The Midwestern and Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Section Championships will be held at Graham Arena this week.
Teams will be arriving Wednesday or Thursday for their official practice time and competition will follow on Friday and Saturday.
This is one of the largest sporting events Rochester has ever hosted. Together the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission and Rochester Figure Skating Club will be welcoming 167 teams from 33 states, 2,460 athletes and 1,800 fans. This event is expected to bring over $1.8 million in economic impact to the city and over 6,400 hotel room nights.
Synchronized figure skating is described as "a team sport in which 8-20 skaters perform a program together. It uses the same judging system as singles, pairs and dance and is characterized by teamwork, speed, intricate formations and challenging step sequences. As with the other disciplines, all teams perform a free skate with required well-balanced program elements. In addition, teams at the junior and senior level perform a short program consisting of required elements," according to U.S. Figure Skating.
Rochester will have four of its own teams, composed of 49 skaters, competing in the championship.
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"The Rochester Figure Skating Club (RFSC) is really excited to be bringing this quantity of teams to Rochester. Synchro is not often televised so it’s a great opportunity for people to see it," stated Ann Miksch, RFSC competition coordinator.
The Sports Commission and Rochester Figure Skating wouldn’t be able to host this large of an event without some key partners such as: Park & Recreation Dept., Rochester Youth Hockey, Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau and all our volunteers.
If you have never seen a synchronized event before, be sure to stop out to Graham this week and check it out – it’s quite impressive.
Both male and female athletes with ages ranging from 6 to 60 will be competing in the event. Teams that place in the top four will earn a spot at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships.
The top performing teams from the junior and senior levels will have the opportunity to earn a berth to the U.S. Synchronized Skating Team, with the top two senior teams going on to represent the USA at the World Synchronized Skating Championships.
For more information on this great event you can call the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission at 507-280-4701 or check out the website at www.rochsports.com/synchro for competition schedules and results.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 4-5: U.S. Figure Skating Synchro Sectional Championships۬
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Feb. 19-20: Presidents Day Festival Volleyball۬
Feb. 26-27: RCYBA Girls Basketball Tournament
