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New Canaan Skaters Glide To Gold At Synchro Nationals

NEW CANAAN, Conn. -- Three skaters from New Canaan were crowned national champions at the 2016 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. 

The Skyliners synchronized skating team

The Skyliners synchronized skating team

Photo Credit: Contributed

Kat Root, Nikka Staron and Lucy Potter, all students at Saxe Middle School, are members of the Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team. The girls traveled to the event last month with their teammates to compete among the 12 best synchronized skating teams in the country in their respective divisions. 

Root, a sixth-grader, skates on the Juvenile Line, which performs to music from the Broadway show “9 to 5.” The Skyliners’ Juvenile team earned eight top placements from the judges. It was a historic season for the team, winning gold medals at every competition it attended, including its sixth straight gold medal at the 2016 Eastern Championships in Richmond, Va.

“From starting the season with an almost entirely new team, to winning Nationals, was an amazing journey”, said Root about her fifth year as a Skyliner and first year on the Juvenile line.

Nikka Staron and Lucy Potter, eighth-graders at Saxe, both skate on the Intermediate Line, and they perform to a dynamic “Superheroes” music medley. Skyliners Intermediate particularly impressed the panel of judges with the technical difficulty of its program. The team earned its best score of the season, making them the clear winners and Skyliners’ first ever national champions in the Intermediate division. 

“It’s been a record season for Skyliners,” said Josh Babb, the team's head coach and director of synchronized skating. “As our team grows, so do our accomplishments. Our skaters work extremely hard, and their efforts have really paid off this year.” 

The Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team was established in 2001 by a group of parents who wanted to create the most competitive synchronized skating club in the tri-state area. In that first year, the team had three lines. Now in its 15th year, Skyliners has grown into one of the top synchronized skating teams in the country with 11 lines and 190 skaters ranging in age from 5 to 26.

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