THE EDGE newsletter. Chicago Jazz

Transcription

1 THE EDGE newsletter Chicago Jazz

2 junior The Junior Team has had a busy season since practices began early summer. There were many new faces this year, and the girls have been very dedicated to coming together as a team to successfully compete during the season. The Juniors welcome Autumn C, Maddie J, and Nina M who are new to the Jazz. They also welcome Katie C, Kara C, Elizabeth H, Jessica J, Campbell M, Sophia N, Nicole W, and Isabella Z from last year s Novice Team. The girls have enjoyed getting to know one another through several worthwhile service projects, all with the Intermediate Team. In June, the girls volunteered their time at the American Cancer Society's - Relay for Life in Rolling Meadows. They were in charge of selling, decorating, and lighting the luminaries that honored loved ones affected by cancer. Also in June, they volunteered to work at Feed My Starving Children. They packed enough meals to feed 63 children for one whole year. On Labor Day Weekend, the girls prepared and served a wonderful baked potato bar to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Lurie Children's Hospital in the city. The dinner was delicious! Our next service project is a Toy Drive for the Pediatrics Department at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. Our Jazz girls have so much love in their hearts and such a desire to serve others! Kalamazoo was the first competition for the season, and the debut of the new short and long programs. The Junior Team skated very well, finishing first in a field of three teams. Their scores were impressive, and influenced U.S. Figure Skating to extend two invitations to compete as Team USA. Our Juniors will skate at the Leon Lurje Trophy in Gothenburg, Sweden on January 27-28, as well as the Trophy D Ecosse in Dumfries, Scotland February 2-4. Go Team USA! Just last weekend, The Junior Team competed in Ann Arbor at the Dr. Porter Classic, in a field of nine teams representing many of the best Junior Teams in the U.S. Our Juniors finished in third place winning the bronze medal and had the second best long program in the competition! Overall, The Junior Team has shown remarkable improvement so far this season, and the girls are excited about the possibilities to come. Congrats to the skaters and the coaches for their continued hard work on the ice. Reported By: Rick J; Photos By: Jennifer M

3 Intermediate No mystery here. The Intermediate Team is off to a great start and there are several clues to support this case The Intermediate Team is a fantastic blend of long term Jazz members and a few new faces too. Team bonding began in early summer with practices and service projects including Feed My Starving Children, Ronald McDonald House and Relay for Life. Helping these generous charities through the gift of hands-on support is hard evidence that our team is more than a group of talented skaters. They prove to be hard working and an especially caring group of young women. The case of the developing Intermediate Team continued in mid-summer with their much-anticipated trip to Dearborn, MI. Countless drills and critiques did not deter this team from letting down their hair and having a lot of fun. Three days of bus rides, tight quarters, packed schedules, and tired feet proved no contest for this new team. Their toughness prevailed and skating progress ensued. When summer came to a close everyone anxiously awaited the competition season theme. Our coaches teased our skating detectives with a few clues but everyone was surprised with the unveiling of Pink Panther. Soon enough each Intermediate member explored her inner Jacques Clouseau knowing the mystery of the upcoming season was at hand. Fast forward to Kalamazoo. The team was pleased with their 7 th place finish knowing their program s foundation is strong and so are their skaters. They returned from the competition happy and eager to work together. Only two weeks later the team glowed during a privileged performance at the Wrigley Field Tree Lighting event. Yet another clue that this year is destined to be a great one in Jazz history. Your reporter is writing this upon the heels of our team s successful trip to Ann Arbor. The story continues to unfold with a 6 th place finish out of 12 hard-to-beat teams. The Intermediate Team continues to prove that with each milestone of their skating season s journey they continue to get better and better. Proving once again the team is on their way to a remarkable year. Case closed. Reported By: Michele C; Photos By: Vanessa M

