Ice Link issue 62 (Page 3) - National Ice Skating Association

Ice Link Issue 62 page 2
Ice
Link Editor's Comment
As the summer draws to a
close, nights grow longer and
the first signs of Autumn are
arleady showing (well up here in
the Highlands anyway!), thoughts
are turning to our fast approaching
Championships.
The fifth Sk8scotland Open
Chapionships in Dumfries are the first,
Bryan Morrice - Editor
from 15th - 21st October, and this
event will be the first time the new ISU judging system will
have been used in actual competition in the UK. The previous
NJS events held in iceSheffield have not in fact been
competitions as such, but "assessment" events, where the
main purpose was for skaters to receive feedback and an
assessment of their NJS score.
In this issue of Ice Link, I have included what is effectively a
free Sk8scotland Championship Programme giving all
members a full timetable of events, plus a listing of
competitors for all events.
Organising this event, now undoubtdly the biggest skating
competition in the UK, is never easy, and this year has had
the added complication of including a full NJS Championship,
and has had to be extended from five days to seven.
The smooth running of an event of this magnitude depends to
a large extent on securing the help of volunteers willing to
offer some their time in the various roles. For many skaters,
parents and even coaches, competitions can involve long
periods in between events, and many people have told me
that they would be quite willing to offer a few hours to help
at these times. I am very pleased to say that a number of
clubs/rinks have already done so, however, we are always
happy to accept further offers of help.
If you or members of your club feel you may be able to offer
some assistance in this way, please contact me either by email
or telephone (see contact details below)
There are many roles that you could help with, from marking
to runners, or if you have your skates even collecting the toys
from the ice.
Thankyou
Editor/Designer/Layout/Chief Reporter/Dogsbody ~ Bryan Morrice.
Design Assistant ~ Julie Morrice
Photographs ~ NISA Official Photographer - Louvain Woodmass Publisher
~ NISA NIC Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham NG1 1LA Tel: 0115 988
8060 Fax: 0115 988 8061 or e-mail on nisa@iceskating.org.uk Website:
www.iceskating.org.uk
Contributions, articles, news, photos and information from your rinks are
always welcome. If you have a contribution, or would like to help, contact the
editor at 'Brackenlea', Lower Glenhead, Kemnay, Aberdeenshire
AB51 5PR Telephone: 01467 641389 (set to answerphone only
/ no fax); E-mail on - bryan.morrice@btinternet.com
Views expressed in Ice Link are those of the editor and/or contributors
but not necessarily those of the Governing Bodies or Officers.
Copyright is reserved and while all efforts are made for accuracy, no
responsibility can be accepted for printed errors or matters arising
from them. No part of the newspaper may be reproduced without
written permission from the publishers.
SUN, SEA & SKATING
1st YEAR
ICE DANCE SKATING SCHOOL
ANGLET - 25 JUNE - 2 JULY 2006
At the Patinoire de la Barre, Anglet
With
Vivienne Dean
International Ice
Dance Coach
(World Professional
Ice Dance
Champion 1976)
Duncan Lenard
Gold Ice Dance
Coach (represented
Great Britain in the
European
Championships 1995)
Package includes all skating costs, 4* hotel room and breakfast. The
nearest airport is Biarritz and Anglet is just a short taxi ride away.
Ice dance each morning, then holiday in the sun, by the sea for the
rest of the day.
For brochure/details contact TRAVEL EXCELLENCE (Julia
Greenhough)
Tel: 01543 483126 Fax: 01543 483179
Mobile: 07836 200963
Email: travel.excellence@btopenworld.com
Website: www.travel-excellence.com
Letters to
the Editor
Dear Bryan,
Angela Court, who is now the skating
correspondent for The Times, forwarded
your e-mail suggesting I sent you my
remembrances of Dennis Bird, whom I
first met in the late 1960s and with
whom I still kept in touch whenever I
wanted to check an obscure fact.
[Some background on me: From 1972 to
1990, I was the skating correspondent
of the Guardian newspaper. After that I
transferred to the Daily Telegraph for
which I still occasionally write although
interest in the sport has diminished
greatly since the glory days of GB' s
Diane Towler & Bernie Ford, John Curry,
Robin Cousins & T&D. I also write for US
skating magazines, including Blades on
Ice, an American publication. I have
covered every Winter Olympic Games
since 1968 and will be in Turin in
February. Although I am British, I now live
in New York.]
