THE MERGER earlier this year of the Isle of Wight and Gosport Synchronised Skating Clubs is starting to reap its rewards with huge successes at the recent Skate London competition.
The Island group, which has struggled to keep going since the closure of the Ryde Arena — the only facility in which to skate on the Isle of Wight — had been using the Gosport arena, with support from Wightlink.
Despite having to train in Gosport during unsociable hours, with other skaters using another facility in Berkshire, the Isle of Wight Synchronised Skating Club showed it had the talent to compete to a high national standard, winning numerous top awards in recent years.
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But now the merger into the new Solent Synchronised Skating Club, provides seven Solent teams, who train out of Gosport Planet Ice Arena — among which is a healthy contingent of Islanders.
Over the past six months, lots our hard work has been put into the new teams to develop team work and perfect new routines.
Six of them were in action at Skate London, held at Alexander Palace, which was Solent’s debut competition and the opener this season.
The adult team, Solent Sunrise, placed fifth in Skate London’s largest category — a result made all the more impressive knowing they were just two points off a podium place.
At the other end of the club’s ability spectrum, beginner’s team, Solent Splash, put in a terrific skate, scoring 21.93 points, to earn them a silver medal, performing a pirate-themed routine.
For many of the young skaters, they were competing in their first-ever event.
Solent Riptide, skating in the intermediate category, were awarded 31.42, giving them third place bronze after performing to a medley of Bruno Mars hits.
In the juvenile level, Solent Waves put in a solid performance to come second, scoring 34.34, with their spooky skeleton, Addams Family routine.
First to skate on the second day of the competition was the junior team, Solent Storm, who blew the opposition away with a superb 59.72 points — performing a lively, free programme, to a medley of Shakira songs.
Last to compete was senior team, Solent Surge, who performed to a mix of Beyoncé songs against tough competition — taking gold with a massive 75-point score.
The club’s coaches, Terri Smith, Paul Crocker and Roxy Collins said they were delighted with Solent’s progress so far and cannot wait for the rest of this season’s competitions — the British Championships and Britannia Cup, in Nottingham, next month, followed by the Steel City Trophy in Sheffield, in March.
“Our teams have come together and bonded extremely well, which is evident in the amazing results achieved at our first competition,” said Islander, Terri.
“We are looking forward an exciting future for our teams and our club.”
The club would like to thank Wightlink for their continued sponsorship making it possible for Island skaters to keep their skating dreams alive with support with travel to weekly training and competitions.
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