BRITISH Ice Skating has announced that Nottingham’s Icicles Senior team has been selected to represent Great Britain at the World Synchronised Skating Championships in Finland in April.
The announcement follows the selection of sister team Icicles Junior to represent Great Britain at the World Junior Synchronised Skating Championships in Sweden in March.
Icicles Senior will represent their country for the fifth time at the competition, which will take place this year in Helsinki, on April 4-5. Top ice skating teams from North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia will compete to be World Champions.
Members of the public will have an opportunity to see Icicles Senior showcase their routines at a gala showcase on Saturday, March 15, 11-12.15pm, alongside Icicles Junior and the other six squads who skate at their club, Nottingham Synchronised Skating Academy (NSSA).
Icicles Senior, aged from 17 to 25, come not only from the East Midlands but also London, Southampton and Peterborough, to train three times a week at the National Ice Centre, Nottingham. Team-members are either in work or further education.
The selection is the culmination of a busy competitive season for the Icicles, who became British Champions in January. They have competed all over the UK as well as at the Dresden Challenger Cup in Germany.
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, synchronised spins and jumps. Their ‘Final Countdown’ short programme broke a British record at the British Championships by achieving a score over 50. They also achieved a personal best score of 96.95 with their “Mother Earth’ free programme at the Trophy d’Ecosse in December.
Lauren said: “To have both our Senior and Junior teams selected to represent Great Britain this year means a lot to everyone at the club and is inspiring for our younger skaters.
“The team-members show such dedication to training to improve their skills and performance, including a regular 5am start every Sunday morning, with some of them travelling long distances. I’m pleased that they will now have the chance to show their fabulous routines on the world stage.”Esther said: “We are honoured to get the chance to represent Great Britain and share the ice with the best teams from across the world.
“Every year, the rules get harder and the elements get more demanding so the team’s selection is an incredible tribute to the many hours of practice every week that the skaters have put in.”
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 Finland to represent Great Britain.”
Members of the public can help support Icicles Senior get to the World Championships, via www.gofundme.come/f/nssa-team-icicles-snr-season-2025 or follow them on Instagram, @teamiciclesgb.sr
Photos credit: SJPhotos and Ville Vairinen Photography