Ice Link issue 70 (Page 3) - National Ice Skating Association

Ice 

INSIDE 

Issue 70 - February 2007 

Link 

The official voice of ice skating in the UK 

World Cup medals for Jon 

and Sarah ........p8 

Welsh Championships 

..........p8 

Developing Youth Ice Sport 

British Figure & Dance 

Championships 2007 

....centre pages 

If undelivered return to: 

National Ice Skating Association of UK Ltd 

National Ice Centre, Lower Parliament Street 

Nottingham NG1 1LA 

On track for success! 

Short Track Brits take medals at Sheffield Europeans while Kerrs claim 5th slot in Warsaw Euro Champs 

In a superb start to 2007, Britain's top skating athletes have performed 

magnificently at the major European Championships. At iceSheffield, where the ISU 

Short Track European Championships were held this year, Britain's golden girl Sarah 

Lindsay raced to an individual Silver medal in her favourite distance, the 500m, with 

the GB Mens Relay Team also in the medals, taking the Bronze in an exciting finish. 

Meanwhile, in Warsaw, at the ISU European 

Championships, brother and sister team John & 

Sinead Kerr, from Edinburgh, claimed a well 

deserved 5th place, moving up the Euro rankings 

by 3 places on last year and achieved their 

target ambitions for the event. 

Warsaw European Figure Champs 

John & Sinead Kerr attained their best placing 

and highest international points score to date in 

the Warsaw Championships stated NISA 

Performance Manager Cath Barker. "There were 

some small mistakes which can be corrected 

and without these, the marks showed a 4th 

place finish in the OD, but we are all delighted 

with this position within the European's as their 

development is one towards 2010". She 

added, "the Kerr's now have a structure of 

support and we will see the benefits of this only 

in the longer term towards 2010". 

"Their performance of the Free Dance was their 

best so far this season. They managed to 

portray the story of the Last Mohicans within the 

choreography of the programme and this was 

captivating on the night." 

The week before European Championships Cath 

brought in a stylist to work on John and Sinead's 

image (hair and makeup) prior to the 

Championships to give them 3 different looks in 

keeping with the 3 different characters of their 

performances. 

Cath continued, "This season has been most 

important as funding was secured to develop 

our sport and our leading skaters and it has also 

allowed us to develop wider networks of 

support, within the Institutes of Sport (England 

and Scotland), British Olympic Association and 

importantly within the judges and technical 

panel networks. We now have a wide network 

of technical support and input from judges, 

experienced officials and technical panel 

members alike and these partnerships are vital 

to the success of our athletes". 

Also .... ISU Synchro 

World Challenge Cup for 

Juniors at NIC 

9-10 March ... p9 

iceSheffield European Short Track Champs 

On her way to the final at iceSheffield, Sarah 

Lindsay defeated the 2006 Olympic Silver 

medallist, Evgenia Radanova (BUL) but Radanova 

struck back in the final and took the Gold medal 

with Ekaterina Belova in Bronze. This is Sarah's 

first Championship medal in her long illustrious 

career. 

Performance Director Stuart Horsepool said “this 

medal has topped a great 12 months for Sarah, 

starting with her 8th place at the 2006 Olympic 

Games, 2 top 6 places in World Cups and now 

a Championship medallist, Sarah has won many 

International medals in the past, she has now 

proved she can win at Championships. Sarah 

finished in 5th place in the Overall ranking at the 

European Championships. 

The second medal came from the GB Men's 

"It's a sign of strength when we win two 

medals at a European Championships and yet 

still feel disappointed!" 

Relay team. After dominating the qualifying 

rounds they were brought down in the final by 

the French whilst in the lead and favourites for 

the Gold. The French team were later DQ'd, and 

left Great Britain with the bronze medal. Great 

performances came from the team of Jon Eley, 

Paul Stanley, Tom Iveson and Paul Worth. 

Stuart Horsepool commented "It has been a 

tough weekend for GB with Jon Eley and Sarah 

Lindsay both suffering from DQ's which cost 

them places in the distance finals and ultimately 

more medals, and the men's Relay team being 

taken down when looking favourites for the 

gold. 

It's a sign of the strength of the Short Track 

programme when we can come away from a 

European Championships with two medals and 

feel disappointed with the outcome" 

photo: Alison Gilkes 

GB Mens Relay 

Team take Bronze 

medal at 

Sheffield 

European 

Championships 

photo: Alison Gilkes 

Sarah Lindsay - 

European Silver 

Medal 

Synchro Showcase 

A special two page feature on Britain's Synchro Teams and a look forward to the 

British RJS Synchro Championships at iceSheffield 19th March 2007 .... p4-5 

Sinead & John Kerr 5th in Warsaw 

photo: Graham Taylor

Ice Link Issue 70 page 2 

Ice 

Link Editor's Comment 

It's now gone midnight and I sit 

staring at an empty Editor's 

Comment on my computer screen 

- but first thing tomorrow, I have to 

take this latest issue of Ice Link up 

to the printers in Inverness. My wife 

has just asked if I have any intention 

of coming to bed tonight, and 

suggested I simply type in BIG 

letters - "no comment"! 

Bryan Morrice - Editor 

Writer's block can be a frustrating experience - what 

deserves comment? So I review again the news in this 

issue. And actually, there really is so much good news. 

Our Short Track skaters have performed brilliantly this 

season, With Sarah Lindsay building on her Olympic 8th 

place in Turin, securing a silver medal in last month's 

European Championships in iceSheffield, another silver in 

the Netherlands World Cup, and with two more top 10 

results, she has finished the season 5th in the 500m 

World rankings - the best ever result for a British female 

skater. 

Meanwhile our Mens Relay Team snatched a brilliant 

bronze medal in the European Championships - but are 

disapointed! They were actually in the lead when they 

were taken out by the French (who were then DQ'd). Just 

two weeks ago, Britain's top male speed skater Jon Eley 

achieved his first World Cup gold medal, and with another 

6th and 8th place has given him a record breaking result 

for a Great Britain skater of 2nd in the World Cup 

rankings, missing out on 1st place by the narrowest of 

margins of just one point. The World Cup rankings are 

worked out over your best 6 results from the 8 rounds. 

In figure skating, our dance team of Sinead & John Kerr 

has improved once again with a fantastic 5th place in the 

European Championships and with their first International 

gold medal at Oberstdorf last year they are clearly a 

force to be reckoned with on the International circuit. 

Things are definitely looking up! 

Editor/Designer/Layout/Chief Reporter/Dogsbody ~ Bryan Morrice. 

Design Assistant ~ Julie Morrice 

Photographs ~ NISA Official Photographers - Graham Taylor; Dave Page; 

Alison Gilkes 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. 

