Sports

Woodbury Skaters Get The Gold

Synchronized skating team with girls from Woodbury competes in national event in Massachusetts, now headed to Sweden.

Several Woodbury girls recently brought home gold and silver medals from the 2012 United States Figure Skating Synchronized Skating National Championships.

The girls are part of Team Braemar, the Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club’s synchronized skating team, and competed March 1-3 in Worcester, MA.

Team Braemar Junior took home the gold, while Team Braemar Novice achieved silver, according to a release. For the first time in more than a decade, the Team Braemar Juvenile team also participated in the national championships, placing 10th in the country.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Skating for Team Braemar Junior are student Jordan Weiss and students Madison Rothweiler and Tasha Vo.

Skating for Team Braemar Novice are Woodbury High School student Savannah Bliese, Woodbury resident Katy Lundquist (St. Croix Prep), Vo, and Weiss.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Coached by Pam May and Toni Swiggum, all three Braemar synchronized teams competed against other teams from across the U.S., earning the trip to nationals by qualifying at their respective regional sectional championships in January.  

Dressed in black and skating to a compilation of gypsy-infused musical shorts in their free-skate program—and in pink for their short program skating to a number titled “Blah, blah, blah, cha, cha, cha”—Team Braemar Junior earned a combined total of 159.65 points between the short and free skate programs. This gave them a 1.23-point victory over the Skyliners of New York—and the gold medal. 

“They were ready and they did a great job. I thought they gave it their all,” May said in the release.

The team entered the competition as the defending 2011 national silver medalists.

Team Braemar Novice took silver at the championships skating to a routine centered on a medley of circus songs.

“They presented the program really well,” May said.

Each Braemar synchronized skating team is comprised of 16-20 female skaters from various schools in the Twin Cities area. Junior team skaters are under age 19, skaters on the Novice team are generally under age 16, and Juvenile team skaters are under age 13.

For the fourth year in a row, Team Braemar Junior now will compete at the 2012 Junior World Challenge Cup (JWCC) March 15-17 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The JWCC is sanctioned by the International Skating Union and is comprised of teams from around the world. The Junior team finished third in the 2011 JWCC.

All three teams practice at the Braemar Ice Arena. The public has the opportunity to watch all three teams skate at the annual Spring Ice Show, which takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28, at the arena. The Spring Ice Show features approximately 120 skaters who will perform as individuals, pairs, trios, and groups.

Tickets will be available at the Braemar Ice Arena box office. The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.

Tryouts for 2012-2013 synchronized skating teams will be held May 7 at Braemar Arena.

Additional information can be found at www.braemarfsc.org, www.icenetwork.com and www.usfigureskating.org.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here