The Helsinki Rockettes have kicked off their 2024/25 season in style, dominating the first qualifiers with a decisive victory. (Credits: Ville Vairinen - 2024)

With a amazing free program on Sunday, the Helsinki Rockettes secured the gold medal at the first national qualification competition. In Juniors, Dream Edges soared to victory, while Team Starlights narrowly edged out Team Dynamique by just half a point in the Novice category.

The senior teams gave the audience an entertaining and exciting end to the last night of the competition. The programs moved from one mood to another. They were full of fascinating details and captivating expressions. After the performances, they felt they must be seen again very soon.

Helsinki Rockettes got the gold medal with a total score of 224.74. They describe their free program “Criminal” as follows: “We get to step into the role of a character full of self-confidence and mystery with a feminine sharpness, and who can also seduce the audience with her”.  Self-confidence is a word which suits well to the performance. They made no mistakes and the performance progressed smoothly from element to element. This free program brought them 147.86 points. 

Team Unique started their program “He Had it Coming” very strongly, but unfortunately, there was a fall in the first Twizzle Element. However, they kept the program together well and it progressed smoothly until the end. The program is based on the famous movie and musical Chicago and they describe it: "sensual, feminine and edgy!" The jury particularly rated the No Hold Element at the end of the program as very high quality, it only got levels 4 and 5. Their free program got 141.42 points and the team claimed the silver medal with a total score of 217.06 points.

On Sunday Marigold IceUnity succeeded well in their free program “Sandstorm”. The elements went smoothly and in their light brown costumes, they created a believable sandstorm atmosphere for the audience. They got 138.00 for the free program and finished in third place with a score of 205.64 points. “Our free program is fast-paced and intensive. The music has a lot of tempo variation, which brings versatility to the program. The program is beautiful and flashy at the same time!", said the skaters.

Lumineers couldn't keep their third position after the short program although there was nothing to blame in their interesting free program “Frida” a story of famous artist Frida Kahlo. "Our free program allows us to interpret a wide range of emotions, but it is especially strong and feminine for us. Frida's story also inspires us, because it encourages us to be exactly who we are", explained the skaters. The performance was a pleasure to watch when 16 different “Fridas” in beautiful dresses combined their skills on the ice. They earned 132.46 points for their free program and with a total score of 200.79 they finished 4rd in the final standings.

In the Junior series, the music of most teams was quite strong, serious or wistful. You won't see a lot of cheerfulness in this season's free programs. The teams presented some versatile choreographies. Some of them, like the “Spider” from Oulu's Stella Polaris, were memorable. The competition between the top five teams was quite tight. Everyone finished within five points and the order of the teams changed interestingly. This promises nothing but an exciting season.

Dream Edges continued its winning streak in Sunday's competition. Their free program “Recovery” was guaranteed “Dream Edges – quality”. They skated confidently, flawlessly and with good speed getting the second-best score of 112.60 and they won the competition with a total score of 181.78 points. "We hope that our free program will arouse a lot of emotions in the viewer. Our program tells about recovery and its different stages. We hope that the viewer could recognize these stages from the body language and how we get into the theme."

One of the luckiest successes of the day was for Team Fintastic. The team rose from fourth place in the short program to the silver medal on Sunday. They got the best free program scores 114.71 and they were ranked second with 175.70 points. They really were “in flames” skating their free program “Dragon” in fiery red dresses. "Our free program is mystical and powerful and in it, you can interpret many different emotions and use different movements. The program's choreography brings a playful, captivating as well as a strong fairy tale to the ice”, they said.

The competition for second and third place was tight. Valley Bay Synchro finished third with a difference of only 0.59 points. Unfortunately falls spoiled their Pair Element and they were fifth in the free program with a score of 109.54. Finally, they finished in third place with 175.11 points. Their program “The Swan of Tuonela” is based on Finnish mythology and they interpreted its mystical atmosphere successfully. They describe it: "Our program is very emotional and emotions can be found everywhere. There is great happiness and pride and also pain and sadness. The end is, however, relieved and proud."

Musketeers finished in fourth place after a free program “The Brothers Lionheart” that brought them 109.67 points. They didn´t make any big mistakes and their performance was touching and skillful. The story is a children's fantasy novel written by Astrid Lindgren. The team tells about their program: "We want to convey strong emotions. The story of the brothers in our program is about unconditional love, facing challenges and dealing with death, which are certainly meaningful and emotional topics for many." Their overall result was 172.49.

Team Mystique did very well in their free program “Savage Daughter”. They got the third-best score 109.83, but did not improve their ranking and remained in fifth place gathering a total amount of 169.65 points. This is how they describe the program:” Our free program is about an independent and wild child of nature. The program is wonderful to interpret and skate. Each of us brings out our own wild and raucous, but also sensitive side in the program."

On Sunday it was time for the other group of Novice teams. The competition was as interesting as on Saturday because all the Novice programs in both groups are very versatile and full of nice details and cleverly built choreographies. The best Novice teams could perhaps manage even among Juniors.

Sometimes very small things take on a big meaning, especially when the color of the medal is decided by only half a point. This happened to Starlights and Team Dynamique for the benefit of Starlights. Their program “Noaidi and the drum” was quite hypnotic. Their speed was great and technical skills were excellent and they claimed the gold medals with 78.73 points. "With our program, we want to tempt the viewer into the enchanted world of Lapland."

Comparing the scores given by the judges, it can be seen that Starlights scored better in technical elements, while Team Dynamique was slightly better in performance and skating skills. The beautiful and airy program “Like a Butterfly” enchanted the audience and got 78.22 points and the team said:  "Our program is fast-paced, flying and beautiful!" 

CrystalBlades was the happy bronze medalist. The point difference to the top was quite big and there were some small mistakes in the performance, but the team interpreted the Arabian atmosphere nicely. They succeeded well in their goal: "With our program, we want to convey self-confidence and the joy of skating to the public!" Their “Mystery of Arabian night” ranked them 3rd with 59.63 points.

The second Finnish qualification competition will be in Tampere on December 7-8, 2024.