Dream Edges and their “Rubik´s Cube” short program. (Credits: Villle Vairinen - 2024)

The season 2024-25 really started when the first qualification competition took place on Saturday in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. In the Novice competition, team Finettes won, and Helsinki Rockettes and Dream Edges took the lead after short programs.

Among three of the four Senior teams, the mood of the themes and the color of the dresses in this season´s short programs are blue. Devotion, wistfulness, sorrow and desire for lost loved ones are the feelings the teams want to convey – except for Team Unique whose performance was full of speed, sparkle and energy.

The first place went to Helsinki Rockettes. Their classical, soft and emotional performance fit nicely with the theme” La Poème – Laponie”. Great skating skills which the team is known for and good technique made the panel give them a total score of 76.88.

Team Unique succeeded well in its powerful program “This is Unique”. The performance really was “the old sporty” TU with good composition and technic and they got the second position with 75.64 points. Even if the audience was thrilled with the high tempo of the program they managed well to execute the elements without mistakes.  

As a small surprise, Lumineers finished third, but really deservedly so because it is a team to rely on. As always, they also now had a peaceful, perfectly synchronized and well-performed program “Farewell” which was a pleasure to watch. They earned 68.33 points.

This season the coaching team of Marigold IceUnity changed significantly when legendary coach Anu Oksanen joined another club. Whether it had an effect or not is just a guess but the team got the fourth place. Their melancholy program “Song to My Star” was very beautiful and touching. Their Synchronized Spiral got a few problems and they received 67.64 points. They will undoubtedly still improve their performance in the Free program on Sunday and future competitions.

Thanks to the development of the rules, on Saturday we saw a nice package of very innovative and diverse short programs in the Junior series. This season, the teams rely on hit songs from past decades, from which interesting versions have been selected but also some classical music and folk music is used. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the excitement, there were several small falls in the competition but it didn't dampen the great atmosphere of the ice rink.

Recycling is the name of the day so Dream Edges has taken their old short program “Rubik´s Cube” – also the dresses - from season 2020-21 and renewed and seasoned it so cleverly that the team took a clear lead with a total score of 69.18. The performance was skillful and flawless. To the rhythm of Hungarian folk music, the pace only accelerated towards the end. Without a doubt, the program received the loudest applause of the day from the audience.

About four points behind Dream Edges is Valley Bay Synchro with 65.57 points. Their program “Baroque Ball” draws influences and music from the Baroque era, but the choreography and tempo of the program are very modern, cheerful and fast-paced. This program is witty and entertaining, and it works well thanks to the skilled skaters.

Musketeers had a completely different vibe in their elegant and feminine “Black and Gold “short program. Their skating was confident and the performance was perfected despite some problems in their Intersection, they earned a total score of 62.82 and third place.

This season, Team Fintastic has chosen a touching Finnish song for their short program “From Earth to Heaven”. They performed it sensitively and interpreted successfully the message of the song.  Unfortunately, there were two falls in the program, one of which reduced a lot of their Intersection element points. They are currently in 4th place with a score of 60.99 points.

Team Mystique´s program “Fearless Rhapsody” is based on an interesting version of Freddie Mercury's famous song Bohemian Rhapsody. The choreography of the program is interesting and the performance was fast, but they had two falls and their Twizzle element failed. However, there were many successful points in the program, so we will see a better performance from it in future competitions. This time the team came fifth and got 59.82 points.

In the Novice category, the programs were varied and the choreographies were interesting. As in the Junior series, there were a lot of falls, quite normal at the beginning of the season. The level differences between the teams are big, but the joy of skating is the same for everyone.

In the Novice category team Finettes won the competition earning 79.11 points. They describe their program “Catwoman” as follows: "Our program is really lively, energetic and engaging. We think it's fun to skate and enjoy, and we hope that we can convey a good feeling to the audience!" They skated with good energy and almost with no mistakes.

Valley Bay Synchronics got second place and 69.00 points. As they say themselves, their program “Year of the Dragon” was “fast-paced, powerful and topical.” Their costumes and strong performance suited the chosen theme very well.

Despite many falls Blue Arrows convinced the judges with their skillful program “What if?”  and the team sits in 3rd place, scoring 64.53 points. The skaters describe the program as follows: "We want to show the audience a wide range of skills in our program through different movements and emotions: from strong, fast and brave skating to sensitive, calm and sorrowful body language."

The Free Program competition and the second part of the Novice category with the rest of the teams of the category will be skated on Sunday.