2020 Eastern Sectional Championship Wrap-Up (IJS)
by Kennedy McKay
Competition at the 2020 Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships took place January 15-18 in Albany, New York. Teams in IJS events skated to earn qualifying spots to earn a trip to the U.S Championships in Providence, Rhode Island at the end of February.
The juvenile division began IJS events, and six of the nine teams advanced to the U.S. Championships. Skyliners defended their Sectional title, earning a total score of 49.79. DC EDGE’s “Hercules” program earned 42.09 for second place. Mini Mates, skating to “Willy Wonka”, earned third with 41.66. Team Image rounded out the podium, finishing fourth with 39.31. Team Excel and Team Ashburn secured the final qualifying spots, scoring 36.40 and 32.87 respectively.
The top four out of 15 intermediate teams qualified for the U.S. Championships. Ice Mates took home another title, receiving 64.90 and executing the highest-scoring no hold and travel element. Skyliners placed second with 59.95; the team performed the highest-valued pivot block and moves element. Triangle Formation’s “Kesha” program earned the highest-scoring intersection element and a total score of 55.34 to finish in third. Team Image earned fourth place, scoring 54.15 and the highest valued twizzle element. Team Image and Skyliners executed the highest-valued artistic element, both completing an artistic line Level 2. DC EDGE just missed the podium by 0.91, but delivered a fantastic skate to earn 53.24.
In the collegiate event, University of Delaware won another consecutive title, earning 80.38 with their “50 Shades of Grey” performance. Team Excel claimed silver with a score of 71.73 and the highest-valued synchronized spin and travel element. Skating to “Cry Me a River”, Boston University scored 67.08 to earn the bronze medal. University of Massachusetts’ “Queen” inspired skate earned 53.90 for the pewter medal. Liberty University earned 52.48 and Mirror Images scored 48.63; all teams will move forward to the U.S. Championships.
Esprit de Corps won the masters event with 43.32. DC EDGE took second place, totaling 38.58. Gotham City Synchro skated to third place with a score of 30.26. The Colonials finish out the podium, earning 28.36 for fourth place. Essex Blades finished in fifth with 24.07. All teams advance to the U.S. Championships.
Five qualifying spots were up for grabs in the novice division. Skyliners Blue took first place, earning 80.31 and the highest-valued no hold and moves element. Skyliners Black finished in second with 74.64. The team earned the highest-scoring intersection, twizzle, and travel element. Third place went to Star Mates and their “Swing” performance. They earned 72.00 in addition to scoring the most points for their pivot block element. DC EDGE took fourth place, totaling 69.28 for their “Jungle Book” skate. Team Image secured the final qualifying spot with 61.84 for fifth place.
Esprit de Corps took home the adult title, scoring 54.23 with a moving “Unbreakable” performance. Team Delaware followed with the silver medal as their “Prom” program earned 52.52. Team Excel took bronze with 51.37. The Colonials rounded out the podium with the pewter and 47.76. DC EDGE gave a fun performance to “Kinky Boots” to secure the last qualifying spot with 47.42. Team Image just missed a qualifying spot by 0.25 but delivered a great performance to earn 47.17 for sixth place.
In the junior event, Team Delaware won the title with a total score of 117.35. The team started in second place after their “Danse Macabre” short program earned 33.29, but moved up to finish first overall as their “Captain Marvel” free skate earned 84.06. Team Excel started out the competition in first place after the short program; their “Listen to Your Heart” performance earned 35.37. Earning 72.64 in their “Hero” free skate, the team finished in second overall with 108.01. Synchroettes finished in third place with 90.48 overall, earning 28.97 with their “Queen” short program and 61.51 with their “Mamma Mia” free skate.
Congrats to all teams on a successful season, and good luck to those competing at the U.S. Championships! Don’t miss out on any of the action leading up to the U.S. Championships – follow Get It Called on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Keep an eye out for upcoming photo contests leading up to the U.S. Championships!