NISA Diary 2007 

The full calendar can be viewed on NISA website 

February/(Mar) 

26-(4) ISU Junior World Champs 

(Oberstdorf, Germany) 

March 

5 Romford Open 

5-6 Alex Palace (Solo Dance 

Qualifier) 

8-10 ISU Synchro World 

Challenge Cup for Juniors 

(NIC Nottingham) 

9-11 ISU World Short Track 

Champs (Milan, Italy) 

10-11 Magnum Opens (Scottish 

NISA Cup Qualifier) 

12-13 Bradford Open (English 


14 Bristol Open 

17-18 ISU World Short Track 

Team Champs (Budapest, 

Hungary 

19 British Synchro RJS 

Champs (iceSheffield) 

19-25 ISU World Champs 

(Tokyo, Japan) 

25-26 WISA Free Open (Welsh 


26 Solihull (Solo Dance 

Qualifier) 

28-29 Telford Open 

30-31 World Synchro Champs 

(London, Ontario) 

April 

3-5 Blackpool Open 

14-15 Dumfries (Scottish Home 

Nation Solo Dance Qualifier) 

23-24 Bracknell (English Home 


14-15 British Short Track 

Champs Nottingham 

25-27 Bracknell Open 

28 NISA Cup Final Home 

Countries International 

Aberdeen 

May 

506 Kyle Open Ayr 

6-7 Deeside (Welsh Home 


11-13 Dundonald (N Ireland Home 


12-13 Lee Valley Open 

June/(July) 

3-4 Nottingham Open 

16-17 Deeside Open 

19-20 iceSheffield (Solo Dance 

Qualifier) 

21-22 iceSheffield Open Figure 

26-27 Basingstoke Opens 

28-29 Bracknell Adult Open 

30-(1) WISA Dance Open 

July 

2-4 Guildford Open 

7-8 Hull Open 

August 

25-26 Ayr Open 

September 

2-4 Bristol Dance / Adults 

18 Chelmsford Open 

Oct 

4 Swindon Open 

8-10 A Palace Open 

18-21 ISU Junior Grand Prix 

iceSheffield 

19 Oxford Open 

November 

5 Gillingham Open 

Letters to 

the Editor 

Thanks for all your letters after an empty postbag 

last issue - keep them coming! 

Dear Bryan, 

Perhaps through your pages you 

could clarify the situation 

regarding club insurance through 

Perkins Slade. We have received a 

questionnaire regarding our 

policy and procedures for Child 

Protection. We contacted NISA 

office and were advised to 

download the CP documents 

from the NISA website and 

amend for our own use. This is a 

very complex area and we feel 

more guidance should be given 

to clubs by the Association. What 

are the implications for club 

insurance? Please do not identify 

our club as you will appreciate 

this is a sensitive matter for our 

members. 

Name & address supplied 

Ed: Thanks for your letter. I 

have received the following 

guidance from NISA General 

Secretary Keith Horton: 

We are very happy to provide 

clubs with information 

regarding Child Protection as 

and when they ask for it. It is 

correct, Perkins Slade are now 

insisting that before they will 

provide public liability 

insurance, clubs should have a 

Child Protection policy/ 

procedure in place. I 

personally believe this is very 

sensible and that clubs should 

be doing this. It is our 

intention from August this 

year that we will make it 

mandatory for clubs who wish 

to affiliate to NISA that they 

should have a Child Protection 

procedure in place. We will 

be writing to all affiliated 

clubs informing them of this 

when we send out the renewal 

notices in August. We will 

also inform them that we are 

very happy as indeed are 

Perkins Slade for clubs to 

People eople news 

We'd like to make this a regular feature in Ice Link, so 

please send news of members, happenings, "where are 

you now" stories and we'll try and print as many as we can 

send to the editor bryan.morrice@btinternet.com 

Bernie Ford Inducted 

Bernard Ford, former British, European and World Ice Dance 

Champion with partner Diane Towler, was inducted into the 

prestigious Skate Canada Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the 

Canadian Championships in Halifax on January 21st. 

Bernard's wife Lindsay 

kindly sent us some 

photos of the occasion 

and proudly stated "some 

people had asked me to 

send along pictures of 

Bernie's induction to the 

Skate Canada Hall of 

Fame .... and for those of 

you who didn't ask I'm 

sending them anyway 

because as his wife I get 

to brag - you know how 

Bernie never does so 

someone has to! 

Bernard has coached in 

Canada for over 36 years, 

and was honoured for his 

contribution to coaching 

and choreography in 

Canada. He has 

successfully trained 

numerous Canadian 

dance teams since 

moving to North America. 

MICHAEL ROBINSON 

M ichael 

Sad News 

Photo courtesy of Brett Barden from 

www.skatetoday.com 

Robinson passed away suddenly 

on Thursday 18th January 2007 at the 

National Ice Centre Nottingham, where 

he used to skate regularly. Michael was a Life 

Member of NISA and had been involved in ice 

skating for most of his life, mainly Ice Dance. 

He competed Internationally partnered by his 

wife Catherine in the European and World Ice 

Dance Championships from 1957 to 1959 and 

placed 2nd in the Europeans and 4th in the 

Worlds. 

For many years Michael was a National and International Ice Dance 

Judge and only gave up Judging to concentrate on his business. 

He leaves his wife Catherine (Kay) and son Alistair, and we offer our 

sincerest condolences to them at this time. 

Kay and Alistair wish to thank the many friends and colleagues for the 

messages of sympathy and kindness shown in their very sad and 

sudden loss of Michael. 

download the NISA Child 

Protection policy/procedure 

from the NISA website and to 

change the NISA references to 

their own individual club 

references therefore 

converting it into their very 

own publication. 

(Ed: I had a look at the 

website and note the NISA 

documents are in non-editable 

Acrobat PDF format. Perhaps 

it would be appropriate to 

make editable versions 

available to clubs). 

Dear Editor, 

I was very concerned to read in 

iSKATE recently that NISA had 

introduced massive increases in 

test fees without prior notice 

to members. In the iSKATE 

article Keith Horton explained 

that the increases had been to 

bring dance tests fees into line 

with figure tests. Why then 

increase the fees for most figure 

tests (Levels 4-6 up from £20 to 

£30 and Levels 7-10 up from 

£35 to £45) at the same time. 

This simply makes the increases 

in dance tests even more 

drastic. 

Come on NISA, our pockets are 

not bottomless pits! 

Angry dancer, North London! 

Ed: Once again, I have queried 

the matter with NISA General 

Secretary Keith Horton who 

responded: 

(As regards) Test fee 

increases, I was asked by the 

Finance and Operations group 

to review the situation and to 

see if the objectives of the 

increases had been met, 

namely, to achieve parity 

across all the disciplines. As 

you know in the past, dance 

test fees have been less than 

Figure fees and also to the 

best of my knowledge test 

fees have not been increased 

since 2001. I am in the midst 

of completing a review which 

again was agreed with Finance 

and Operations Group and will 

be presented to the group 

ahead of the next board 

meeting and in turn placed in 

front of Board members when 

they meet again on 22nd 

February for a final decision. 

Pam & Jon to tie the 

knot in America 

After a spell coaching in California last year, former 

British Ice Dance Champions Pam O'Connor and 

Jonathon O'Dougherty have decided their future 

lies over the pond and are moving end February to Blaine, 

Minnesota in the US midwest. 

Pam & Jon enjoy a sunset on the Great Barrier Reef 

Based in a fairly new ice rink that's currently got 8 ice pads 

and plans to build another 4 by the end of the year. We're 

planning on being all set up by March 1st, and our plan is to 

put all the facilities to good use and set up our own ice 

dance school. Jamie Burns and Nicola Trippick will be 

joining us for the month of April, so we're still keeping an 

involvement with British skating. Then on May 1st we're 

getting married on a beach in Barbados. So it's safe to say 

we've got an exciting year ahead of us. 

If you wanted to do a piece about what we've been doing 

since our retirement from competitive skating, I think 

everyone that reads Ice Link will have spotted Pam on 

season 1 of Dancing On Ice. Following that we came back 

to San Jose to focus coaching, and then we both went 

down under for the Australian version of Dancing On Ice. I 

was paired with an Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer called 

Giaan Rooney (who happened to be 3 inches taller than 

me?!?), and Pam was paired with an Australian Rules 

Football legend called Dermott Brereton. I was dying to go 

head to head against Pam in this environment because 

anyone that saw what she did last year with David Seaman 

will know how seriously she takes these competitions. But it 

wasn't meant to be. Giaan broke her ankle whilst doing 

backward crossovers (after the first week), and Dermott 

detached his bicep tendon (just before the show went live 

on week 3) on a simple lift, and that was the end of that. 

We did however have a fantastic long weekend at the Great 

Barrier Reef. See attached picture. 

