The team captain Saarastiina Nurmela, the (assisting) coaches Sini Lagercrantz and Anne Niemi, the main coach Siiri Eskelinen, the ballet teacher Anandah Kononen and the assisting captain Roosa Kuiko. /Credits: Tero Wester Photography 

A few days before the World Junior Synchronized Championships (JWSSC), I had lunch with Siiri Eskelinen, the head coach of Dream Edges, Team Finland 1 for the first time at the Junior Worlds this weekend. She shared with us some of her thoughts just before the competition.

Your team qualified for the Junior World Synchronized Skating Championships (JWSSC) last month. A few weeks after that, Dream Edges won the Nationals in Finland with a wide margin. Now you are heading to Zagreb as Team Finland 1. How does it feel? 
Siiri Eskelinen: It feels great and unbelievable at the same time. This is a new situation for us and everything happened so fast. However, of course, we all are very happy and delighted with this situation.

Have you made some changes in your training?
Siiri Eskelinen: We haven´t changed anything. The feedback given by the judges has been positive and their advice has been to continue the work we have done. 

Especially your free program has woken astonishment and admiration both nationally and internationally. What is the history of the program and how did you end up to create such an extraordinary choreography?
Siiri Eskelinen: About the history of the free program (« Escape for the Mental Asylum »), we wanted to create new, creative and interesting transitions and elements. The theme was chosen with a purpose to be an interpretational challenge for the team and to arise discussion in the audience.

Did you choose the music before you started to create your free program?
Siiri Eskelinen: We always decide the theme first and after that try to find the suitable music for it. The first part of the music is from Muse´s Hysteria and the other part is made of small bits of King Arthur´s soundtrack.

What about your short program?
Siiri Eskelinen: We thought that our skaters would be mature enough to tackle a classical piece (Vivaldi´s Four Seasons) and with this choice, we have been able to develop our skating towards a more soft and flowing direction.  

What are your main goals this weekend at the Junior Worlds?
Siiri Eskelinen: This is something very new for us. Our biggest goal is to stay on our good level the whole week. In this competition, we can also show that we are a team which has to be taken seriously. Of course, we also want to make two good performances in the competition and after the weekend, we hope that people remember us and want to see more our programs in the future.

How was your « Send off » happening? How about your fans?
Siiri Eskelinen: It was great! There were so many people! Hundreds! I know quite well most of the parents and families of our club but there were many people I had never seen. I´ve heard that there will be a good group in the audience to cheer for us: the parents and siblings of the skaters but also some young novice skaters and their families are coming and I´m very happy to see those people in Zagreb!

Dream Edges will compete with the other Junior teams at the Worlds this weekend in Zagreb. Don’t miss our news on Jura Synchro! 

Read again the interview of Siiri Eskelinen at the beginning of the 2016/2017 season