Recap
Finland and Canada Land on Podium of 2018 Oberstdorf Competition
Team Chaotique (FIN), Team Force (CAN) and Team Antique (FIN) finished respectively 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Oberstdorf. / Credits: Roy Ng Photography
Adult teams were closely contested in Oberstdorf this weekend. Read more to learn what adult teams achieved in Germany.
The little German town of Oberstdorf was crowded with skaters and friends for the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2018. This year a large group of nine synchro teams from six counties participated in this annual event.
Despite the keen competition among top teams, Team Chaotique (48.43 points) of Finland fought their way and emerged as the champion. The Finns skated to their “Country Girls” programme with rich, joyful emotion and earned two Level 4s for their wheel and block. They had paid much attention to transitions and incorporated more sophisticated moves that looked like senior teams executing no-hold and move elements. They skated with no fall and improved much from their Finnish national result (43.34 points). When compared with silver medalist Team Force, Team Chaotique achieved higher levels in pivoting line and point of intersection for the intersection. Their score 48.43 is the highest in the history of Oberstdorf competition since 2013.
Following closely is runner-up Team Force (44.28 points) from Canada who skated to the colourful uptempo music of “Magalenha” and “Bailar”. Despite limited practice sessions they had since team formation, they managed to deliver the program with good speed and smooth flow to reflect the uplifting character of the music well. Their energy was infectious. The Canadians were able to get their wheel and block called at Level 4 as well.
The third to seventh positions were very close. The bronze medal goes to Team Antique (35.02 points) of Finland for executing their “Copacabana” program with no fall. Their eye-catching fluorescent dresses with elaborated floral pattern aided delivery of festive atmosphere as conveyed by the music.
In the fourth position is Swiss Team Starlight Diamonds (35.00 points) who have 13 skaters. They skated to Caro Emerald’s “That Man” and “Tangled Up” and paired with black tops and golden dresses for their program. The Swiss certainly could have defended their bronze title from last year if they did not have a fall in the block element. Nevertheless, many of their elements were executed with good forms and regular spacing.
In the fifth place is Finnish Shadows (34.46 points). Dressed in sharp red dresses with gold edges, the 12 skaters delivered “Girl on Fire” program with no fall. Their body language reflected well the lyrics and mood of the music.
The other Canadian team Scotian Waves (33.21 points) with full strength of 16 skaters lands on the sixth place with their program “Mutiny on the Atlantic”. Their program was pleasant to watch with parallel lines and regularly spaced skaters.
Longtime veteran Team Berlin Adult (32.04 points) of Germany with 12 skaters delivered their program based on rhythmic drum beat music. The shape of elements could be clearly observed and their death spirals were nice highlights of their program.
The only Asian team Team Bauhinia (28.43 points), which is the only synchro team in Hong Kong, returned to international competition and delivered their “King and I” program. They managed to fulfill their aim of clean execution of the program, and their wheel and block were called at Level 4. Their purple outfit and decorations have a strong royal taste and much fitted to their theme.
Dressed in sharp pink shirt with impeccable glitters, Swedish Team Dizharmony (24.27 points) executed their program “Alcazar” with joy. While they were not the team with the most speed on ice, they gave their best by paying attention to small details and incorporating a variety of holds and configurations in wheel and circle. Indeed their wheel was a Level 4 one.
At the end of the day, we saw a lot of cheerful skaters enjoying the competition in the same way as younger skaters enjoyed themselves in World Championships. The competitive spirit lives long! If you had a chance to meet the skaters in person, you would find them outgoing and eager in making friends with everyone.
Viewers of the live stream can notice that the scores announced at kiss-and-cry were higher than the official scores published afterwards. This was due to the incorrect weight applied on Program Component scores.
This season adult teams of 12-16 skaters with at most 4 alternates are required to perform an intersection, a linear block, a pivoting line, a wheel and travelling circle and a creative/combined element. Skating time is a maximum of 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
Another international adult competition will take place on 10 to 13 October this year in Vancouver, Canada. Last year no synchro event took place in Vancouver edition. We will see if there will be any team later this year (application deadline is 15 August).