Although Pam wasn't pleased to be the first voted out on 

the second season of 'Dancing On Ice' (so we don't talk 

about that!!), it has meant that we can now get started 

setting up a skating school where we can offer skaters the 

support that we were lucky enough to receive through our 

competitive career. We're thinking that it's going to be a 

piece of cake after all the running around that we did when 

we were training. I suppose time will tell............... 

All the best

Cowling's 

Column 

The 2006 world pair champions Pang Ting and 

Tong Jian of China are desperately hoping to 

put their jinxed season as they prepare to 

defend their pairs title in Japan. He has yet to fully 

recover from a car crash and she is still suffering 

from a kidney infection. They have not competed 

all season. 

********* 

And another serious injury in the pairs. It 

happened at the recent Four Continents Cup in 

Colorado Springs, USA. Canadian Jessica Dube 

suffered a scary injury during their side by side spin 

in the free programme. She and partner Bryce 

Davison were in the third rotation of a camel spin 

when Davison began to travel toward Dube, 

catching her with his skate. Dube immediately fell 

to the ice and clutched at her face as blood 

pooled on the ice. Medical staff 

rushed onto the ice, put her on a 

stretcher and took her to a local 

hospital. She underwent surgery the 

same night to repair a laceration on her 

left cheek and nose. Very reminiscent of 

the injury that Olympic Champion Elena 

Berezhnaya of Russia suffered in the 1990's when 

she was hit in the head by the skate of her former 

partner Oleg Shliakov during the same move when 

she skated for Latvia. 

********* 

Coming off his European victory, France's Brian 

Joubert remains weary of the Russian men. They 

finished a dismal 5th, 16th and 18th in Warsaw, 

Poland. Joubert said, "There are still a lot of 

Russian skaters and they are training and are going 

to be dangerous in the next few years. I expect to 

see them next season on the podium." 

********* 

Multi times World Champion Michelle Kwan of the 

James Cowling, Ice Link's 

independent sports journalist 

brings readers skating news from 

around the globe 

Bits Bits n' 

pieces pieces 

United States made her first trip overseas as the 

US Public Diplomacy Envoy. Kwan went to China 

where she visited two schools in Beijing. She said 

that it was amazing to represent her country in a 

diplomatic role. 

********* 

The Grand Prix Final winner, Kim Yu-na of South 

Korea, withdrew from the Winter Asian Games in 

China in February because of an early-stage 

herniated disc in her back. The 16 year old is 

expected to recover in time for the World 

Championships in Tokyo where she will be vying to 

become her country's first World figure skating 

champion. 

********* 

On New Year's Eve, the city of Odintsovo, 

near Moscow, unveiled a monument 

commemorating the first Russian Olympic 

Ice Dance Champions, Ludmila Pakhomova 

and Alexandre Gorshkov. The date 

would have been Pakhomova's 60th 

birthday. The 1976 Olympic Champion died of 

cancer in 1986. 

********* 

Although the Olympic silver medallist Sasha Cohen 

pulled out of the US national championships in 

January she said she had no plans to retire. In a 

statement she said, "I have every intention of 

competing in future competitions. My major goals 

are the 2009 world figure skating championships 

in Los Angeles and the 2010 Winter Olympics in 

Vancouver." 

In December, while on an official visit to a high 

school in California, Cohen said she was "stunned" 

to learn that choir had been ordered to stop 

singing Christmas carols at a holiday show because 

she is half-Jewish. 

Dancing on Ice - The Tour 

As smash hit TV show returns the ALL STAR line-up for UK live show tour is revealed 

As the hit Saturday evening ITV show returns for a second series, still drawing huge 

audiences of nearly 10million, and once again bringing skaters to our ice rinks in their 

thousands, the final details of the follow-up live show tour are now beginning to emerge 

- and it looks like this too should be a huge success as well! 

Blue heartthrob Duncan James, former Steps star Lisa Scott-Lee, rugby legend Kyran Bracken and 

actress Claire Buckfield have revealed they’ll be joining the Dancing On Ice live show. 

The celebrities are all taking part in the hit TV show right now but will be packing up their skates and 

joining Torvill and Dean for four dates at Nottingham Arena between Tuesday 17th and Friday 20th 

April 2007. 

Bonnie Langford and Stefan Booth made it 

through to last year’s final and will compete in 

the show alongside Aussie model Lara Bingle 

and Jake Wall following their success on the 

Australian version of the show. (Readers will 

remember that Ice Link spies spotted Bonnie on 

the ice with Jayne Torvill and was reported in 

the last issue of Ice Link!) 

Just like the TV programme, the live show will be 

an exciting, interactive celebrity Ice Dancing 

competition and of course the region’s most 

famous couple Torvill and Dean will be skating 

back into the East Midlands. 

This will be a real treat for fans who’ll see Jayne 

and Chris back on Nottingham’s ice again where 

their careers began, performing a few of their 

favourite routines. 

Dancing On Ice live will be hosted by Andi 

Peters and will be a truly interactive experience 

with the celebrities performing a series of 

routines with their dancing partners and then 

you, the audience, will vote for your favourite 

couple via your mobile. 

The judging panel from the TV show will be rinkside 

to add their comments headed up by 

Olympic gold medal winner Robin Cousins and 

joined by Nicky Slater, Karen Barber and Jason 

'Mr Nasty' Gardiner. 

Once the votes have been counted, the two 

celebrities with the highest amount of votes will 

perform a magical finale of Torvill & Dean’s 

Olympic Gold medal winning routine Bolero. 

Tickets for this fantastic show at Nottingham are 

on sale now priced at £32.50 and £40 (plus 

booking fee). You can book through our 24hr 

Ticket Hotline on 0870 121 0123 or log onto our 

website at www.nottingham-arena.com. You can 

also call in to the Nottingham Arena Box Office, 

Bolero Square, The Lace Market, Nottingham. 

If you fancy watching the show in style you can 

buy Premium Tickets by calling 0115 853 3008 

and if there’s a group of ten or more of you 

who’d like to see the show call our Group 

Booking line on 0115 853 3095. 

Other Tour Dates 

NIA Birmingham 31st Mar - 1st April 

Wembley Arena 6th - 7th April 

Hallam FM Arena 11th - 12th April 

MEN Manchester 13th - 14th April 

NIC Nottingham 17th – 20th April 


NISA official stuff! 

Attention all skaters, coaches, judges and officials - this is the page to read to keep 

up to date with all the Association's Official Information 

For full details also check NISA website www.iceskating.org.uk 

Due to lack of space in this issue, we are unable to publish all recent Official and Technical 

Announcements. Members are advised to always check the NISA website for full details 

NISA Bulletins 

Please note that NISA Bulletin 26 is available for download on the NISA website and covers a 

number of important issues 

Open Competition Result Calculation (from Bulletin 26) 

As from 1 January 2008, organizers of Open Competitions will be required to use the IceCalc Result 

software in order to obtain a NISA permit. It is proposed to hold a training seminar during the solo 

dance final in Nottingham in July 2007. NISA will make the IceCalc dongles available if 

clubs/rinks do not own their own copies, as part of the permit fee. More information will be 

available shortly. 

NISA Training 2007 

In advance of the forthcoming season NISA will be organising training in various aspects of the 

International Judging System (IJS). The first seminars will provisionally to be held during the week of 

19th March in Sheffield. 

1. Basic IJS (Previously NJS) Coach Seminar 

NISA licensed Coaches who intend to enter, or may possibly enter, skaters into the NISA 2007 IJS 

Events and the 2007/8 British Championship should be aware that attendance is compulsory if not 

already completed in 2005/6. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY FURTHER BASIC SEMINARS LATER IN 2007 

Please contact Joe Collett to register your interest on joe.collett@iceskating.org.uk or 0115 988 

8063. More details will be available shortly. 

2.Technical Specialist/Data Input-Video Cutter Operators/Results System Operators Training 

Following the meeting held at the British Championships applications are sought for those 

interested in training to become Technical Specialists, Data Input-Video Cutter Operators and 

Results System operators. 