I remember Dennis with great fondness
from the days when our paths would
cross regularly since he was the skating
correspondent for The Times and after
that the archivist for the then called
National Skating Association (now NISA).
Although we were initially rivals, we
soon developed a steady friendship, a
situation which was fostered by endless
hours of sitting around bitterly cold ice
rinks for long days of competition when
even bad coffee was never reliably
available, even for sale.
In those days, skaters were forbidden to
have agents and were warned by the
NSA not to talk to the "Press" without an
official present. Needless to say
whenever we'd request an official's
presence, they were always "too busy".
The concept of having a media room or
even a media representative was totally
foreign to the association and to rink
managers.
There were no mobile phones and we
sometimes had to rush for the nearest
public phone to dictate our stories
which was problematic at the end of an
event because that was when skaters
were waiting in line to let relatives know
how they'd done and spectators wanted
to call for taxis or other pickups. I
remember one year trying to read soggy
notes (it was raining) by torchlight
outside Nottingham Ice Rink.
This was well before computers took
over. Obtaining results was unbelievably
difficult and I could not have operated
without Dennis who had mastered the
very complicated method of
determining the outcome, with its
reliance on ordinals.
We would try to position ourselves so
we could see the marks which the
judges held up and both of us would
listen very carefully to the announcer
although the acoustics in rinks are
notoriously bad, even to this day.
Without Dennis, who would work out
the results, I could not have filed for any
evening event (which is when most
skating finals take place). In all the years I
relied on him, we only got one result
wrong.
One solitary mark made the different
between Lynn Nightingale's finish in the
Richmond Trophy. We had the Canadian
champion fourth and she was actually
sixth (or possibly the other way round).
The official results didn't come out till
after our reports had appeared in the
papers the next day and editors
decided, at that late stage, it was not
important enough to write a correction.
Of course that was the competition
when the roof came down. Editors write
headlines not writers. My story
appeared under "Nightingale Brings Roof
Down". Dennis' was a more sedate "Miss
Nightingale Skates On As Roof Comes
Down". The Telegraph ignored the
situation which interrupted the
event for an hour or so plus a
resurface of the ice but did
not stop it. The Telegraph's
headline was "First US win".
(The winner was Dorothy
Hamill.)
Fortunately Nightingale was skating at
the other end of the rink when this
happened. A significant amount of roof
material came down and one spectator
was taken to hospital with dust in his
eyes. I'm sure in today's world the
competition would have been canceled.
My respect for Dennis' knowledge
continually grew. I last spoke to him on
the phone in November to confirm that
the entry for the Senior Ladies British
Championship was the lowest ever.
As always, he cheerfully checked
through what must have been a
mountain of papers and let me know my
suspicion was true. I don't believe
anyone else could have answered that
question.
One of the most important books in my
very extensive library of skating books is
Dennis' splendid tome, "Our Skating
Heritage, A Centenary History of the
National Skating Association 1879-
1979". I actually have several copies
bought as backups because the original
is so dog-eared and covered with such
pencil notes, added in the era before
those invaluable post-its were invented,
as 'Axel Paulsen's birthdate P.23'.
Dennis was a splendid person whose
knowledge was unmatched. He enriched
my life and I am a better person for
knowing him. I already miss him greatly.
SANDRA A STEVENSON New York
Ed: Thankyou Sandra, for a very fitting
tribute to Dennis
Dear Bryan,
A couple of years ago you featured my
daughter Melissa when she gained 10 A*
and 1A in her GCSE results alongside
skating and competing. As a follow up it
pleases me to tell you that she just
gained 4 A's in her A level results as well
as an A in in Further Maths at AS level
which she picked up as an extra subject
this year, and has now had her entry to
read Physics at Imperial College, London
University, confirmed.
She won the Silver Medal in the Ladies
British Senior Solo Ice Dance
Championship this year and was British
Intermediate Solo Ice Dance Champion
and Scottish Senior Solo Ice Dance
Champion last year. She also competed
in the British Primary Ice Dance
Championship 2004 and 2003. She
obtained her level 1 ice skating coaching
certificate earlier this year.
