Warm, friendly and fun competition
With the deadline to enter our Late Summer Skills competition being next week (6th August) we thought this would be a good opportunity to let you know how awesome the last one was, and sway any of you who are unsure about entering!
21st June saw adult skaters take to the ice again at Lee Valley Ice Centre. Old and new members alike were supporting and cheering for each other, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere which was particularly supportive for those competing for the first time.
This competition saw our first categories for dancers, with pattern dance and a “Free Dance Elements” category based on spin, jump, spiral but with dance elements. Pattern Dance 1, a solo novice foxtrot was won by Sophie Sharapolli and Pattern Dance 2, a solo Canasta Tango was won by first time competitor Becky Plant. Both competitors in Free Dance Elements 1 were first timers and understandably nervous and this was won by Jennifer Lee. A fantastic skate by Liberty Watts won her the trophy for Free Dance Elements 2.
Due to the success of the pattern dance category, we have slightly adjusted the entrance criteria and are offering more pattern dances for the next competition, requiring either a solo Rhythm Blues, Canasta Tango or Fiesta Tango. We are also looking for some couples to try a Fiesta Tango!
Our Spin, Jump, Spiral categories again proved popular. Spin, Jump, Spiral 1 was won by Cara Tompkins and Spin, Jump, Spiral 2 by the effortlessly graceful Ekaterina Stafford. Becky Plant won a second trophy for Spin, Jump, Spiral 3 and David Marston, our only male competitor and first time competitor took the prize for Spin, Jump, Spiral 4.
Unfortunately due to a withdrawal we had one entrant in the beginners category, Lisa Evans who was very pleased to get a trophy!
Each time we run a competition it is great to see so many people coming together and embracing the warm and friendly spirit of adult competitions. We aim to put on events that skaters will enjoy and provide an experience they can remember and learn from the experience. Suggestions are most welcome to the London Adult Skating facebook page if you have any ideas.
The next competition promises to be just as fun! We have a whole extra hour of ice, so we are planning some on ice activities if there’s time after the trophies are awarded. Club members will be welcome to join in — even if not competing (due to insurance we can only have club members on the ice). If you are a member or a skater’s guest coming along to watch, there’s no charge, but please let us know so we can put you on a list for rink security.