Sunday 4th June saw 30 adult skaters compete at our first competition of the year at Lee Valley Ice Centre. As always, it was lovely to see a number of new faces who were competing for the first time and lots of familiar faces. It was also nice to see new supporters come along to support the skaters. Thank you to our volunteers, who help the committee run these events.

First up were the pattern dance categories. Building on previous success in the dance categories there were three solo pattern dance categories and two couples dance categories. Pattern Dance 1 (Rhythm Blues) was won by Suzi Hughes with Nicola Webster taking silver. Pattern Dance 2 (Riverside Rhumba) saw gold go to Helen Watson, silver went to Liberty Watts and bronze to Taryn Davison. Pattern Dance 3 (Fiesta Tango) was won by Melody Sharifi who had previously won Pattern Dance 1 in the Spring Skills competition last year. Kerry Baynes came second and Jessica Green came third. On to the Couples Pattern Dance 1 (Canasta Tango) Jane Collins and Martin Collins took the gold, while Vivienne Smith and David Vaughan took the silver. Couples Pattern Dance 2 (Fiesta Tango) was won by Jessica Green and Patrick Nguyen. We hope to see more couples compete in the next competition.

Next up, skaters took to the ice for the Spin Jump Spiral categories. It was wonderful to see an entry in the Beginner category, which was won by Marilla Bianco. Up next was the Spin Jump Spiral 1, Emily Crawshaw took the gold, with Jamie Richardson in second and Maria O’Neill taking the bronze. Spin Jump Spiral 2 was won by Odette Garvey, Claudia Monteverde took silver and taking the bronze was Jessica Green. On to Spin Jump Spiral 3 and Liberty Watts came first, with Harriet Rushmer coming second and Taryn Davison coming third.

After a short break, the popular exhibition category got underway. With ten competitors in the Exhibition Solo category, taking first place was Melody Sharifi and her highly entertaining Willy Wonka themed performance. In second, and taking home her third medal, was Liberty Watts with her Sound of Music piece and coming in third was Odette Garvey with her music Ellie and Carl from Up. In the Exhibition Group, there were three entries. Scooping first place were Melody Sharifi and Kerry Baynes with their Blades of Glory re-enactment. In second place were Nadia Colbourne and Alexander with their Russian themed program, complete with ‘live’ cows. Taking the bronze were Susan Edwards and Jacqui Wandsworth with their Cell Block Tango from Chicago inspired skate.

The next event will be on the 19th August at Alexandra Palace. Details of the exact type of event will be released in the coming weeks.