Dumfries Ice Bowl once again hosted the Trophy d’Ecosse International Synchronized Skating competition from Friday 9th – Sunday 11th February 2018. This year’s event was the biggest yet, with 58 teams from across Europe and as far away as Canada and USA competing in 11 categories, and skaters from as young as age 6 taking part.
On Friday, Solway Comets ( Main Image)were the first of the four Dumfries teams to take to the ice, competing against ten other teams in the Elementary category, which had the highest number of entries. They performed their routine to a medley from The Lion King and scored 21.72 which earned them a well-deserved second place and silver medal, only three points behind the category winners. Comets also won the Sk8scotland gold medal for being the highest-placed Scottish team in the category.
Solway Lighting were the next Dumfries team to skate, competing in the Juvenile category, performing to a Mary Poppins medley and scored 27.09. Their highly entertaining performance gave them a second place finish, and as well as silver medals they also won Scottish Gold medals.
Solway Stars were the last Dumfries team to skate on Friday, performing their Short Programme routine to Before The Story by Luke Bond, and scored 35.35 in the Junior ISU category. Stars’ competitors included World Championship-placed teams from USA, Finland and Great Britain.
On Saturday, Solway Eclipse performed their routine to Into The Woods in the Mixed Age category on Sunday. They skated fourth out of nine teams and scored 38.64, only 0.08 points away from setting a new personal best. This score secured Eclipse first place and double gold medals, successfully defending their win from last year’s event against teams from Norway and across Britain.
The final Solway performance of the weekend was Stars’ Free Programme routine, performed to the original soundtrack to Moana. Stars’ routine was executed with an incredibly high level of precision, timing and accuracy. This was reflected in their score of 60.63, and giving a combined total score of 95.98, which gave them a hard-fought 5th place and Scottish gold medal.
Every Solway team took to the ice to huge applause and cheers from spectators and competitors alike, and all thoroughly enjoyed their experience at the event.
No report on the event would be complete without a mention for iSKATE Snowflakes. The guest team performed an exhibition skate on Sunday and obviously enjoyed the experience of taking centre stage. Snowflakes are the Synchro team of Inclusive Skating in Glasgow.
Solway Sk8ing Club would once again like to thank their sponsors Cellfield & Kip McGrath, Murray Ettle Dental Care, and The Holywood Trust who have provided the club’s skaters with much-appreciated funding and assistance.
