 Team Unique FIN 6
Team Marigold Ice Unity FIN 6 S
9 Team Zoulous FRA 7
10 Team Icicles Senior GBR 8
11 Team Berlin 1 GER 9
12 Team United Angels GER 9
13 Team Passion HUN 10
14 Team Hot Shivers ITA 11
15 Team Jingu Ice Messengers JPN 12
16 Team Amber LAT 13
17 Team Ice United NED 14
18 Team Ice Fire Senior POL 15
19 Team Starlight Elite SUI 16
20 Team Inspire SWE 17
21 Team Golden Roses TUR 18
22 Team Haydenettes USA 19
23 Team Miami University USA 19
Team Skyliners USA 19 S
Teams Elite USA 19 S

USFS' event page with ticket info: https://www.usfigureskating.org/event/isu-world-synchronized-skating-championships-2023

This competition will be livestreamed in the U.,S. for Peacock Premium subscribers - Short Program on Friday, March 31 starting at 6:00pm Eastern time & Free Skate on Saturday, April 1 at 3:30pm ET.

USFS' press release:

Team USA Geared up to Compete on Home Ice at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2023 - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

The Haydenettes and Miami University will take on the best synchronized skating teams from around the world at the premier event of the season, the ISU World Synchronized

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Skate Canada's press release:

Canadian Synchro Team Aiming for Second Consecutive Podium at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (March 27, 2023) – Canada will be represented by two solid teams at the 2023 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships taking place in Lake Placid, USA from March 31 to April 1, 2023. Les Suprêmes will be looking to defend their title after winning gold at the 2022 ISU World...

skatecanada.ca

 

[Sylvia]

Finnish federation's press release:

Team Unique ja Helsinki Rockettes tähtäävät MM-mitaleille - Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto ry

Muodostelmaluistelun MM-kilpailut käynnistyvät perjantaina Lake Placidissa Yhdysvalloissa.

www.stll.fi

Machine translated excerpt:

The World Figure Skating Championships start on Friday in Lake Placid, USA. Finland will be represented on the ice by Helsingfors Skridskoklubb's Team Unique and Helsinki Figure Skating Club's Helsinki Rockettes, both of whom have full chances for the podium and even the World Cup gold in the tough competition.
The same teams were supposed to represent Finland in Lake Placid already in 2020, but then the competitions had to be canceled due to the corona pandemic. Now the teams will get their chance from March 31st to April 1st. in the world championships to be held, in which 23 teams from 20 countries participate.

ISU's preview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbH1NmPzfzo

Just wondering if any FSUers are planning to attend in person?

 

[just tuned in]

Just wondering if any FSUers are planning to attend in person?

I will be there

 

[Willin]

Weeks later an I'm still baffled that USFS chose Miami over 3 other Senior teams that all got higher international scores... Hell, Miami only got the silver at Nationals through some sort of riggory. Based on international results, the Finnish will get two on the podium with Canada getting the third spot. But in which order?

 

[Sylvia]

ISU's preview article (March 30): https://www.isu.org/synchronized-sk...onized-skating-championships?templateParam=15
"The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel [click here]. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list on the Where to Watch webpage here [link]."

Fan Zone article on USA's Haydenettes:

Bold Goals: Haydenettes Enter Lake Placid Worlds with Unified Skating and Mindset - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

It's February 29, 2020. The Haydenettes had just won their 28th U.S. title in Providence, Rhode Island. The Boston-based team screamed with excitement as they were

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

FSO's preview article: https://figureskatersonline.com/new...isu-world-synchronized-skating-championships/

ETA link to the Fan Zone article on the Miami University team (March 30):

Miami Heads to World Synchronized Skating Championships Fresh Off Emotional U.S. Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

When the Miami University senior synchronized skating team walked through the tunnel at the Peoria Civic Center for their short program practice at the 2023 U.S.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

NED will be represented by Team Ice United:

At Worlds, "we want to enjoy every moment"

In a few days, the senior Team Ice United will be waving the Dutch flag on the world stage. The team will represent the Netherlands at the World Championships. Interview!

www.jurasynchro.com

Synchro Worlds will be broadcast in Sweden via Viaplay: https://www.skatesweden.se/nyheter/...foljer-du-vm-i-synkroniserad-konstakning-2023

 

[just tuned in]

Okay, so I am here in the arena for unofficial practice. I know y’all will be interested to learn that Team Netherlands is doing their short program to Coldplay’s “Fix You.”

