SCNY National Showcase Team on NY1

Our very own Reach for the Sky Rink All Stars got a little TV time last week!

NY1 did a story on the showcase team, coached by Marni Halasa, as they prepared for this year's Showcase Nationals. The team heads to Cape Cod for the competition this week. Join us in wishing them the best of luck!

See the story, which aired July 26, here.

Here is a video of the team's winning performance at last year's competition, as they skated to "Step In Time" from Disney's "Mary Poppins."

Synchro in the City

2013 Skyliners Senior Team

The 2013 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships have just wrapped up in Plymouth, Michigan, and SCNY's very own Skyliners came out with some very impressive finishes! Each of the five Skyliner teams that competed came home with a medal.

The Senior line took the pewter medal, the Junior and Juvenile lines took the silver medal, and the Novice and Intermediate lines took the bronze.

The Junior team is headed to Finland this week where they will represent the U.S. in competition at Junior Worlds in Helsinki. They will skate their short program on Friday, March 8th and their long on Saturday, March 9th. For more info, visit the Junior Worlds Website and Facebook page.

The 2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships will be held in Boston in April, where the Haydenettes and Miami University Senior Varsity Synchronized Skating Team will represent the United States in competition.

SCNY synchro teams are also gearing up for next season, holding tryouts and clinics in the coming months. The Skyliners will be holding both clinics and tryouts for all 8 of their lines at both Chelsea Piers and Stamford Twin Rinks starting March 4th. For more information, visit their Website.

Gotham City Synchro will also be holding tryouts for their Open Adult and Masters lines this spring and summer. For more information, email gothamcitysynchro@gmail.com, or visit their Website.

Central Park Ice will be holding clinics and tryouts for their Open Juvenile/Intermediate, Preliminary/Pre-Juvenile and Beginner teams as well. They will be holding an Open House at Wollman Rink on Sunday, March 10 where prospective skaters can try out synchro elements and watch the teams skate. Clinics and tryouts begin March 16th at Wollman Rink and March 17th at Chelsea Piers. For more information, visit the Central Park Ice Website or email centralparkice@gmail.com.

Synchro skating got a publicity boost in a recent New York Times article as well! Read it here.

SCNY to Host Solo Dance Competition

Attention ice dancers: Register online now through March 10th for SCNY Dance, taking place Saturday, April 6, at Sport-o-Rama in Monsey! (Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by March 4^th).

Skaters can compete in two categories at this year's competition: Solo Pattern and Combined. The Solo Pattern dance event is offered at all levels Preliminary through Gold. Skaters will perform two solo dances in competition (see application for required dances). For the Combined event, skaters will perform two solo dances followed by a solo free dance. The Combined event is offered to skaters at the Juvenile through Senior levels. 

An additional Solo Short Dance event is being offered as a trial event at the Junior and Senior levels only.

This year's event is part of the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Solo Dance Series too, so if you'd like to compete in the series (the trial Solo Short Dance event will not count this year), you must register separately here prior to submitting your application for SCNY Dance. The application deadline for the U.S. Figure Skating Solo Dance Series is March 8^th.

Good luck to all the dancers competing this year!

SCNY Skaters Shine at Eastern Sectionals

Olivia Serafini, Cape Cod Times

The ice at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center and the Yarmouth Ice Club played host this past weekend to a number of stellar performances from our very own SCNY skaters. 

Congratulations to all skaters who competed, and best of luck to those who are moving on to Nationals in Omaha in January!

Samantha Cesario took the gold in Senior Ladies, while Joelle Forte secured two spots in the field at Nationals for SCNY skaters with a 4th place finish. Samantha has bounced back this year after a season-ending injury that kept her from competing at Nationals last year, and this is Joelle's third trip to Nationals at the Senior level. 

Grant Hochstein snagged a berth in Senior men with 4th place in a tough field of skaters from the New England region. The 2009 Intermediate Dance Champions Danielle Gamelin and Alexander Gamelin are on their way to Omaha after also finishing 4th in their debut at the Senior level. Felicia Zhang also earned a spot in Senior Pairs with partner Nathan Bartholomay.

