(Feb 14) Merita Mullen, Coach of National Medal Winning and US World Teams, and her coaching staff announce tryouts for the 2010-2011 skating season. Please download the registration form and form join us and skate with one of the foremost professionals in U.S Synchronized Skating and her talented coaching staff. Team Excel will be conducting tryouts for teams at the Preliminary, Juvenile, Intermediate/Novice, Junior and Collegiate levels. Based on the number, ages, and demonstrated ability of skaters attending the tryouts, Merita and her staff will determine the competitive teams for the 2010-2011 skating season.
Team Excel will also field Beginner teams, in Boston & Marlborough starting in September. Information regarding our Beginner
program will be available at www.excelsynchro.org later this spring, or you may contact excelsynchro@gmail.com for further
information. Please note, tryouts are not necessary for our beginner programs.
Preliminary – $25 fee for both sessions
Skaters must be under 12 as of 7/1/10
Date & Location |
Arrival Time |
| Sat, Apr 17, SCOB | 4:15 p.m. for registration and off-ice |
| Sat, Apr 24, SCOB | 4:15 p.m. for off-ice |
Juvenile – $25 fee for all three sessions
Skaters must be under 13 as of 7/1/10 and pass Preliminary Moves in the Field by 12/1/10
Date & Location |
Arrival Time |
| Sat, Mar 20 SCOB | 4:00 p.m. for registration and off-ice |
| Mon, Mar 22, NESC | 6:15 p.m. for off-ice |
| Wed, Mar 24, NESC | 5:20 p.m. for off-ice |
Novice – $50 fee for all three sessions
Majority of skaters must be under 16 by 07/01/10 and pass Juvenile Moves in the Field by 12/1/10 (Intermediate Moves Preferred)
Date & Location |
Arrival Time |
| Sat, Mar 20 SCOB | 5:00 p.m. for registration and off-ice |
| Mon, Mar 22, NESC | 7:05 p.m. for off-ice |
| Wed, Mar 24, NESC | 6:20 p.m. for off-ice |
Junior – $100 fee for all three sessions
Skaters must be under 19 as of 7/1/10 and pass Intermediate Moves in the Field by 12/1/10 (Novice Moves Preferred)
Date & Location |
Arrival Time |
| Sat, Mar 20 SCOB | 6:40 p.m. for registration and off-ice |
| Mon, Mar 22, NESC | 8:15 p.m. for off-ice |
| Wed, Mar 24, NESC | 7:55 p.m. for off-ice |
Collegiate – $25 fee for both sessions
Collegiate skaters must be full-time college students and pass Juvenile Moves in the Field by 12/1/10 (Novice Moves Preferred)
Date & Location |
Arrival Time |
| Sat, Apr 17 SCOB | 5:00 p.m. for registration and off-ice |
| Sat, Apr 24, SCOB | 5:15 p.m. for off-ice |
Download the two page flyer for complete details and the registration form to bring with you.
(Updated Feb) Team Excel and The Skating Club of Boston are proud to be hosting the inaugural Boston Synchronized Skating Classic on March 27 at The Skating of Boston. We are excited about the response and warmly welcome the teams joining us at our first competition.
Additionally, we will offer a synchronized skating clinic after the competition at no additional cost for all competitors and coaches, run by Merita Mullen (coach of National Medal Winning and US World Teams). Please download either the Coaches Registration form or the Skaters Registration Form.
Interested in joining us? Please contact Deanne Benson or visit the competition website at www.BostonSynchroClassic.org. The original announcement is available for download.
(Feb 3) Less than a year after forming as an organization created to promote synchronized skating and prepare synchronized skating teams for national and international competition, Team Excel qualified all eligible teams for the upcoming U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships and the Preliminary team qualified for the Championship Round.
The Junior line was awarded a silver medal after a two days of rigorous competition. After the short program on Friday, Team Excel’s inspired performance to Josh Groban’s "You are Loved" was tied with another team for the top spot on the points, but was awarded first place on the strength of its higher technical scores. On the following day, the Junior line performed its long program to a medley of Celtic tunes, showcasing the skaters' grace and power.
