First Champions Crowned at 2022 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships

The 2022 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships kicked off today at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Teams Elite defended their title in the novice competition, DC EDGE earned the top spot in the master’s division and Team Image leads after the junior short program.

NOVICE

The novice competition kicked off the 2022 U.S. Synchronized Championships in historic fashion with the top five teams earning 80 or more points for the first time ever.

Teams Elite (Individual Member) won gold for the second consecutive time, scoring 89.07 points, a new record for the novice division. Their Samba-themed free skate included a Level 4 move element and no-hold element. The Chicago-based team also made waves at the Midwestern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships, becoming the first novice team to ever break 100 points.

“I feel like we have had better skates, but I feel very confident in our team and we really worked together to put it all out there which felt amazing,” said 18-year-old Teams Elite skater Chloe Schmidt.

Skyliners Blue also had a record setting performance, notching 88.48 points to top their sectionals score by over nine points. Their Egyptian-themed skate received all positive grades of execution and included a Level 4 traveling circle and move element. The Skating Club of New York squad earned the silver medal for the second straight year.

The Fond du Lac Blades (Fond du Lac FSC) also made history for their club, cracking the top-three at the novice level for the first time ever and earning the bronze medal. Their Moulin Rouge! program had the highest technical score of the competition with 42.65 points, which featured Level 4 marks for the move, twizzle and intersection elements, as well as the step sequence in their no-hold element. The Wisconsin team tallied 83.77 points.

Ice Mates (Individual Member) earned the pewter medal with 81.24 points. They earned Level 4 marks for their no-hold and move elements.

MASTERS

The masters competition was nearly too close to call with DC EDGE (Washington FSC) claiming gold by .02 point over the Starlights. DC EDGE earned 49.20 points for their “Villains” free skate which opened with a Level 4 linear line element. The Washington D.C. team won three-straight masters titles from 2016-18 and found the top of the podium once more in Colorado Springs.  

“I think we did really well,” said DC EDGE skater Michelle Daichman. “We brought our attitude. This is a fun and fierce program, and we love skating it.”

Narrowly in second place, Starlights (Individual Member) earned the silver medal with 49.18 points. This is the first time the club has landed in the top-three in the masters division. Their “alien invasion” free skate earned all positive grades of execution and the highest technical score in the field with 24.83 points.

Allegro! (Individual Member) grabbed the bronze medal with 47.60 points. The Michigan-based team skated to a Betty Boop-themed program that received 24.53 points for their technical score and 23.07 points for their program components. The team earned the silver medal in 2020 and was the masters champion in 2019.

IceSymmetrics (St. Moritz ISC) collected the pewter medal with 47.00 points skating to music from Moulin Rouge!.

JUNIOR

Team Image (Individual Member) had a historic short program on Thursday night, winning a segment of competition at the U.S. Synchronized Championships for the first time ever. Skating to "Sleepwalking" by Lindsey Stirling, the New Jersey-based team received Level 4 marks for their twizzle element as well as their closing no-hold element and step sequence to tally 68.11 points. Team Image had the highest technical score of the night with 38.12 points.

"We chose this music because it's powerful, which I think is their strength," said head coach Cindy Kim. "But it's also beautiful, which I think from previous seasons they could improve upon and so we worked on making things more expressive and flowy with this program and I think it paid off."

Skyliners junior sits in second place with 65.74 points after their short program to "Hallelujah" by Cinematic Pop. The reigning U.S. junior champions received Level 4 marks for their twizzle and no-hold elements, but had a fall coming out of their move element. The Skating Club of New York squad had the top program components of the night with 31.52 points.

Placing third, Teams Elite (Individual Member) scored 65.72 points for their Ouija-themed short program. Sporting letters from a Ouija board on their dresses, the Illinois-based team's program included an opening Level 4 twizzle element.

The Lexettes (Individual Member) are in fourth place with 63.47 points. The Boston-based troop skated to "Raganu Nakts" by Tautumeitas and earned Level 4s for their twizzles, no-hold and step sequence.

Competition continues tomorrow with the intermediate free skate, senior short program and junior free skate. The junior, senior and collegiate competition can be streamed live and on-demand on Peacock Premium. The juvenile, novice, intermediate, adult and masters competition are available on Video Corner on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. Fans can also follow along on the competition central page.