Nottingham synchronised skating team picked to represent Great Britain on the world stage

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BRITISH Ice Skating has announced today that Nottingham’s Icicles Junior team has been selected to represent Great Britain at the World Junior Synchronised Skating Championships next month.

The competition will take place on March 7-8 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where top ice skating teams from North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia will compete to be Junior World Champions.

Icicles Junior has represented their country at Junior Worlds nine times before, but not since 2022. Their selection this year is as a result of intense skills development and hard work by the team, which resulted this season in scores which broke British records. They became British Champions in January for the first time in three years, winning gold at all their UK competitions and also representing Great Britain at the Dresden Challenger Cup in Germany.

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Icicles Junior skaters, aged 15 to 19, come mainly from the East Midlands and have been trained at Nottingham Synchronised Skating Academy (NSSA) over several years, with four also from Bradford, Peterborough and Germany. Team-members train four times a week at the National Ice Centre, Nottingham and are mainly still at school or college, with some in higher education or work.

Icicles Junior perform their "Tetris"-themed free programmeIcicles Junior perform their "Tetris"-themed free programme
Icicles Junior perform their "Tetris"-themed free programme

Trained by coaches Esther Morris, Lauren Kelly and Louise Alvey, the team perform two programmes, a short and a free, incorporating various compulsory elements, such as lifts, synchronized spins and jumps. Their “Tetris”-themed free programme broke records at the British Championships by achieving a score over 100.

Esther said: “We are thrilled to be selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Championships and share the ice with the best teams from across the world.

“Every year, the elements get more demanding and the skills level required gets harder so the team’s selection is an incredible tribute to the skaters’ hard work and dedication.”

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Lauren said: “Being selected means a lot to everyone in the team and at the club. It takes many hours of practice every week to make the different elements of the routine flow so the team can score the points they need.

Icicles Junior perform their short programme, "Life 3.0"Icicles Junior perform their short programme, "Life 3.0"
Icicles Junior perform their short programme, "Life 3.0"

“I’m pleased that they will now have the chance to show their fabulous routines on the world stage.”

Club chair Lisa Walker said: “We’re very proud of the team’s selection, but attending a World Championships is unfortunately expensive and the skaters are all completely self-funded. We would love to hear from any businesses who are interested in sponsoring the skaters to get to Sweden to represent Great Britain, or help fund the team’s ongoing development.”

Businesses in the region interested in helping fund the team, please contact [email protected] to discuss.

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NSSA has seven teams this season, with skaters ranging from 7 to 33 years old and five of the teams reigning British Champions. To find out more about becoming a synchronised ice skater, visit the club’s website for details: https://www.nssa-nottingham.co.uk/

Get updates on the team’s and club’s progress on social media: Instagram: @teamiciclesgb.jr and @nssa_nottingham and on Facebook: Team Icicles GB, and Nottingham Synchronized Skating Academy

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