Great Britain Adult Team win 26 medals

International Adult Figure Skating Competition 22 nd to 26 th May 2012 – Oberstdorf, Germany
Great Britain Adult Team win 26 medals
44 Adult skaters together with their friends, families and supporters from all corners of Great Britain
(and some who reside overseas too), converged on the picturesque town of Oberstdorf in Bavaria,
Germany, at the end of May to represent Great Britain in the annual ISU International Adult Skating
Competition.
A dedicated Facebook group was set up to enable questions to be asked and answered and the
sharing of information from those who had previously been to the competition. The Facebook group
is now used to post the many hundreds of photos taken during the competition and some are even
discussing arrangements for next years’ event. 2012 was the 8 th year that the competition had been
held in Oberstdorf and the dates for next year’s event have already been set for May 15 th to May
18 th 2013.
In previous years there have been a dozen or so Adult skaters from GB competing, however the
numbers were considerably swelled this year and the GB team was the largest single representation
from any country. Having been in communication via Facebook for several months before the
competition, it was truly great when the ‘team’ all arrived in Oberstdorf.
On the evening before the competition started the organisers arranged a welcome party, where
many skaters and their friends and families gathered on the public rink (with a welcoming drink!); to
listen to the speeches from Ms. Phyllis Howard of the ISU, Marie-Therese Kreiselmeyer from the
Oberstdorf Organising Committee, Rhea Schwartz representing the ISU Adult Figure Skating Working
Group and Mr. Laurent O. Mies, Mayor of Oberstdorf. Following the speeches some entertainment
was provided by local children performing traditional regional dancing.
The welcome party provided an opportunity to socialise with skaters from other countries and
reacquaint themselves with those who they had met at previous competitions. It was also an
opportunity for group photographs, and the large GB team contingent were the subject of many
photos where it seemed that everyone wanted to be photographed with the team – even the 1989
World Champion and Olympic medallist, Midori Ito wanted a photo for her album.
Following the opening ceremony a GB team organised dinner was held in a local restaurant, many of
the team had only previously ‘met’ via the Facebook Group and were meeting face to face for the
first time; a good time was had by all. The proprietors of the restaurant were very accommodating
and understanding in allowing their restaurant to be decorated with Union flags, bunting and table
cloths!
The organisation of the event before and during the competition was exceptional with regular
communications and updates from the organisers. The skating community in Oberstdorf does an
outstanding job, they know how to run first rate competitions from their experience of hosting many
top level competitions at the rink; it has hosted the German Figure Skating Championships twelve
times and the World Junior Figure Skating Championships on 3 occasions. For the International Adult
competition they draw upon an eager friendly community of volunteers to ensure everything runs
smoothly.
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Oberstdorf is a skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of
the Bavarian Alps. English is spoken in most establishments and the town is easy to get around and
one can easily walk just about everywhere. A wide range of accommodation, to suit all budgets, is
available and there are ample restaurants, cafes and grocery stores as well as many outdoor clothing
stores.
The competitions and practices took place in the ice rink complex which boasts a 60m x 30m main
competition rink, a 60m x 30m practice rink and a smaller public rink, all air-conditioned and heated.
Additionally the complex has an excellent restaurant which overlooks the practice rink as well as a
snack bar – where mercifully burgers or hot dogs are not available; just homemade apple strudel and
cheesecake.
The competition is truly an international event with competitors from Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Ireland,
Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Russia, Singapore,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA.
A total of 304 skaters attended and competed in events for Ladies and Men Free Skating, Ladies and
Men Artistic Free Skating, Pairs Free Skating, Ice Dance - Pattern Dance, Ice Dance - Short Dance, Ice
Dance - Free Dance and Synchronized Skating.
There were 70 separate competitions, with most events being subdivided into age range groups and
ability / skill levels, several competitions attracted more than 25 entries and there were 3 teams in
the Synchronized Skating competition.
In addition to the competitors, ISU Event officials attended from Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France,
Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine and USA.