In only its second performance of the season, the Team Excel Collegiate team, skating to Slumdog Millionaire, earned a silver medal in a field of nine teams with a score of 78.42. This was a 26 point improvement over its initial competition performance just a couple of weeks earlier.
Skating to a medley from the Twilight soundtrack ranging from romantic to gothic, the Novice program featured beautifully choreographed arm movements designed to coincide with the dramatic musical transitions. The program, showcasing intricate circle footwork and a flowing moving wheel, earned them a pewter medal.
The Juvenile team received a pewter medal for its Mulan-inspired program with featured artful spiral circle, spread-eagles, and Ina Bauers. The technically challenging program gave the Juvenile team a chance to highlight its strong skating skills.
Competing in a field of fourteen teams, the "practically-perfect" Mary Poppins program of the Preliminary team wowed the crowd from the very beginning with a circle accented by blade-grab teardrop spirals. The performance earned them a berth in the Championship Round where they finished sixth.
Merita Mullen, Head Coach and Director of Synchronized Skating for Team Excel said, "Being a new organization, I am very proud that our skaters, coaching staff and volunteers worked so hard in a short timeframe to accomplish what they did. We qualified all eligible teams for the U.S. Championships and I was pleased they finished in the top four places. Our success this weekend validates the vision of a synchronized-skating organization that combines experienced coaches, trainers and supportive volunteers with older accomplished skaters who mentor and nurture younger skaters, inspiring them with personal passion and excitement for our sport."
(Jan 11) We invite you to become a fan of Team Excel on Facebook. We plan to use our Official Facebook Page to publish updates during the course of the season. We've already published team and action photos.
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To become a fan, log on to Facebook and search for our official fan page "Team Excel Synchronized Skating Teams" and then click the "Become a Fan" button. |
If you have ideas, want to send congratulations or wish the team good luck, you can write on a note on our "Wall." Please also visit our blog and feel free to leave a comment there as well!
(Jan 6) It's an exciting time as the synchronized skating season kicks into gear and it's a particularly interesting time for Team Excel. It's our first year as an organization and we are sharing some of our experiences in a team blog. We invite you to visit our blog and share your thoughts with us.
Starting with Merita Mullen, our Director of Synchronized Skating, we plan to post regular articles over the course of the season. During that time, we will be pleased to feature articles contributed by our coaches, volunteers and skaters. We've selected topics and authors with an eye towards what might interest fans of synchronized skating. And if you have ideas for additional topics, we can try to add them.
All the articles will be published on our website and will be accessible at www.ExcelSynchro.org/blog.
Please visit, subscribe to receive updates and feel free to leave comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
(Dec 20) After a successful debut at the Thanksgiving Classic, Team Excel continued to showcase deep talent at the 15th Annual Cape Cod Classic in Bourne, MA on December 11 and 12. Our Juvenile and Junior teams skated on Friday night and finished fourth and third respectively. The Juvenile program included a spectacular spiral circle and beautiful spread eagles. Our Junior team scored 53.4 with an exciting and beautifully choreographed short program. Then on Saturday, our Preliminary, Novice and Junior (Free Skate) repeated the successes of the previous day. The Preliminary team earned their first medal of the year with straight lines, a slick circle in a three-spoke, and a terrific backward lunge. Our Novice team scored 50.86, a five point improvement over their skate at the Dr. Porter Classic. And the Team Excel Juniors debuted their highly technical free skate program finishing third and scoring 85.29 points. More photographs are available here.
(Nov 24) Team Excel represented The Skating Club of Boston for the very first time at the Thanksgiving Classic in Plymouth, MA on November 14th and earned our first two medals ever in the Beginner and Juvenile divisions. The Preliminary and Novice teams also debuted and finished 7th and 5th respectively. And on Friday November 13th, the Team Excel Juniors were monitored by US Figure Skating officials who critiqued both their short and free skate programs. Dressed in their elegant new competition dresses, all Team Excel skaters skated with speed, grace and precision to their creatively choreographed programs. More photographs are available here.