All applications are encouraged and more information can be obtained from Liz Littler on 

lizsedge@aol.com 

Application forms may be obtained from Lynda.young@iceskating.org.uk or 0115 988 8081 

GB Team Selection for ISU Junior World Championships 2007 

The following skaters have been selected to represent GB at the forthcoming ISU Junior World 

Championships to be held in Oberstdorf, Germany: 

Ladies: Vanessa James Men: Thomas Paulson (sub David Richardson) 

Dance: Leigh Rogers & Lloyd Jones Pairs: Sally Hoolin & Jake Bennett 

GB Team Selection for ISU World Championships 2007 

The following skaters have been selected to represent GB at the forthcoming ISU World 

Championships to be held in Tokyo 19-25th March: 

Ladies: tba if qualifying score achieved Dance: Sinead & John Kerr (sub Pippa Towler Green & 

Phillip Poole Pairs: Stacey Kemp & David King. 

Sk8scotland Board Elections 2007 

Board elections for Sk8scotland are due to be held in June 2007. 

Full, Life and Coaching members meeting criteria as per Sk8scotland Constitution will be invited to 

apply for candidacy during April. Full details will be placed on the NISA website and in the April 

issue of Ice Link. 

A personal message to all our 

members from Haig Oundjian 

To all NISA judges, officials and volunteers and those of you who help maintain the skating 

clubs, deliver the NISA tests and the supporters of our beautiful sport. I am writing to 

thank you all for your dedication and commitment in providing the framework and 

opportunity for our young skaters. Without this army of volunteers, our amateur sport would 

struggle to survive. Thank you! 

To all the skaters and parents, I wish to welcome you to our family and I hope that you will gain from 

our sport a true appreciation of the value of human commitment and spirit. Winning is about 

personal achievement and therefore, each and every one of you can and will be winners! 

Our sport is all about people. From the 

companies which operate within our sport to the 

rinks which deliver the programmes for our 

activities, it is people who make the difference 

and it is people who count. 

The first contact with our sport is with our 

coaches. They are all highly skilled and qualified 

and, in memory of my late coach John Pearce, I 

would like to take this opportunity of thanking 

you for all the work, dedication and care you put 

into helping to develop your young skaters. 

To all of you....THE FAMILY OF SKATING....I wish 

to thank you for your commitment, contribution 

and friendship throughout 2006. 

Our New Year commenced with the British 

Championship in January 2007. It hope as many 

of you as possible were able to get together at 

the NIC in Nottingham to support and celebrate 

the efforts of our young skaters, their coaches 

and their parents! 

On behalf of my family, including Sylvia and our 

late parents (mum would wake up at 5 o'clock 

with us and dad would take us to the 11.30 pm 

to 1.00 am training session on Friday nights) I wish 

you all the very best and healthy skating 2007. 

Haig Oundjian NISA Chairman & President


Synchro Showcase 

Synchronized skating is now the fastest growing branch of ice skating in the 

world - in North America for instance, there are literally hundreds of teams! In 

the UK, the discipline is also growing, particularly at grass roots level, with NISA 

Board director Judy Clinton, championing its development. A particularly exciting 

innovation this year is the British RJS Synchro Championships to be held on 19th March 

at iceSheffield. In addition to the IJS event held last November at Deeside, which also 

served as the 2006-7 NJS 

Championship, the March RJS 

Championships are intended to 

offer a major competition both 

to RJS teams and to the Novice, 

Junior and Senior teams who 

would normally compete under 

IJS rules. 

Gosport Allstars (Intermediate) 

Aberdeen Bobcats (Elementary) 

Competing for the first time at a 

UK national event will be no 

fewer than 7 Elementary level 

teams, with three rinks - Dumfries, 

Ayr and Deeside - embracing 

Synchro for the first time this 

year. 

Synchro really does bring a huge 

element of fun into ice skating, 

and rinks embarking on this 

branch of the sport have been 

Inverness Moray Seals (Elementary) 

astonished at the team spirit and 

enthusiasm it has generated. 

Parents have even been heard to 

comment that the kids are always 

bright eyed at 5:00am on 

Aberdeen Zariba (Intermediate) 

Dumfries Solway Stars (Elementary) 

Synchro training days! 

So if your rink has not yet thought 

about starting a Synchro team, 

this is the level to start. 

Elementary (previously known as 

"Beginner") teams represent the 

foundation level in Synchro, and 

are required to perform a simple 

Bracknell Fusion 2 (Elementary) 

1 

Isle of Wight Diamonds (Intermediate ) 

Ayr-o-Dynamic (Elementary) 

Bracknell Fusion 1 (Intermediate) 

Deeside Dudes & Divas (Elementary) 

1 ⁄2 minute program incorporating 

four basic elements - a wheel, 

circle, line and block. Teams 

compete at Open Competition 

rather than Championship level. 

Many rinks find that the next 

development into Synchro would 

be the Intermediate category, as 

it is more flexible in terms of 

ages. In this RJS Championships 

category, the teams are required 

to perform a Free Programme of 

31 ⁄2 minutes. 

For younger skaters, the Juvenile 

category also offers a 

Championship pathway, again 

requiring performance of a 3 

minutes Free Programme. 

Never to be left out, Synchro 

also welcomes the participation 

of Adult teams, who are 

required to perform a 31 This article is a Showcase for all British 

Synchro Teams - and thanks to all who have sent 

information and photos to make it possible. 

Apologies to any who have not been mentioned. 

Most of the teams featured on p4-5 will be 

competing in the British RJS Championships at 

iceSheffield on 19 March - so why not be there! 

Elementary teams consist of 

9-20 skaters under 21 

years, with no member 

holding the NISA Bronze 

Synchro test. 

Intermediate teams consist of 12-20 skaters 

aged under 35 years*, 50% of team must hold 

NISA Novice Synchro test. 

*Not more than 35 years on 1st July preceding event. 

⁄2 minutes 

Free Programme for their 

Championship event. 

Other Juvenile Teams 

No photos available: 

Lee Valley Lightning 

Basingstoke Stardust 

Aberdeen White Tigers (Juvenile) 

Juvenile teams consist of 

12-20 skaters aged 

under 12 years*, 50% of 

team must hold NISA 

Novice Synchro test. 

*Not more than 12 years on 

1st July preceding event. 

NIC Silouettes (Juvenile) 

Inverness Northern Lights (Juvenile) 

Adult teams 

consist of 

12-20 

skaters all 

aged over 21 

years as of 

1st July 

preceding 

the event 

Other Intermediate Teams 

No photo available: Lee Valley Isis 

Slough Montem Majors (Adult) 

Lee Valley Jet Set (Adult) 

Lee Valley Eclipse (Intermediate) 

Aberdeen Snow Leopards (Intermediate) 

Inverness Moray Dolphins (Intermediate)


why not join the fun? 

Now ow meet the British Synchro teams who compete at 

ISU recognised levels - Senior, Senior, 

Junior and Novice. 

These are the categories who would normally normally 

compete under the IJS scoring system. 

Need more information 

on Synchro? Contact 

Judy Clinton on 

jc.excalibur@virgin.net 

NIC Icicles (Junior) 

JUNIOR 

Junior Teams comprise 14-16* members all 

of whom must have reached 12 years but 

not reached 19 years by 1st July preceding 

the event. 75% to hold NISA Prelim Synchro 

test and Level 2 Field Moves. 