A number of skaters arrived in Oberstdorf during the week preceding the competition to take part in
the skate camp, seminars, and also to benefit from additional practice time as well as to take in the
breath-taking scenery of the region. Many competitors and their family also stay on after the
competition to enjoy the hospitality and the many amenities that the area has to offer.
The practice rink is used for the 50 minute pre-booked practice patch sessions which are held
throughout the day, from early in the morning to late into the evening, the sessions are restricted to
a maximum of 20 skaters on the ice at any time, a 10 minute ice resurface between sessions (which
you can set your watch by!) produced a marble like, dry surface, every time.
4 very full days of practice and competitions resulted in an impressive medal haul by the Great
Britain Adult Team of 12 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals with many team members achieving
personal best IJS scores.
Full competition result details can be found on-line at:
http://www.deu-event.de/results/adult2012/index.html
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Just for interest (and a little self-praise!) the following (unofficial) medal table shows the
tremendous achievements by the GB Adult skaters, topping the medal table.
Country Gold / 1st Silver / 2nd Bronze / 3rd
GBR 12 6 8
USA 11 8 3
GER 9 7 3
CAN 8 13 10
ITA 7 4 1
FRA 4 9 3
FIN 4 4 1
RUS 3 2 2
AUS 2 2 3
JPN 2 1 0
IRL 2 0 0
POL 1 1 2
AUT 1 0 1
ESP 1 0 0
MEX 0 2 3
NZL 0 1 3
SUI 0 0 3
SRB 0 0 1
SVK 0 0 1
SWE 0 0 1
BEL 0 0 0
CZE 0 0 0
EST 0 0 0
HUN 0 0 0
MAR 0 0 0
NED 0 0 0
RSA 0 0 0
SIN 0 0 0
SLO 0 0 0
All the team members have no doubt that their own performances and the overall medal success
was enhanced by the tremendous team spirit and support, everyone is already looking forward to
more Adult competitions in the next year and in particular the 2013 competition in Oberstdorf.
The competition ended with a banquet, organised for skaters, their friends, families and supporters
where an excellent evening of live music, speeches, socialising, dancing, food and drink was enjoyed
by all; DVD’s of each competition had been printed and boxed and were available for purchase at
the banquet.
The banquet was also the occasion to present the Paula Smart Award, is given to the skater (male or
female) with the highest score in the Artistic Free Skating Competition; this year it was won by
Midori Ito. For more information visit the ISU Adult working group web site at
www.adultskating.org.
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GB Adult Team 2012:
Lulu Alexandra, David Arnold, Patricia Arnold, Lesley Brenikov, Fiona Brown, Monica Brown, Phil
Brown, Eileen Bushell, Brian Connor, Hana Connor, Philippa Cooper-Lewis,
Steven DaCosta, Karen Dalley, John Darnton, David Dinsdale, John Fisher, Sarah Galvin,
Helen Gardiner, Victoria Hasler, Barbara Haughton, Simon Hibble, Karen Hosie,
Michael Jones, Stefanie Lange, Sarah Lines, Jean Livingstone, Helen Murch, Katherine Noble,
Malachy O'Brien, Yui Ohaya, Olga Olsanikova, Elizabeth Parkes, Christine Pascoe,
Robyn Pascoe, Susie Robinson, Alfred Ruesch, Briony Ryles, Rowena Lilian Sirey,
Karen Taylor, Hazel Todd, Nicki Torrington, Gail Tudor, Michael Wadeson, Robert Wildman.
Some of the team at the rink. (Photograph © David Dinsdale)
Some of the team at the Welcome Party (Photograph © Stefanie Lange)
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Some of the team, with Midori Ito at the Welcome Party (Photograph © Lulu Alexandra)
Bronze Ladies II Free skating competitors- one of the largest groups (Photograph © Hazel Todd)
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The competition rink (Photograph © Helen Gardiner)
Midori Ito receives the Paula Smart Award from Rhea Schwartz (Photograph © Eileen Bushell)
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Some of the team before the banquet (Photograph © Hazel Dodds)
Views of Oberstdorf (Photographs © Nicki Torrington & Phil Brown)
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