She still keeps up her free skating and
trains towards competing in the Scottish
Championship 2005 in both Solo Ice
Dance and Free skating sections.
Once settled into University she hopes
to find an ice dance partner with whom
she can train in the London area for the
next 4 years.
Nete Brogaard Maczka
Ed: it's very heartening to hear this
news, and congratulations to Melissa.
Dear Bryan,
As a competitor in this recent event
(World Ice Challenge) I felt I must write
to congratulate and thank the organisers,
John Baster,Carole Doran and Elizabeth
Gibbs. My dance partner and I had a
wonderful time throughout the
weekend.The competition was strong
but everyone was so friendly and we
made new friends,especially those who
had travelled from abroad. The
organanisation was excellent and we
were well looked after in a very sociable
atmosphere. It's always interesting to
hear from other skaters about their rinks,
training facilities,coaching etc.
We " older skaters " do enjoy our icedancing
and competitions but so often
we are not catered for!
Good for you John, Carole and
Elizabeth. You all deserve a medal !
Anne Glyn
Ed: Delighted to be able to pass on
your comments, although I do think
that there are now an increasing
number of events in the UK which are
geared particularly towards adults -
the British Adult Championships,
preceded this year by a number of
Adult Opens, including the first
Sk8scotland Adult Championships.
there are also the numerous RIDL
events held throughout the year, and
finally let's not forget the first ISU
Adult event held earlier this summer in
Oberstdorf.
Dear Bryan,
I noted in the last edition of ice link
(issue 61) that Keith Horton felt that solo
ice dance was "very much alive". I attach
a letter that I sent to Keith Horton, Noel
Grimshaw and Alan Seabrook in July
after hearing of proposed age capping
to senior solo dancers in the 2006 British
Championships. I received no reply to
my letter, (despite enclosing stamped
addressed envelopes), and I now see
that the proposed age restriction has
been imposed. Surely I cannot be the
only person who finds this unacceptable
on grounds of both age and gender
discrimination, (all those affected will be
female), and of course totally contrary to
NISAs professed commitment to equality
of opportunity. Perhaps Mr Horton
should have said that solo ice dance is
"very much alive until you are 25!" As a
discipline representative for ice dance I
would be interested to hear your
opinion,
Yours Sincerely, Diana Entwistle
Ed: Diana, I referred your letter to
NISA Technical Director Noel
Grimshaw who forwarded me this
response (it has been extensively
discussed and your letter pre-empted
a personal reply):
The NISA Consultation Group (for Solo
Dance) discussed all aspects of the
2006 requirements extensively and
amongst other changes considered the
introduction of an upper age limit in
the Seniors was appropriate. The Solo
Dance Championships was originally
conceived as an event for ' junior '
skaters. However as interest grew so
did the scope of the event until 5
categories emerged, catering from
approx 6yrs to Seniors of no maximum
age. All this however took place
before the introduction of the British
Adult Championships (BAC) which
allows skaters of 21yrs and above to
compete. There is now, as you know,
a series of Adult Opens across the
country, most of which link directly to
the BAC providing opportunities for
mature skaters and which mirrors the
structure of the Solo events. It seemed
sensible to us all that the time was
right to introduce an upper age limit
for Senior Solo Dance, but in order not
to be too drastic it was decided 25
years was an appropriate level for
2006. This still allows the younger,
mature skater to compete in both
Senior Solo and Adult events, which I
should add, is not an opportunity
open to the other four categories of
solo dance competitor. The Ice Dance
Technical Committee were informed of
the changes and endorsed the 2006
requirements.
Adult Opens, as accredited events,
reflect the requirements and test
standards of the British Adult
Championships which are also
endorsed by the Figure Technical
Committee. In 2005 the International
Skating Union (ISU) recognised the
needs of the adult skater by
introducing a full International
Competition in Obersdorf. The ISU
Working Group set up to oversee this
new development consisted of
representatives from several countries
who decided that only skaters aged
35yrs and over would be eligible.
Most sports throughout the World
promote events which offer a range of
age categories to reflect the standards
and abilities of their competitors and
to nurture the development of their
athletes.