On the 17th November, Solway Sk8ing Club’s synchronized skating performance teams travelled to Cardiff Ice Arena for their first competition of the season. After spending the summer months learning new routines, all 31 skaters were eager to put their new programmes to the test.
Solway Stars have taken a step up this season into the Junior category. This means that they now have to skate both a long and short programme in competition which is a test of both their skills and stamina. Stars were showcasing their new Elvis inspired short programme for the first time and when they had finished, the enthusiastic round of applause in the arena indicated how well it had been received. Some tricky 60s dance inspired manoeuvres and great Elvis choreography gave the routine a definite buzz . The new costumes also went down a storm, with the quiffs proving a big hit! When the scores were announced, Stars were delighted to find out they had received the highest score ever received by a Dumfries team for a short programme. Stars completed the day with a lovely skate for their long programme, which was a reworking of last season’s ever popular Winter routine, skated to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Some more encouraging scores put the Stars in second place overall, only a few marks behind the eventual winners from the Isle of Wight. Team captain Emily Spence said, “The Isle of Wight are a very experienced team who have competed in the Junior category for many years, however we were all really pleased with the way we skated and felt proud of our achievement. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get two programmes ready and we hope that as the season carries on, we will continue to improve. We want to thank our coaches, Philip Carter and Louisa Nairn for all their hard work in preparing us for the competitive season.”
Solway Eclipse were skating in the Basic Novice B category. The Eclipse team has been formed by skaters who competed in the Juvenile Solway Lightning team last season, so performing at a higher level was a big challenge for them. Having been on the competition circuit for a couple of years, the young skaters used their experience and rose to the challenge with ease. They put in a confident skate full of sparkle to Katie Perry’s Firework and a great score put them in gold medal position. One skater in Eclipse, 11 year old Gemma McQueen, even managed to compete with a broken hand and didn’t even have a cast on so that she could maintain the strong holds required in synchronized skating. Figure skaters are made of very strong stuff! Team Captain, Eve Leonard, said “We were really excited to attend our first competition of the season and were so happy to come away with gold medals. We want to thank our coaches Philip Carter and Louisa Nairn for all their help.”
Head Coach, Philip Carter said, “I am very proud of the skaters. They have put in a lot of effort over the summer months to get ready for this competition and it was great to see this hard work rewarded. ” The skaters are now back in intensive training as they prepare for the British Championships which will be held in Nottingham in January.
Solway Sk8ing Club are organising a fundraising Christmas Fayre and lunch on Saturday 6th December between 12noon and 2pm at Georgetown Community Centre. Entry is £3.50 for adults and this includes a lovely lunch of homemade soup, a roll, home baking and a tea or coffee. There will be lots of stalls to help you with your Christmas shopping and face painting for the children.
If anybody would like any information about skating at Dumfries Ice Bowl, please contact [email protected] or the rink directly on 01387 251300.