In Championship events they are required to 

perform a 2 minutes 50s Short Programme 

plus a Free Programme of 4 minutes. 

At the British RJS event in Sheffield on 19th 

March this will be an Open Competition only 

for Junior teams and they are only required 

to perform their Free Programme. 

*For International events teams must comprise 16 

skaters & max 4 alternates 

In the first first of a series series of 

Synchro Synchro Team Team 

profiles, profiles, Ice Link Link 

features features our Senior Senior Champions Champions - 

Team eam Storm Storm 

from from Basingstoke 

Basingstoke 

Basingstoke Storm (Senior) 

SENIOR 

Junior Teams comprise 14-16* members all of whom must have 

reached 14 years by 1st July preceding the event. 75% to hold 

NISA Prelim Synchro test and Level 4 Field Moves. 

In Championship events they are required to perform a 2 minutes 

50s Short Programme plus a Free Programme of 4 1 ⁄2 minutes. 

At the British RJS event in Sheffield on 19th March this will be an 

Open Competition only for Senior teams and they are only 

required to perform their Free Programme. 

*For International events teams must comprise 16 skaters & a maximum 4 

alternates 

New to Synchro? Top Tips 

In Issue 71 - a profile of the 

Nottingham Synchro Academy 

Synchro Teams need commitment - get skaters to sign up to the rules 

Synchro is fun - but success depends on teamwork and discipline 

Know your roles and responsibilities - coach is in charge on ice, team 

manager for off-ice matters 

Too many cooks spoil the broth - get parents working to support the 

teams, not coaching them! (Some teams even bar parents from coaching 

sessions) 

Costumes should belong to the teams not to individuals 

Be positive - there's always a plus 

Develop a plan - set ambitions for a few years ahead 

Lee Valley Aura (Junior) 

NOVICE 

Novice Teams comprise 12-20* 

members all of whom must be over 

10 years and not reached 15 years by 

1st July preceding the event. 

They are required to perform a Free 

Programme of 3 1 ⁄2 minutes. 

*For International events teams must 

comprise 16 skaters & max 4 alternates 

Lee Valley Phoenix (Novice) 

NIC Shadows (Novice) 

Basingstoke Team Sparkle (Novice) 

Four-time Champions Storm ahead! 

Storm is Basingstoke's Senior Synchronized Skating Team and the squad comprises of 20 girls aged between 

14 and 24 years old plus three rookies who are training alongside the team in preparation for when they are 

too old for the Novice squad. Their individual standards vary from Level 1 Free skating right up to Level 8 

Free, however all the skaters are working very hard towards their field moves tests and approximately 75% of the 

team hold their Inter-Silver field moves. 

Storm train for 1 hour 45 minutes on ice plus fitness, 

ballet, and programme work off ice. The skaters are also 

expected to train on ice individually, on both the 

footwork used in the programme and on their field move 

exercises as there are now requirements in place for the 

field moves standards of the skaters. The girls are 

incredibly dedicated to their discipline, and are going 

from strength to strength both in their personal skating 

skills and as a team. 

Storm formed in August 2002 grabbing any ice time that 

was available, we spent the best part of two years 

training at 11pm on a Tuesday and 4am on a Sunday 

morning! Then at the end of the 2003/4 season we retired 

our Junior team and concentrated on the Senior 

Category. In June 2005 Storm were offered the 

opportunity to work with some of the top coaches in 

Synchronized Skating at an ISU training camp in Budapest 

Hungary. This proved to be fundamental in the progress 

STORM ACHIEVEMENTS 

British Champions - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2006/7 

NISA Team of the Year - 2006 

BBC South Female Team of the Year - 2002 

Represented Great Britain in the World Synchro 

Championships in 2004 & 2006. 

Beating the Austrian, Australian, Croatian, French 

and Swiss Champions last season. 

Being selected to represent Great Britain in the 

2007 World Championships in Ontario, Canada. 

Performing with John & Sinead Kerr at Somerset 

House for the National Lottery Millionaires. 

Photos of Novice 

& Junior Teams 

from Deeside 

Welsh 

Championships 

Isle of Wight Gems (Novice) 

that Storm made last season, culminating in them 

qualifying for the World Championships and beating teams 

that had previously seemed in a different league. 

Storm have already had a successful start to the 2006/7 

season, as they have regained their title and qualified for 

the World Championships having received a personal best 

score at Deeside in November. The Team are hoping to 

improve on their score in the French Cup to be held in 

Rouen in February as well as improving on their final 

position at last season's World Championships. Storm are 

skating to 'Like a Prayer' by Madonna for their Short 

programme and some classic swing tracks performed by 

Robbie Williams for their Free programme. 

Head Coach Melissa Galvin and Assistant coach Fiona 

Gamble are confident that the hard work that the skaters 

have invested will stand them good stead and help them 

to achieve their goals. 

Team Storm at Nottingham Cup International in January 2006


British Championships 2007 

Senior Ladies 

1Jenna McCorkell (NISA) 2 Vanessa James 

(Sheffield) 3 Joanna Webber (NISA) 

Senior Men 

1John Hamer (Gillingham) 2 Thomas Paulson 

(Nottingham) 3 David Richardsonr (Coventry) 

Junior Dance 

1 Leigh Rogers & Lloyd Jones (Deeside) 2 

Penny Coomes & Nick Buckland (Nott) 

Photos from the NIC Nottingham British Championships 

Senior Pairs 

1Stacey Kemp & David King 

(Blackburn) 

Senior Dance 

1Sinead & John Kerr 

(Murrayfield) 2 Phillipa Towler 

Green & Phillip Poole 

(Streatham) 3 Nicola Trippick & 

Jamie Burns (Blackburn) 

Junior Ladies 

1 Karly Robertson (Dundee) 2 Phillipa 

Pickard (Dundee) 3 Laura Kean 

(Dundee) 

Junior Men 

1 Jason Thompson (Sheffield) 

2 Luke Chilcott (Gillingham) 

Novice Men 

1 Harry Mattick (Bradford) 2 Jack 

Matthews (A Palace) 3 Mark Frost 

(Aberdeen) 

Novice Dance 

1 Sarah & MIchael Coward 

(Chelmsford) 2 Danielle Bennett & Josh 

Boulton (Guildford) 

Novice Pairs 

1 Gemma Reeve & Sam Edwards 

(Chelmsford) 

Junior Pairs 

1 Sally Hoolin & Jake bennett (Blackburn) 

2 Tameron Drake & Edward Alton (Dundonald) 

Photos courtesy 


Novice Ladies 

1 Sasha Lanser (Coventry) 2 

Annabel Colenutt (Basingstoke) 3 

Kirsty Richardson (Guildford) 

www.digitalphotoevents 

e-mail: taylorphoto@ntlworld.com 

Tel: 01472 885000


First World 

Cup Gold for GB 

Short Track 

Update 

Short Track Skating 

News 

Results 

Debate 

The Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating team's record breaking 

season continued when Jon Eley last weekend (Feb 3-4), became the first 

British Short Track Speed Skater to win Gold at a World Cup competition, the 

competition was the 5th in the series of 6 and was held in Heerenveen, Netherlands. 

On finals day 1 Jon qualified for his first 

final of the competition this was his less 

favoured distance the 1000m, where he 

finished a very creditable 5th, Jon followed 

this up on finals day 2 by winning each of 

his qualifying races on his way to the final. 

Starting from lane 2 in the final he raced to 

the front, never to be headed and took the 

Gold in the fastest time of the competition. 

Jon said "It is great to finally win Gold, I am 

extremely pleased with my performance 

throughout this competition and hopefully 

this medal is the start of many more for the 

future". 

