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2007 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships This Weekend
By Lindsay DeWall // U.S. Figure Skating Association // February 22, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 22, 2007) – The 2007 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships, taking place Feb. 22-24 at the Colorado Springs World Arena, will be available for viewing to fans around the world via webcasts on icenetwork.com and broadcasts on CN8, part of The Comcast Network.
Icenetwork.com will provide a live webcast of all four events taking place on Saturday, Feb. 24, which includes the free skate for the adult, collegiate, novice and senior divisions. All other events will be webcast on demand at icenetwork.com following the conclusion of the competition. To catch the action, fans can subscribe for $29.95 for the entire 2006-2007 U.S. Figure Skating qualifying season. Icenetwork.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Figure Skating and has the exclusive rights to U.S. Figure Skating’s interactive media properties.
CN8 will broadcast the senior and collegiate competitions, reaching more than 9 million homes throughout the Northeast. The collegiate competition will be broadcast on Sunday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. EST, and rebroadcast on Saturday, March 10, at 4:30 p.m. EST. The senior competition will be broadcast on Sunday, March 11, at 7 p.m., and rebroadcast on Saturday, March 17, at 12 p.m.
Approximately 90 teams will compete at the 2007 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships in eight divisions: juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, senior, collegiate, adult and masters. Teams had to qualify for the event through placements at their respective sectional championships, which took place last month, or through a bye due to international competition. The top two senior-level finishers this week will qualify for the World Synchronized Team Skating Championships taking place March 29-April 1 in London, Ontario, Canada. Last year’s senior champion was Miami University, which went on to finish fourth at the World Championships.
CN8 will also feature broadcasts from the World Synchronized Championships. The broadcasts will be aired on Sunday, April 8, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, at 4 p.m. The top five markets in the CN8 family include Philadelphia (1.9 million), Boston (1.5 million), New York City (1.4 million), Washington D.C. (1 million) and Baltimore (575,000), with numerous other Northeast cities and towns included in the network as well.
Synchronized skating is a growing discipline of figure skating characterized by speed, accuracy, intricate formations and breathtaking transitions performed by teams of 8-20 athletes. Synchronized skating started approximate¬ly 50 years ago. What began with a group of skaters organized to perform at Uni¬versity of Michigan ice hockey games has since grown into a competitive discipline with thousands of athletes participating all over the world, culminating in the World Synchronized Team Skating Championships every year.
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