(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 Paul Tsongas Arena was the venue for the 2010 Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championships where the Team Excel Preliminary, Juvenile, Novice, Junior and Collegiate teams all competed. Eastern Sectionals is the qualifying competition for garnering the right to compete at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, which will take place this year in Minneapolis, MN on March 3-6, 2010.

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."

Though a newly formed organization, Team Excel features an experienced coaching staff led by Director Merita Mullen, Coach of National Medal Winning and US World Teams, a dedicated and committed group of parent and skater volunteers and an affiliation with The Skating Club of Boston, one of the premier figure skating clubs in the United States. The Skating Club of Boston provides practice facilities in Brighton and Marlborough.

Team Excel offers skaters of all ages and levels an opportunity to have fun, develop skating skills, grow as individuals and develop a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence that comes with working towards goals and achieving them.

Tryouts for the 2010-2011 synchronized skating season will be held at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA beginning March 25 and continuing through April. There will be openings at each level, including Preliminary, Juvenile, Novice, Junior and Collegiate. Additional tryouts for Team Excel's popular Collegiate team will be held in early September.

Team Excel also offers introductory classes in synchronized skating in Brighton, Marlborough and Weston and beginner teams in Brighton and Marlborough. Team Excel’s beginner teams welcome all young skaters who wish to enjoy the fun of skating in a team environment.

Team Excel is also hosting the first annual Boston Synchronized Skating Classic on March 27 and is offering clinics for all skaters at the competition.

In addition, on February 14, Team Excel skaters will participate in Skatefest 2010 to benefit The Salvation Army's Our Place Day Care Center for Homeless Children in Cambridge. And then on April 10-11, Team Excel will participate in The Skating Club's annual Ice Chips show which has traditionally benefitted local charities such as the Girl Scouts and Children’s Hospital.