Sarah Lindsay also continued her medal 

winning streak, after her first Championship 

medal two weeks ago at the European 

Championships on home ground in 

Sheffield, Sarah took Silver in the Ladies 

500m, the first female in Great Britain Short 

Track history to win a medal at a World 

Cup. This performance now consolidates 

Sarah's place in the top 8 in the World 

rankings, with two rounds of 500m to go in 

the World Cup series. 

The record breaking squad didn't stop 

there with three other skaters claiming top 

10 places, Tom Iveson, Paul Stanley and 

Oliver Horsepool. During the competition 

Oliver despite finishing 3rd broke the 

1500m British Record in what proved to be 

the fastest 1500m race of the season. 

The Men's Relay team also skated well, 

qualifying to the World Cup Final but just 

missed out on a medal when they finished 

in 4th place. 

The Team now moves to Budapest, Hungary 

for the 5th and final competition in the 

World Cup series, it may be tough to repeat 

last weekends performance, as two of the 

top Asian teams (South Korea and China) 

who missed last weeks competition return 

to the World Cup scene after competing in 

the Asian Games in Changchung, China. 

Reporting by Mina Machin 

Photos courtesy Alison Gilkes 

Jon Eley stands in top spot! 

Sarah proudly wearing her second silver this year 

Invite you to join them for 4 hours ice-dancing including 

a Workshop 

with Master Coach 

VIVIENNE DEAN 

& 

DUNCAN LENARD / LYNN BURTON 

Plus an Ice Dance Social with 2 competitions at 

SOLIHULL ICE RINK 

Hobs Moat Road, Solihull B92 8JN 

SUNDAY 13th MAY 2007, 4.15.pm to 8.15.pm 

PROGRAMME 

4.15 - 4.45pm Social Dancing 

4.45 - 5.15pm Competition-Mercian Shield (ages added together over 80) dance: Golden Skaters Waltz 

5.15 - 6.45pm Workshop with Vivienne, Duncan & Lynn. Workshop to help all standards of Ice Dancers 

6.45 - 7.15pm Competition - Greenhough Trophy - couples original dance 

7.15 - 8.15pm Social Dancing 

8.15 onwards Drinks available in the Bar ( not included in the cost) 

PRICE: Payable on the door 

£15 PER SKATER £ 1 PER SPECTATOR 

Those taking part in competitions need to complete application forms prior to event £5 per 

couple, email for details: mercian.icedanceclub@btopenworld.com 

IMPORTANT RESERVE YOUR PLACE, CALL OR EMAIL details of Name, Club and Contact 

Number, plus CURRENT STANDARD, in order to organise relevant coaching for three 

groups. 

www.mercian-icedanceclub.com 

Chairman MIDC - Mobile 07836 200963 

Home Countries Focus 

A roundup of news from the Home Countries 

2006 Welsh Open 

Championships 

prove a great success 

The Welsh Ice Skating Association was delighted to host the first NJS competition in Wales, 

and the first Welsh Open Championship, from 19 to 24 November 2006 at Deeside Ice 

Rink. This was the third and final event in the NISA NJS calendar and the final chance for 

skaters to qualify for the British Championships to be held in January 2007. 

Many of the UK's top figure skaters competed 

for the Welsh title, and the Welsh Association 

was particularly pleased at how well Welsh 

skaters fared, now that the competition has 

been opened. 

Members of the Welsh Ice Skating Association 

who medalled included Junior Ladies 

Champion Katie Powell, who successfully 

defended her crown; Junior Dance Champions 

Leigh Rogers and Lloyd Jones; Senior Ladies 

silver medallist Joanna Webber, Novice Ladies 

silver medallist Toni Murray and Senior Dance 

bronze medallists Louise Walden and Owen 

Edwards. 

The competition also incorporated the 2006 

British Synchro Championship, which was held 

on Sunday 19th. 

“The event was supported by the Sports 

Council for Wales and other local sponsors to 

whom we are most grateful,” said WISA 

Chairperson Pat Humphreys. 

Welsh couple Senior Dance Louise Walden & Owen 

Edwards from Deeside celebrate Bronze with 2nd 

placed Chrissie Chitwood & Mark Hanretty. (Not 

pictured winners - Pippa Towler Green & Phillip Poole 

WISA member Toni Murray wins Novice Ladies silver 

medal. Winner Jessica Roebuck (Hull) 3rd Rowena 

Mackessack Leitch (Elgin) 

Murrayfield show a success but misses Kerrs 

Approximately 300 people made an early 

morning visit to Murrayfield Ice Rink on 

Sunday 4th February to see the Club's 

Annual Exhibition Show, writes Club Chairman 

Noel Grimshaw. 

The club aimed to provide an opportunity for 

members, including some from Aberdeen , 

Dundee , Paisley and Perth, from beginner to 

expert, young and not so young , to perform 

their competition or exhibition routines in front 

of a live audience. 

Club Chairman and MC Noel Grimshaw told the 

audience that the Club celebrates its 50th 

Anniversary in 2007 and were particularly 

pleased in this memorable year to applaud the 

achievements of its two most talented members 

Sinead and John Kerr on their magnificent 5th 

place at the European Championships in Poland 

the previous week and their 4th British Senior Ice 

Dance Championship in January. 

He regretted Sinead and John couldn't take part 

WISA member Katie Powell wins Junior Ladies title. 2nd 

Laura Kean (Dundee) 3rd Sasha Lanser (Coventry) 

WISA member Joanna Webber (left) wins Senior Ladies 

silver medal with bronze medallist Sarah Daniel. (Not 

pictured - winner Karly Robertson Dundee) 

with Pat Humphreys (WISA Chair) & Joan Noble (WISA VP) 

Welsh winners Junior Dance Leigh Rogers & Lloyd Jones 

from Deeside. 2nd Rebecca Forsyth & Chris Hockaday 3rd 

Sophie Yates & Jon Hodgkinson 

with Mrs Bennett (sponsor) & Pat Humphreys 

in the Show this year, as they were appearing in 

Art on Ice with Evgeny Plushenko and a host of 

world class stars - an offer they couldn't resist! 

However at very short notice two of the UK's 

most talented ice dancers Mark Hanretty and 

Chrissy Chitwood stepped into the gap and 

crossed the border from their training base in 

Sheffield to delight the spectators with their 

skills. 

The couple brought an International flavour to 

the show as Mark is originally from Glasgow and 

Chrissy is from Colorado Springs USA. 

A wide range of disciplines were performed by 

the 40 plus skaters on show from compulsory, 

original and free dancing to free skating and 

group numbers all of which kept the audience 

entertained throughout the morning. 

Everyone appeared to go away happy in the 

knowledge they'd seen some fine free skating 

and some top class 'dancing on ice' during their 

visit to Murrayfield Ice Rink.

NIC set for Synchro 

World Challenge Cup 

For the past 2 years the National Ice Centre in Nottingham has hosted a 

prestigious International Synchro Competition, the Nottingham Cup, 

which attracted teams at Novice, Junior and Senior levels from Europe 

and the USA. 

In March 2007 however, the venue goes one better and will be host to what 

is effectively the ISU Junior World Championships, the World Challenge Cup for 

Juniors, with 17 teams from all over the world competing for the coveted title. 

Representing Great Britain at the event will be Lee Valley's Junior team "Aura" 

who were selected following the IJS 

Synchro Championships event held in 

Deeside last November. In what was an 

incredibly close event, Aura scored just 

0.03 of a point over NIC Icicles to secure 

the coveted spot. 

Competition will be intense at the 

Challenge Cup with teams from Canada, 

Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, 

Hungary, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland 

and the USA, as well as Britain's Team Aura. 

