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Three U.S. Senior teams kicked off their season at the Diamond Classic


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The team Crystallettes from Michigan finished 2nd. (Credits: Crystallettes - 2021)

The 15th Diamond Classic Synchronized Skating Competition took place last Friday and Saturday in Mentor, Ohio. Three senior teams from the United States made their return to competition.

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"Our focus for this competition was laying a foundation for long-term success this season. As this event was our return to competition after 21 months, we chose to focus on what we could control and building confidence in ourselves and each other," Adrian College said after the Diamond Classic.

Getting back to competition strengthened their team bond and gave them the fire they need to attack training headed into the Boston Classic. "We are not satisfied with our short program score, so we will be back to work to strategize how to maximize points moving forward. We were very pleased with our free skate and are excited to add detail and the special touches needed to take it to the next level," continued the team, also called the Bulldogs. 



Adrian College's short program is "Waloyo Yamoni" by Christopher Tin. "It's from a very special album which celebrates the connectivity of humanity. Waloyo Yamoni means "we overcome the wind" in Lango, an East African dialect. As our program develops, we hope to bring the movement of water and wind to life in our skating and the joy behind the music to everyone's hearts," the skaters said. 

"The Butterfly Effect"
Adrian College: "Our free skate is a very unique and special program. The theme is The Butterfly Effect, which is rooted in Chaos Theory. The Butterfly Effect is a scientific phenomenon that explains how something so small as the flutter of a butterfly's wings can set off a storm across the world. In this program, we are both the butterfly and the storm. This program is deeply meaningful to us because it was created collaboratively between our 20-21 team members and coaches.

Our coach took inspiration for the theme from our veteran team member, Nikki. She then took suggestions for music to fit her ideas. Although we started the season with two other free skate concepts, we decided a few weeks ago to finish the program we had abandoned halfway through due to Covid-19. This was the best decision we could have possibly made," Adrian College explained.

With a total score of 136.64, Adrian earned the bronze medal in Mentor.

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Reaching the peak at the National Championships
Crystallettes from Dearborn, Michigan, were also very excited to finally be back on the ice, able to connect and participate in a live event. "We feel great about both programs and the potential they have for greatness," said the team who totalled 145.38 points.

"Our short program, You Are Not Alone from Dear Evan Hansen, has all the feels. It means so much to each and every one of us on this team, and most definitely to every person in the audience who has ever been ostracized.

Our long program is the ultimate get up story… Using the new movie, Cruella, to showcase the individual strength to overcome in one’s own unique, quirky, and Devilish way."

There is much work to be done with both programs, said the team. "Our plan is to increase our score at each competition reaching our peak at our National Championships!"



The winners among the seniors were the Miami University team, who earned 175.75 overall through their two programs. 

Five junior teams also competed at Mentor last weekend, and the victory went to Teams Elite.

Other divisions (Collegiate, Novice, Masters, Intermediate, Preliminary, Open Juvenile, Juvenile and Pre-Juvenile) were represented, as well as competitions for younger skaters. 

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Results - TOP 3

Diamond Classic 2021
Mentor, OH (USA)
NOV 05, 2021 - NOV 06, 2021

Senior
TEAM Score
1Miami University (USA)175.75
2Crystallettes (USA)145.38
3Adrian College (USA)136.64

Junior
TEAM Score
1Teams Elite (USA)163.18
2Fond du Lac Blades (USA)138.08
3Hockettes (USA)126.66

Collegiate
TEAM Score
1Miami University (USA)88.15

Novice
TEAM Score
1Hockettes (USA)58.09
2Crystallettes (USA)56.53
3Cleveland Ice Storm (USA)56.51