 

[BlueRidge]

Okay, so I am here in the arena for unofficial practice. I know y’all will be interested to learn that Team Netherlands is doing their short program to Coldplay’s “Fix You.”

Hooray for on site reports!

 

[just tuned in]

Poland has what I can only assume is an original mash-up of every cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” It’s good, tho!

 

[just tuned in]

Battery dying, sorry.

ETA: I got out of my seat to go looking for a wall socket and some guy sitting a few rows behind me asked me if I was from Latvia. Lol.

 

[just tuned in]

Team Germany just sat down next to me. Anybody want me to say anything? Any messages?

ETA: Darn, too late, they are on the move. They had different colored scrunch in the colors of their flag.

whoops, Australia sitting next to me now!

 

[just tuned in]

Australia applauding Sweden’s death spirals.

 

[just tuned in]

Australia has moved on, and Latvia has taken their place. They had a hard fall in warmups but the girl says everyone is fine,

Turkey is on the ice. Red jackets, very different attire than the other teams’ black practice dresses. Short Program is an “Eastern” theme.

 

[just tuned in]

Has Turkey recovered mostly from their recent earthquake? This practice has been very shaky. That sounds like a joke, but I don’t mean it that way. They has only 15 skaters and they seemed slow and cautious.

 

[just tuned in]

USA-1 on the ice. They are warming up to Pitbull’s Fireball compete with crowd noise. Special treatment? They are dazzling.

 

[victorskid]

The Entries/Start Orders/Results link: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/wsysc2023/

The links for the SP and FS are now up on the ISU YouTube channel.

 

[just tuned in]

What is the rule for “spots” at synchro Worlds? coming right after the Haydenettes, Miami U looks kind of ordinary….

 

[Integrity]

What is the rule for “spots” at synchro Worlds? coming right after the Haydenettes, Miami U looks kind of ordinary….

Usually it's the top two from Nationals, but occasionally a team with a better record at international competitions from the season get on the Worlds team.

 

[Sylvia]

@just tuned in, FWIW, Willin had something to say about Miami U. in post #4...

Thanks for your info from the arena!

 

[just tuned in]

Usually it's the top two from Nationals, but occasionally a team with a better record at international competitions from the season get on the Worlds team.

No,I mean, USA has 2 spots, same with CAN, GER, FIN. How high do our teams need to place to keep the two spots for next year?

 

[just tuned in]

@just tuned in, FWIW, Willin had something to say about Miami U. in post #4...

They should be in school!

 

[Integrity]

No,I mean, USA has 2 spots, same with CAN, GER, FIN. How high do our teams need to place to keep the two spots for next year?

I see. Countries that placed in the top five at the previous worlds get to send two.

 

[Willin]

@just tuned in A lot of the girls that go to Miami don't go for school, and everyone I know who attended but one skater wound up transferring to a better school after a year or two of skating.

 

[Karen-W]

@just tuned in A lot of the girls that go to Miami don't go for school, and everyone I know who attended but one skater wound up transferring to a better school after a year or two of skating.

Willin - I thought the selections for Jr Worlds were also suspect. The Lexettes didn't have as good of placements as Team Image, but they were named to the Jr Worlds team because Nats was the week before. Then, Lexettes got a$$es handed to them again at Nats by Team Image. It was an interesting choice, especially when they didn't skate all that well at Jr Worlds either.