Jay Yostanto, Jimmy Ma and James Schetelich
receive their medals.

Olivia Serafini will be returning to Nationals again this year, this time as a Junior, after a 3rd place finish in Junior Ladies. Jay Yostanto, Jimmy Ma and James Schetelich will join her in Junior Men, having nabbed the gold, silver and bronze respectively in Hyannis. James won the silver medal in Novice Men at last year's Nationals, an event in which Jimmy Ma also qualified.

Emmy Ma will represent SCNY in Intermediate Ladies in January, taking home a silver medal from Hyannis. She competed in Juvenile Girls last year at Nationals. Darbie Burke and Griffin Schwab took home the gold in Intermediate Pairs. They also competed at the Juvenile level at last year's Nationals. Jessica Guo and Davis Tong will also head to Omaha, placing 4th in Juvenile Pairs.

A big thank you to the Yarmouth Ice Club and all of the volunteers and officials who ran a great competition. 

See the complete results from the 2013 Eastern Sectional Championships here.

More photos from Easterns:

Danielle & Alexander Gamelin

Emmy Ma

Jay Yostanto and Derrick Delmore

Elaine Zayak, Jimmy Ma, Olivia Serafini & Steven Rice

Skyliners Senior & Junior Teams to Appear on TODAY Show

SCNY's very own Skyliners are set to open the winter skating season at the iconic Rockefeller Center rink tomorrow morning (Tuesday, October 16th) live on the TODAY Show! The opening will be followed by a live performance of the Junior and Senior lines on Kathie Lee & Hoda. 

Be sure to tune in to your local NBC affiliate to catch the beginning of what is sure to be an exciting season of skating in New York!

For information on skating at Rockefeller Center, visit the rink website.

SCNY Throwing Regional/Sectional Send-Off Exhibition and Brunch

Fall may mean back-to-school and falling leaves to most, but for many skaters, it means the exciting start to the competitive season. It's a time of goal-setting and high hopes for the year ahead, and as any skater who has competed at regionals will tell you, support from friends, family and fellow skaters is essential to a successful competitive year.

So friends, family and fellow skaters, here is your chance to help out. The Skating Club of New York is throwing a Regional/Sectional send-off exhibition and brunch at Sky Rink on Sunday, September 30th from 10:30-12:20. Send off your skaters in style! It's a tradition at the SCNY and it will be great fun.

This is also a chance for SCNY skaters (Juvenile and above) competing at regionals to try out their competitive programs in front of an audience. There's no charge to skate, but space is limited. If you're interested in skating, email SCNY (mail@thescny.org) by Monday, September 24th with your name, skating level, program length, phone number and coach's name. First come, first served, so hurry! SCNY will let members who have applied know by week's end if they are on the schedule.

Good luck to all skaters competing this year!

Only Two Days Left to Register for Mids!

Hurry! The deadline for registration to compete in this year's Middle Atlantic Championships is fast approaching. Skaters will have until August 8th to enter. Click here to register now to compete in one of the country's most prestigious non-qualifying competitions!

SCNY is hosting the 87th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers, September 6-9th. Mids has a long and glorious history of providing a competitive venue for some of the country's most accomplished figure skaters during their formative years. The competition has seen thousands of skaters throughout its tenure, including Sarah and Emily Hughes, Johnny Weir, Dick Button, Carol Heiss-Jenkins, Dorothy Hamill, Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman and Tara Lipinski.

The competition is open to skaters of all levels (No-Test through Senior test levels, including Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary test track events), so long as they are members of US Figure Skating or of SCNY. This year Mids will also reprise its unique team competition for skaters at No-Test through Pre-Juvenile levels. Skaters must indicate their home rink on the entry form to participate. Event prices include a DVD of the full event for each event entered.

The competition will also feature its prestigious Pairs Critique, now several years running and sponsored by The Will Sears Fund. This year's critique will feature special guest Hely Abbondati, an ISU official and pairs specialist, among other international specialists, controllers and judges. The critique is included in the event price, so if you're a pairs skater, take advantage of this unique opportunity! 

Don't miss out on the fun at Mids this year. Sign up now!