Photo Credit Cynthia Slawter Photography
Two senior and two junior synchronized skating teams will travel to Budapest, Hungary, to represent Team USA at Budapest Cup - the second of five ISU Challenger Series events – held Jan. 20-22.
Skating for the United States in the senior competition are the two teams who competed for Team USA at last year’s World Championships: the Haydenettes and Miami University. The Lexettes and Teams Elite will represent Team USA in the junior competition. All four teams are making their international season debut.
The Haydenettes, 30-time U.S. champions and five-time World bronze medalists, will be vying for their first Challenger Series gold. They have previously earned two silver medals at Challenger Series events, including last season at Mozart Cup.
Joining the Haydenettes is Miami University. The team out of Oxford, Ohio that secured silver at last year’s U.S. Championships is looking for their first Challenger Series podium finish.
The Lexettes, which train at The Skating Club of Boston, hope to continue their momentum from last season and win their third Challenger Series medal. In 2022-23, they claimed gold at the final Challenger Series event of the season to clinch their place on the World Junior Championships team.
Rounding out the entries for Team USA is Teams Elite. The 2022 World Junior bronze medalists earned silver at Neuchatel Trophy last season, their fourth Challenger Series medal, which is tied with Skyliners junior for the most medals of any U.S. junior team.
Budapest Cup kicks off Saturday with the senior short program. The following day, the juniors will take the ice for the first time and medals will be awarded in the senior event following the free skate. Competition wraps up Monday with the junior free skate.
The Challenger Series, which began in 2019-20, consists of up to five international competitions linked together to give adequate opportunities for synchronized skating teams to compete at the international level, earn World Standing Points and prepare for competing at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships.
For full results, bios and more, visit Challenger Series Synchronized Skating Competition Central.
