Synchronized Skating Off-Season Training!

The current season reached its climax the first week of March, when both the Novice and Senior teams traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 2010 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. Both the Novice and Senior team is an outstanding job in competing their programs. Congrats to both teams!
Then the skaters get a break from regular team practice until the new season begins in August, but:
All is not idle until then. There will be a 6-week off-season training program on Saturdays from April 3 to May 8, 2010. Tryouts for the new season will follow immediately on May 15 and 16, 2010.
The off-season training program has three main goals:
1. To maintain and enhance the skating skills of current team members.
2. To provide an opportunity for prospective members to become aquainted with the team and to learn the fundamental skills of synchronized team skating.
3. To help everyone prepare for participation in the tryouts.
In addition, California Gold hopes to begin a new team at the Juvenile level this coming season. So there will be special sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays — introductory classes in synchronized team skating hosted by the East West Ice Palace Skating School and taught by the California Gold coaches.

Off-Season Training Program
Novice / Intermediate
Saturdays, 5:00 am - 6:30 am — April 3, 2010 to May 8, 2010
Must be 12 years of age and not older than 18 years of age
Must have passed Pre-Juvenile moves in the field, or get coaches’ approval
Cost per session: $30.00 — paid to USSTA
Senior
Saturdays, 6:45 am - 8:45 am — April 3, 2010 to May 8, 2010
Must be 14 years of age or older
Must have passed Novice moves in the field
Cost per session: $40.00 — paid to USSTA
Juvenile
Two sessions per week: (choose one, the other, or both)
Saturdays, 8:45 am - 9:30 am — April 3, 2010 to May 8, 2010
Thursdays, 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm — ongoing
Must be 12 years of age or younger
No USFS moves in the field test required
Cost: $100.00 for 8 sessions — paid to East West Ice Palace

Congratulations California Gold!

Both of our teams did spectacular at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. Our Senior Team placed 8th after the short and 6th after the long.

Our Novice team placed 8th overall and had a great skate!

Thanks for the support of our family and friends who came to watch us and even those who cheered from home! We love you!

If you didn't catch our programs, you can watch them on www.icenetwork.com.

Nationals Pre-Competition

So, here we are in Minneapolis, Minnesota! We arrived in the afternoon on Wednesday and had a little down time before going to eat dinner in the hotel. The senior team left to go to their first practice (at 10 pm) in the competition arena. We thought the ice felt super sticky and slow, but we later found that it was easier to skate when the ice was cut.

The next day, Novice woke up early to skate an unofficial practice and then their official practice right after that. Senior also had an unofficial practice on Thursday. When getting on the ice, we had a little stumble. Brittany C. and Ali stepped onto the ice with their blade guards on! We also ended up going to the Mall of America! We split up and wandered around the mall (and amusement park) and I'm pretty sure both teams ended up in Forever 21 at some point during their visit! After that, we got all fancy in our black sweaters and dress pants and went to a delicious dinner at Olive Garden. Falling into a small food coma, we went to watch the last few Junior teams do their short. We went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

In the morning, Senior got ready for short program official which went extremely well! Novice and Senior both had unofficial practices at the practice arena. We then returned to the hotel for a Panera lunch and some downtime. Novice got ready for their competition and went downstairs to be greeted by senior team. We wished them good luck in their competition and we're now getting ready for short program. The Senior team couldn't be there for the Novice competition, but we'll be there in spirit (and watching them on icenetwork!)

The Land of 1,000 Lakes...

Tomorrow morning both the Senior and Novice teams will hop on a plane and make our way over to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where we will be competing in the 2010 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships! Good luck to both teams! We promise to keep everyone posted as the excitement unfolds!

Love,

California Gold