Beyond results, Team Excel is guided by an empowering mission – to promote synchronized skating and prepare synchronized skating teams for national and international competition, encourage teamwork and sportsmanship, and support individual skaters as they seek to attain their unique potential, and teams as they seek to achieve their full potential as a team.
Merita Mullen, the Director of Synchronized Skating, works together with her staff of dedicated and passionate coaches to choreograph the programs for each line, combining in every case fast moving elements, intricate transitions and complicated footwork sequences. The end result is a dynamic routine, both graceful and technically demanding that is sure to please.
We look forward to our next competitions at the Dr. Porter Classic (Dec 4-6 in Ann Arbor, MI), Cape Cod Classic (Dec 11-12 in Bourne) and the Colonial Classic (Jan 8-10 in Lowell). This quick sequence of four competitions in about a month will be followed by the World Challenge Cup for Juniors Qualifier (Jan 8-9 in Lowell) and the Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships (Jan 28-30 also in Lowell).
(Nov 17) Merita Mullen, Director of Synchronized Skating, is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Delano to the Team Excel synchronized skating coaching staff. Melissa is currently coaching our Metrowest Beginner team and our Learn to Synchro class at the Rivers School in Weston. She also volunteers with the Juvenile and Novice teams.
Melissa has been deeply involved in the sport of synchronized skating for over ten years. She skated from 1999-2006 for the Pawtucket & Providence Synchronized Skating teams in Pawtucket, RI. She has enjoyed the experience of skating for Merita on past Senior and Collegiate teams. She is currently a member of the Team Excel Collegiate team.
At age twelve, Melissa volunteered for the City of Pawtucket’s Learn to Skate program where she continued as a volunteer until she graduated in 2007. Melissa also volunteered for Merita's Juvenile and Beginner teams last season.
Melissa has her gold MIF, she is working on completing her gold dances and is on the professional staff with the Pawtucket & Providence FSC.
(Nov 7) The Team Excel Junior and Novice teams were the first to exhibit at The Skating Club of Boston the last two Friday nights, October 31 and November 6. Both teams skated their programs with power and grace. Fun evenings were had by all as parents and skaters stayed for the Friday night dinner. We look forward to seeing all the Excel teams perform at The Skating Club very soon.
(Updated Nov 4) With two locations (Boston or Metrowest) for our Beginner teams, parents can choose whichever is more convenient for them.
The 12 week fall session for our Metrowest Beginner team in Marlborough has begin but there are still openings at a pro-rated cost. Practices are on Mondays from 6:00pm-6:50pm at the New England Sports Center.
The second session for our Boston Beginner team in Brighton has also begun. Practices are Saturdays at 5:00-6:30pm at The Skating Club of Boston. There will be an opportunity to join this team coming up.
Join one of our Beginner teams to have fun and learn the fundamentals of synchronized skating. Our Beginner program provides an opportunity to enjoy the synchronized skating experience at a skill and age appropriate level. The skater's expected skill level is Basic Skills 5 through Freestyle 3 but any skater may request an assessment.
For more information, please send email to Team Excel.
(June 7) Jaclyn, Caitlin and Tracey were the first three skaters to correctly identify the owner of this license plate. They have each won a Team Excel Fun Pack consisting of a t-shirt, sticker and temporary tattoo!
All the skaters who participated in the contest will win a consolation prize. We would like to hold additional contests during the year. If you have any ideas, please send them to publicity@excelsynchro.org.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
(April 15) Team Excel holds the first of many synchronized skating clinics open to all skaters.
(April 5) Assignments are mailed for Preliminary, Juvenile, Open Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice and Junior teams. Tryouts for the Collegiate team will be held in the late summer. Our Beginner program will begin in September.
(April 5) Merita Mullen, Director of Synchronized Skating, announces the appointment of Megan Walsh, Krista Benson and Kristin Curran as synchronized skating coaches and Jane Gruber as physical therapist and fitness trainer.
(March 28) More than 100 skaters attend Team Excel tryouts.
(March 13) Team Excel is formed as a vehicle for Merita Mullen's long-term vision for synchronized skating in the northeast. The Initial flyer is created to announce tryouts.
