Former IW skater Charlotte Aiken and ice dance partner Josh Whidborne have been selected to represent Great Britain at the European Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, on 21 to 27 January 2013.

They and British champions Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland are the two couples chosen by NISA to take part in the ice dance event.

Charlotte and Josh’s second place at the British Championships plus their score at the NRW Trophy in Dortmund secured their selection as Great Britain’s second entry for the ice dance.

It’s a fantastic achievement for an ice skater originally from the Isle of Wight. Charlotte, however, isn’t the first IW skater to reach the European championships – that honour is Robert Paxton’s. Robert and partner Erica Risseeuw achieved seventh place in the pairs event in Helsinki in 2009 (see iowskaters.com), finishing ahead of the then British number ones Stacey Kemp and David King. But Charlotte is the first IW-trained skater to compete in ice dance at the European championships, and she and Josh have reached this level in only their first year of competition as seniors.

Charlotte and Josh currently train at Lee Valley London under coach John Dunn.

NISA link: www.iceskating.org.uk/node/5790