Strong start for Starlights Synchronized Skaters
It's definitely a November to remember for all the Starlights Synchronized Skating Teams. Following their annual kick-off exhibition in front of a packed house at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove earlier this month, several teams rode that momentum to earn high performance scores and spots on the podium in their first competitions of the young season.
Medals and More…
Setting the tone for all eight Starlights teams was the club's youngest group, the Beginner Team. The Starlights' newest squad dazzled crowds with their “Witch Doctor” routine and captured the gold medal at the Synchro Classic competition in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
Their success seemed to inspire other Starlights teams competing over the weekend at the 13th Annual Synchronized Skating Kick-off Classic in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Five Starlights teams earned medals, including the Senior Team – earning 2nd place silver medals while performing in bright blue dresses to the theme of “Miss Otis Regrets” in their short program. Also earning silver medals were skaters from the Starlights Novice team, performing in multi-colored outfits to music from “The Wizard of Oz.” Novice skaters competed against eight other teams from Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Both the Starlights Juvenile and Preliminary teams earned 3rd place bronze medals. Juvenile skaters glided across the ice in dark blue dresses to music from “Aladdin” while Preliminary team members sported bright red in skating to their routine set to the music of “Annie.”
Red is also the featured color of Starlights Intermediate Team skaters who earned fourth place pewter medals as they performed in red dresses in a “Smash” musical-themed routine. The Starlights Open Juvenile team also had a strong showing in Kalamazoo, finishing 7th out of 12 teams while performing in bright pink to a program theme of “back in time.”
Starlights Growing in Numbers
These opening performances kicked off the Starlights' 14th season and the club now has more teams than at any other time in its history. This season there are eight different teams featuring a total of 129 skaters ranging in age from the youngest on the Beginner Team to experienced skaters of the Starlights Adult Team.
“Our strong recruitment efforts and the dedication of all our skaters and coaches are really making a difference,” said Starlights skating director Chris Heiser. “From summer training camp, to pre-dawn practices and evening workouts, it's very rewarding to see our teams pull together in committing to compete at their best.”
In fact, many skaters who competed in Kalamazoo on Saturday the 17th came off long bus rides on Saturday night and were right back on the ice for practice at 6:00 a.m. the following Sunday. Practices continue for all Starlights teams as they gear up for their next competition in Ann Arbor, Michigan in early December.
To learn more about all the Starlights Synchronized Skating Teams, please visit www.starlights.us.