The Wightlink sponsored Wight Jewels will for the second year in a row have the honour of representing Great Britain at the junior world synchronized skating championships. The team was today (18th January) officially named on the NISA website as the team selected for this prestigious event.
The competition, the Junior World Challenge Cup, takes place in Neuchatel, Switzerland, on 10th to 12th March 2011. The Wight Jewels are hoping to improve on their 19th place gained at the last Junior World Challenge Cup in Gothenburg. Last year’s event provided the team with valuable international experience. Having seen the standard of the top junior teams in the world they return determined to train harder and to try to improve their world ranking.
After an exceptional start to the season – winning the Welsh Championships and retaining their British title – the Wight Jewels have also been selected to represent their country at the French Cup taking place in Rouen on 3rd to 5th February. At this competition they will again be up against some of the world’s best junior teams.
The team currently train three hours a week on ice as well as an hour of off-ice training with their coach Terri Smith. To improve their stamina the girls take a weekly fitness class. They also take occasional dance classes to help improve their choreography. Team members also train individually on the ice to improve their skating skills. One problem for the team at the moment is to try to find any available ice time on a full-size rink. The ice rink at Ryde where they train is 44m by 20m and they compete on rinks measuring 60m by 30m. The popularity of skating in the UK at the moment means that even finding ice time in the middle of the night is proving difficult.
Two international competitions in as many months increases the financial pressure on the skaters’ families. To try to raise some funds the team will be holding a sponsored skate on Sunday 13th February from 9.30pm at Ryde Arena. The team are aiming to each skate 10 miles or over 150 miles between the whole team. All the proceeds from this sponsored skate will go towards the team’s travel expenses. If you are interested in sponsoring the team please contact Sharon Buckman on 07790 359510
As well as sponsorship from Wightlink the team are also grateful for the support they have received from Planet Ice, Vikoma, The Tomato Stall, Q-Matic, Island Pilates Centre, Shanklin Conservative Club, Island Rotary Clubs and Keith Newberry.
The Wight Jewels are Nicola Baxter, Yelena Brown, Izzy Coeshott, Sabrina Danzig, Gemma Fishel, Mikki Graham, Leah Hancott, Beth Howarth, Daisy Jones, Heather MacDonald, Alicia Macintyre, Gemma Marsh, Charlotte Mennie, Izzi Parkes, Keelin Scholes, Zoe Southwell, Becky Vockins, Emma Wilks and Louisa Wrighton