 

[Willin]

@Karen-W I actually heard this from (of all people) a Haydenettes mom. She felt US synchro was hurting because it was propping up one organization above all (Hayden) then Miami/Skyliners, and then outright ignoring and shafting the rest of the Junior/Senior teams. She thought Teams Elite or Skyliners was the obvious second choice.

But I feel that, at the same time, at least the Lexettes won a Junior international competition a couple weeks prior to Nationals - it didn't excuse the weird choice, but at least they'd had international success. I think everyone at Nationals I spoke to agreed that the Lexettes would never have gone to worlds if not for their strong international results; domestically they did not match up, and even 3rd at Nationals was generous - Teams Elite should've beat them.

Like, there's no excuse for propping up Miami when they literally finished dead last in international scoring potential. I think every team but them and Adrian got 200+ points at least once if not multiple times this season (So Hayden, Elite, and Skyliners). Adrian got a score like 196-198, but Miami's best was like 192. The US is shooting themselves in the foot especially since Hayden is getting weaker and weaker every season and they need to find and support many worthy rivals.

 

[just tuned in]

Almost time for official practice for the short program!! Arena is playing Beach Boy’s “Good Vibrations” which is such a fantastic choice I wonder why no one has ever thought of it before.

A couple more notes about the venue. No restrictions about bringing in food and water. The bag checkers are looking only for weapons. There are no magnatromers. The bag checker guys are so cute, they said they have a Facebook and instagram page called BagLookers. Said they love to look in bags. I asked if I could bring in water. They said, “Only if it not boiling.”

The beer concessions are out in the open, not behind cages. There was a beer delivery yesterday and there were like, a million cases of beer all around the inner concourse. Not covered, not protected. Good thing it wasn’t popcorn, or I might have committed a crime.

 

[just tuned in]

Turkey on the ice with mid-Eastern program and vaguely Egypt-hands. Falls, missed holds, and so sloooowwww. Hope they do better for competition, or maybe they are just happy to be here.

 

[just tuned in]

Netherland: Fix You. It‘s nice, and the ending is effective. Loved their warm-up block!

GBR: Thumping medley with reggae influences that included Grown Woman. Some parts sharp, some parts frantic.

Latvia: Exogenisis. Weak SS and some yikesmoments. ETA: I walked past Latvia in the concours. These women are like 6 feet tall.

Japn Jingu Ice Messengers (best team name). lol, the height difference between these ladies and the Latvians. Music is Lala Land, if Lala Land were heavily orchestrated and an opera. Powerfu, and I enjoyed it.

 

[just tuned in]

Spain. Literally a slow tinkly piano version of Star Wars. Violin. Oboe. Brass. Cymbal. Human moaning. Brass. Tinkly piano. Did they skate? I don’t know, too focused on the insane music. It ended with their guy and a girl in a semi- embrace, but I don’t know why.

Australia: Blues, rock. Never Tear Us Apart. They have 5 guys on the team! Their program is so exciting that I almost cried. Totally jazzed for this!

Czech Republic: MJ. smooth criminal. They are into it! Really great.

Italy. a sweet countrified version of Hallelujah. Their skating is very pretty.

Sweden. Black Betty. Too loud.

Croatia. Their music had a balalaika and quick rhythm. Folk-ish. I am rooting for Croatia because it is a lovely country and nice population and they have had so much trouble with nasty Montenegro. Alas, this team is skating slow and messy. Disorganized and not much expression.

 

[just tuned in]

Haydenettes up next. Loud and sustained cheering from their supporters in. Da. House.
”USA! USA!” Their music is some kind of loud funk. Damn, they make it look easy. Fans are going nuts.

 

[just tuned in]

Here is Poland with a bizarro mashup of Bad Romance, Toxic, Sweet Dreams (the part about being abused). I believe this is a top-10 team.

Hah, they all just held hands in a circle then laid back and rolled on the ice.