If you want to see the very best of Synchro 

Lee Valley Aura (Junior) 

skating make sure you get along to the NIC 

in Nottingham. Competition takes place on Visit www.national-ice-centre.com for full details 

9-10th March, with practices on 7th & 8th. and tickets or phone 0115 853 3000 

Quiz - Win Tickets for the Synchro World Challenge Cup 

If you want to win free tickets to the Synchro 

World or a host of other top skating prizes, 

then why not take part in the on-line Synchro 

Quiz. The question is simple so why not give it a 

try - 

How many skaters are on the ice during a 

Junior Team Performance at the Skating World 

Challenge Cup for Juniors in Nottingham on 

March 9-10th? 

To enter click onto any of these main websites: 

NISA - www.iceskating.org.uk 

BITA - www.bita-uk.com 

Guildford - www.guildfordicecoaches.co.uk 

and - www.sineadandjohn.com/news 

SUPER PRIZES 

�Four event tickets to Synchro World Challenge 

Cup for Juniors in Nottingham 9-10th March 

�Four event tickets to NISA RJS Synchro 

Championships Sheffield 19th March 

�Two tickets for Torvill & Dean Dancing on Ice 

Tour Nottingham 17-20th April 

�One year's subscription to iSKATE magazine 

�One NISA Team track suit 

Last entries Saturday 3rd March 

NISA staff, Board & Technical Committee members, 

judges and their families are ineligible to enter. Entries 

limited to one per household 

NISA Cup 2007 

The 2007 NISA Cup competition is once again underway with qualifying 

events scheduled for 9-10 March (Magnum / Scotland), 12-13th March 

(Bradford / England) and 25-26th March (Deeside / Wales). 

Selections for Home Country Teams will 

be made following these events, with 

up to 5 skaters at each of Levels 7-10 

eligible to be selected for their 

National Team. 

The Home Country International Final 

this year will be held at Aberdeen's 

beachfront ice arena, where the 

Scottish Team will undoubtedly be 

aiming to retain the title on home 

territory. 

right: Scottish NISA Cup Team 

victorious at Lee Valley in 2006 

Adult News 

ISU Adults Competition 2007 

The ISU have announced details of the 2007 ISU 

International Adult Figure Skating Competition 

to be held in Oberstdorf, Germany on 24-27th 

May 2007. Closing date for entries is 1st April 

2007. 

World Ice Challenge Cancelled 

Due to lack of entries for the World Ice 

Challenge in Leukerbad Switzerland - 31st 

March/1st April 2007 it has had to be cancelled. 

By the closing of 15th December there were too 

few entrants, especially from Great Britain. Time 

was too short to rearrange the competition in 

Slough for this summer but the competition will 

be held again in Slough in the summer of 2008. 


Photo at Last! 

We are pleased to print a photo of Sarah Cunliffe 

& Fergus Finden Brown of Guildford, winners of 

the Sk8scotland Novice Dance Championships


Learning to 

skatewith 

TechFile 

You can use the three turn to 

turn from forwards to 

backwards or vice-versa. You 

turn from one edge to the 

opposite edge on the same 

foot and rotate in the same 

direction as the 

curve you are 

skating on. 

Vacancy for Professional 

Ice Skating Coach 

We are currently seeking applications from committed, 

professional ice skating coaches to develop and 

enhance our coaching team at Aberdeen's beachfront ice 

arena. 

Minimum NCCP 2 qualified 

Please apply by Friday 16th March 2007 with CV to: 

Ice Figure 

Ice Dance 

In the start position 

1for the three turn 

your heels are 

together and 

you should 

bend strongly 

before you 

push off 

Once you have mastered skating forwards and 

backwards, you need to learn how to turn. There are 

many different turns - the mohawk, choctaw, bracket, 

counter and rocker. In this issue we will look at the 

commonest turn - the Three Turn 

Push off and 

2skate forwards on 

the outside 

edge. Make 

sure the skating 

side of your 

body is in 

front 

Duty Manager 

Linx Ice Arena 

Beach Esplanade 

ABERDEEN AB24 5NR 

For further information call 01224 655455 

3 Before 

you start 

to turn, slowly rotate 

your arms and 

shoulders until the 

opposite ones are in 

front. Bring your free 

foot in to form a 'T' 

shape with your 

skating foot 

Ice Arena 

Synchro 

Adults 

SKATE UK is NISA's flagship 'learn to skate' programme designed to 

ensure beginners to the sport receive the very best instruction, 

delivered by fully qualified coaches, in a fun and enjoyable way. 

Every turn must be done without 

scratching, flow easily and skated on 

correct edges - it requires tremendous 

control of your hips, shoulders 

and body weight 

The Ice Tracing 

'T' positions 

The tracing on the ice should be in the shape of a number 

three, as above. Note the 'T' positions your feet should be in. 

Quickly turn from 

4forwards to 

backwards and skate 

on a backward 

inside edge. Keep 

looking in the same 

direction. Make sure 

your feet remain in the 

'T' position. 

Continuing our repeat of this popular series, we are 

pleased to continue our series of 'Technical Tips' and 

introducing more advanced techniques for the SKATE 

UK skater 

5 After 

the three turn, 

close your feet 

and change your 

feet so that the 

free foot 

becomes the 

skating foot. 

Glide backwards 

on the outside 

edge. 

"First Steps" adapted 

courtesy of Peter Morrissey 

and Dorling Kindersley 

Publishing 

Kyle Figure Skating Club 

Open Competition 

5-6 May 2007 

Venue: Ayr Ice Rink 

Limekiln Road, Ayr 

Further details can be obtained from the Secretary, 

Mrs Rosemary Otterson 

Tel: 01292 283455 

Although now out of 

print, The Young Ice 

Skater by Peter 

Morrissey may be 

available from good 

book shops or from the 

website 

www.amazon.co.uk, 

and not from the NISA 

office - amazon.co.uk is 

an excellent site 

providing information 

and details on many 

hundreds of books on 

ice skating. 

To help in your search 

it may be useful to 

quote the ISBN number 

of the book which is 0 

7513 5808 8 

Also why not try ebay?

Aussie Youth Olympics a memorable 

writes Team Leader Dawn 

experience for GB Team Peckett 

The Australian Youth Olympics 2007 has been one of the most successful learning curves our 

junior skaters have ever experienced. The BOA have a achieved a fantastic opportunity for 

all athletes, including figure skaters, to replicate future Olympic Games winning many 

medals for Great Britain. 

Upon arrival, we firstly received an invitation to attend the home of the Australian Consul which was 

a wonderful reception for all the athletes. Where the announcement of the flag bearer for Great 

Britain was taken place along with drinks and light refreshments. 

Tues (17th) was the spectacular opening ceremony in the Sydney Entertainment Centre, commencing 

with all the different countries marching through the packed arena, then a brilliantly organized gala 

displaying singing of the national anthems, fabulous floor displays, trapeze and gymnasts and finally 

L to R: Simon Briggs, Ann Findlay, Jason Thompson, Vanessa James, Matt Parr 

and Dawn Peckett 

the official lighting of the Olympic torch – A truly 

memorable experience for all the future 

Olympians. 

Our team of figure skaters Vanessa James, Matt 

Parr, and Jason Thompson took the following 

four days to be a chance of a lifetime and used 

every practice session to their full advantage, 

skating with some of the technically strongest 

future Olympian athletes of the world. The 

competition the followed also proved to be an 

amazingly positive experience and all three 

skaters finishing in the top 6, with exceptionally 

well performed programmes. 

Ann Findlay, our GB judge, was without 

exception a most valuable asset to the team and 

worked extremely hard during her time there 

and always had a positive word for all of the 

skaters and coaches alike. A special thank you 

goes to Anne from the Great Britain Team. 