4 juvenile The Juvenile team s season is in full swing! Our Bon Appetit girls have been working hard since April to learn and perfect their program in preparation for competition season. It all became real when the girls saw their adorable pink, black and white dresses for the first time in November! Once they put the dresses on, the program really seemed to come together. Now our French chefs were ready for their first competition of the season Kalamazoo! After some practice time at home, they boarded the bus on Friday and headed up to Kalamazoo, MI for the Kalamazoo Kick Off Classic! Always a favorite for our skaters, this competition had our girls up against 7 teams from the Midwest. Saturday morning came, and our chefs were excited to step onto the ice to debut their program! After a great first skate, the team earned points, which was good for 5 th place. After a judge s critique later in the day, the team learned what to focus on for their next competition. Two weeks went quickly, and the Juvenile team found themselves heading to Ann Arbor, MI to compete at the Dr. Richard Porter Synchronized Skating Classic. Always a tough competition with teams from the East and West Coasts, it seemed like they had to wait a lifetime to compete on Sunday afternoon! After a few practices and some down time, the skaters were ready to take the ice. They skated a great program, and gained almost 6 points from Kalamazoo! They earned 8 th place in an extremely tight race between the 10 teams, which saw only a 2 point difference between 4 th and 8 th place! Our Juvies are really looking forward to their upcoming skates at the Jazz Showcase, Glenview Holiday Show, and soon after, Fond du Lac! They would like to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season! Reported By: Stacey B; Photos By: Dawn M

5 pre-juvenile The Pre-Juvenile team kicked off their season in Kalamazoo with a great skate. Our disco team put forth a strong effort at their first competition together and they definitely made a statement with their colorful dresses and hot pink boot covers. On Friday night of Kalamazoo, the girls had an opportunity to bond as a team doing some arts and crafts and team building exercises. They are now becoming one Chicago Jazz Pre-Juvenile team! All the moms got tie dyed scarfs to wear at competitions to support our disco theme! We missed Coach Carol at this competition, but many thanks to Coach Michelle and Mary Lou for all their hard work and support of our girls. Thank you also to Amanda and Amy, our team moms, for making a wonderful weekend. The girls skated in the Jazz showcase on December 9th as well as having a guest spot at the Addison Holiday exhibition on the same day! They were excited to show family and friends how hard they have been working. The girls have some extra ice time before our next competition in Fond Du Lac! Looking forward to showing off their new and improved program! Reported By: Amy B; Photos By: Amy B

6 synchro skills The Synchro skills team has 14 skaters ranging from 5-10 yrs old. They have been working hard over the past few months on their cute Lilo and Stitch themed program in their adorable Hawaiian costumes. The competition season started off strong this year! We competed at The Autumn Classic in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. We skated beautifully to a 3rd place finish. We all went out and celebrated with a team dinner at Texas Roadhouse afterwards. The skaters had fun performing for friends and family at the Jazz Showcase Exhibition on December 9th. That same day, after the Showcase, we headed to Addison to perform in The Holiday Exhibition. Before the holidays we have one more performance at the Glenview Holiday Exhibition on December 22nd. The Synchro Skills Team wishes everyone a very Happy Holiday and best of luck the rest of the season! Reported By: Brooke S; Photos By: Rick S

7 TESTS PASSED MOVES TESTS: FREESTYLE TESTS: SENIOR: Campbell M JUNIOR: Katie C Intermediate: Grace C Ashleigh M Evie S Juvenile: Sydney B Alyssa H Pre-Juvenile: Kelly C Daniella F Kaleigh W Preliminary: Chloe P Giuliana R Pre-Preliminary: Alessandra R Giuliana R Kristina T Marisa T Preliminary Figures: Campbell M PRELIMINARY: Evie S PRE-PRELIMINARY: Giuliana R ICE DANCE TESTS: SILVER: Clare F- Rocker Foxtrot PRE-SILVER: Sydney B- 14 Step Olivia D- 14 Step, European Waltz Evie S- 14 Step PRE-BRONZE: Alena M Preliminary: Daniella F- Dutch Waltz, Rhythm Blues, Canasta Tango SOLO COMPETITIONS: 2018 Upper Great Lakes Regional Championships PRE-PRELIMINARY: Evie S- First round, 1st place. Final round, 4th place.

8 TRUST Click here to like us on Facebook * RESPECT * VOLUNTEERISM * PRIDE Click here to join our Linked In network Click here for Chicago Jazz website Click here to follow us on Twitter