The 2010 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships will take place Dec. 14-19, 2010, at the Hoover Arena, operated by IceLand USA, in Strongsville. Approximately 300 figure skaters from across the country are expected to compete at the four-day event, which is being hosted for the second time since 2007 by The Greater Cleveland Council of Figure Skating Clubs.
Qualifying rounds begin Wednesday, Dec. 16 in the West Rink. The intermediate compulsory dance competition will kick off the championship events Thursday, Dec. 17 in the West Rink. Competition concludes Saturday, Dec. 19 with the intermediate ladies and juvenile boys free skates in the West and East Rinks, respectively.
Advance event tickets may be purchased by completing the order form on the event web site, www.clevelandskating.com/jrnationals, and submitting it via fax at 440.777.1706 or e-mail at info@clevelandskating.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the arena box office during the event. Individual event tickets begin at $15. All-event passes are $50 (Wednesday-Saturday) and $35 (Thursday-Saturday). Discounted tickets are available for senior citizens and children ages 6-12. All seats are general admission.
Icenetwork.com will provide live and on-demand video coverage of the event for “Season Pass” subscribers within the contiguous United States. The site will also feature live results, recaps and photo galleries for subscribers and nonsubscribers. Once icenetwork.com’s video schedule is confirmed, it will be made available on the event page at http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=65670.
The annual event crowns the U.S. champion in ladies, men’s, pairs and ice dancing in the first two levels of the U.S. Figure Skating competitive structure: juvenile and intermediate. The remaining three levels – novice, junior and senior – will compete Jan. 14-24, 2010, at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash.
Singles skaters qualified for the U.S. Junior Championships by finishing in the top four at one of nine regional championships held throughout the country in October, while pairs and ice dancing teams will qualify by finishing in the top eight at one of three sectional championships held throughout the country Nov. 17-22.
Past champions of the event include reigning World champion and two-time U.S. champion Evan Lysacek, and 2009 U.S. ice dancing champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
The U.S. Junior Championships were held in Strongsville once before, in 2007. The 2009 U.S. Championships took place in neighboring Cleveland, Ohio, which also hosted the event in 2000, 1964 and 1940.
An updated events schedule can be found on The Greater Cleveland Council of Figure Skating Clubs web site at www.clevelandskating.com/jrnationals.
Green, Ohio —
