Following the British Synchronized Skating Championships, NISA has named its entries for the world championship synchronized skating events at senior and junior levels.

British senior champions Team Spirit of Wales & West will represent the UK at the World Synchronized Skating Championships in Courmayeur on 3 to 5 April. Aberdeen’s Zariba are named reserve.

To have a reserve for the event shows how much the senior side of synchro has changed recently. For a number of years in the early 2000s there was at most one British senior team: now, along with Spirit and Zariba, Inverness’ Moray Dolphins make three.

The UK has not had an entry at the senior worlds for a number of years, with no team meeting NISA’s criteria for the event. Lee Valley’s Team Aura were the last entry to the senior worlds, scoring 53.24 for 21st place in Helsinki in 2011 (89.32 at the 2010/11 British championships).

Before Aura, Basingstoke’s Storm were the top UK team at the senior worlds. Back in 2008 in Budapest they scored 78.76 for 21st place (99.58 at the British  in January 2008): Storm’s previous best worlds score of 82.21 was set in 2007 in London Ontario, again for 21st place.

Team Spirit has therefore worked hard over the past years to earn their place at this year’s worlds; with tickets already booked for the event, iowskaters will be there to cheer them on.

British junior champions Nottingham Icicles will represent the UK at the Junior World Challenge Cup in Neuchatel on 6 to 8 March. IW team Wight Jewels is named reserve. The JWCC is the world championship event in 2014, alternating each year with the ISU’s Junior World Championships. Alas, the junior scene in the UK is still pretty well just Icicles and Jewels – last season also had Dumfries’ Solway Stars, now competing at mixed age – although the teams’ fierce desire to succeed has pushed their domestic and international scores steadily upwards over the past five years, with a strong chance that Icicles will break into the top 14 at the JWCC.

Link: www.iceskating.org.uk/node/6692

Link: www.2014synchroworlds.com

Link: www.jwcc2014.com