Another special mention must also go to the 

BOA who have turned every athlete’s dream into 

reality with the extremely professional 

organization of such a huge event. Never once 

did our time table fail to comply with our 

Blackpool celebrates 60 years 

AGala to celebrate 60 years of 

Blackpool Ice Dance Club was 

held at the Blackpool Pleasure 

Beach Arena on Saturday 27th 

January 2007. 

The event was a great occasion for current and 

past members of the Club to meet up and enjoy 

an evening's entertainment. Queues began 

formng an hour before the doors even opened 

and the Arena was 95% full. The atmosphere 

was electric and the skaters taking part all 

commented how they enjoyed performing to 

such an audience. 

There was a varied programme of numbers with 

local skaters performing alongside skaters from 

Blackburn and Deeside. The youngest skater, 

Destiney Partington at four years of age was the 

first soloist of the night and received rapturous 

John Holden 

reports 

schedule and we can only send the highest 

praise to Mark England and his excellent staff 

without whose help none of this would have 

been possible. 

The Team Kit which was supplied to the GB 

Team was outstanding and many comments 

were made regarding how impressive the entire 

GB team looked. 

A huge thanks also to Simon Briggs with whom 

we had a brilliant time and made the 

competition relaxing and enjoyable for 

everyone. 

Finally I have to add that the help we received 

from all the volunteers working for the Australian 

Olympic Committee from the minute we 

stepped off the plane to all the help we 

received in the ice rink, was second to none, 

and because our skaters were such good 

ambassadors for Great Britain we were even 

taken on an unscheduled evening trip by the 

parents in the ice rink to Darling Harbour and 

Sydney Opera House- an absolute experience of 

a lifetime in every aspect and one which will stay 

with us forever. 

applause. 

The audience also enjoyed solo artists, 

pair skating, group skating, a show 

numbers from the Christmas Ice Show 

and the Blackpool Ice Twirlers. 

The Dance Club were privileged to have skating 

for them Mathew Grimsted who is currently with 

Disney on Ice and agreed to perform in his local 

rink whilst on a break and also Louise Walden 

and Owen Edward, who had recently competed 

in the British Ice Dance Championships. Louise 

and Owen performed a wonderful free dance 

routine they had put together especially for the 

event, and brought an element of grace and 

pure class to what John Holden the event 

organisor considered to be "The best gala he 

had ever put together". 


GB skaters on Grand Prix trail 

Pairs team Stacey Kemp and David King 

had an exciting end to 2006, sent to 

China to represent GB at the ISU Senior 

Grand Prix event in Nanjing - Cup of China, 

accompanied by British judge Richard 

Grainge, himself on his first international 

assignment. 

Two weeks later, Stacey and David were 

jetting off to the Far East once again, this 

time to the NHK Trophy, another Senior GP 

event, along with Jenna McCorkell, 

competing in the Ladies event. 

Pictured at the NHK Banquet: 

Stacey, David, Jenna with Garry Hoppe 

(judging for Israel) and GB Team Leader 

Dawn Spendlove. 

Students are first Brits to skate at 

Winter Universiade 

There was no time for jet lag, as having landed 

late at night, we were training the next morning. It 

soon became clear that our training in San Jose 

would be very different from how we had trained 

for most of the year. There was much more of it 

for a start and whenever we were on the ice, Jon 

was with us. We were getting four to five hours of 

ice time and coaching a day, more coaching than 

in a week back at Blackburn. There was very little 

shortage of ice available either, with four ice pads 

in the Logitech Arena and another pad down the 

road in Freemont. As the renovation of our skating 

style and programs began, we were extremely 

impressed with Jon's enthusiasm, knowledge and 

organization. Not only were we receiving 

excellent coaching but our preparation for the 

British Championships was being planned and 

managed with us. 

The skating community in San Jose is large and 

very friendly. Everybody showed a real interest in 

getting to know us as ice dancers and friends. 

When we rehearsed our full programs, the other 

skaters would stand by the barriers, watch and 

applaud. All the skaters of all ages and abilities 

really seemed to enjoy their skating and made us 

feel very welcome. We were also fortunate that 

Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko, the 1992 

Olympic Ice Dance Champions and a number of 

judges are based in San Jose, all of whom gave us 

positive and constructive feedback. 

We did most of our training in the mornings and 

early afternoons, so had the rest of the day to 

explore California, when we had any energy left. 

As well as enjoying San Jose, we visited nearby 

San Francisco, experiencing Alcatraz Island, the 

Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San 

Francisco. Being a fan of American Sports, Jamie 

also enjoyed going to watch the 49ers (NFL) and 

San Jose Sharks (NHL). We realized that the happy 

bug wasn't just in the Californian skating 

community, it was all around. 

After two weeks of training in San Jose, we 

returned to Britain, where we continued to work 

with Jon O'Dougherty, Keith Hudson and Pam 

from the 2007 World University Games in 

Turin 17 - 27th January 

Great Britain this year fielded a team in this event for the first time, one of the biggest 

events in the sporting calendar and one of the most prestigious tournaments in the 

world. It is by no means a weak event as previous winners lists - including Evgeny 

Plushenko - have shown, and this year had 21 countries participating in the Men's event. 

In order to participate in the competition skaters must have the required educational background 

and currently be in education. Two Team Skate GB figure skaters were selected, David Richardson 

and Thomas Paulson along with three Short Track skaters who currently train at the NIC – Gemma 

Cooper, Anthony Douglas and Sarah Henderson. 

This was the first time the skaters had competed in front of capacity crowds with the Olympic 

stadium filled to the top for the events. 

Thomas unfortunately was taken ill at the event but despite this, still elected to skate. He placed 

24th out of 32 in the Short Programme and 20th in the Free Programme to pull up to a final placing 

of 21st. In the Free Programme for the first time this season in competition, he executed 

successfully his triple flip and triple triple sequence. 

David also thoroughly enjoyed the experience and placed 25th in the Short Programme and 

improved his Free Programme placement to 24th finishing 25th overall. In both the Short and Free 

Programme David once again executed his triple triple combination, improving his consistency in this 

new element area this season. 

Cath Barker, NISA Performance Manager said "The WUG international competition is now a 

fundamental within our calendar of Squad events. It is a key senior international which has high 

calibre competitors currently and within its history. The event is one which we will continue to 

support and participate in as it provides our senior skaters with vital experience towards competing 

at ISU World Championship levels." 

Dancers head for San Jose 

In late November, while training for our first British Championships together, it became apparent 

that the coaching time available to us in Blackburn did not reflect our ambitions. Therefore, 

when the chance to go and train in San Jose, California, with 2002 British Ice Dance Champion 

Jonathon O'Dougherty, presented itself, we were very keen and just two weeks later we were 

landing at San Jose airport. 

Nicola Trippick & Jamie Burns send us their 

story from California 

Nicola & Jamie at this year's British Championships 

with Jon O'Dougherty (left) and Keith Hudson (r) 

O'Connor, whenever she had time off Dancing On 

Ice. Our whole team worked extremely well 

together and rather than relaxing over Christmas, 

our drive and training intensity increased further. 

As a result of all the work, effort and planning, we 

entered the Championships feeling properly 

prepared. Taking to the ice in Nottingham, we felt 

proud and confident to have Jon and Keith on the 

other side of the barrier with us. We executed our 

plan at the Championships, achieving the 

performances, marks, third placing and bronze 

medals that we had aimed for. 

Preparing for a new competitive season, we have 

set new plans and goals. But much continues. We 

look to continue to move up the national and 

international ranks and will continue working with 

Pam & Jon in America, this time for a much longer 

period, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

We would also like to take this opportunity to 

thank Pam & Jon, Keith, our parents, Des Finley the 

manger of Blackburn Ice Arena & everybody who 

has supported us, especially at the 

Championships.


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Ice Link issue 70 (Page 3) - National Ice Skating Association

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