Team GB, Nottingham Icicles, took 14th place at the Junior World Challenge Cup in Neuchatel, Switzerland, this weekend, the highest place achieved by a British synchronized skating team in recent years. It marks a steady advance up the positions at the junior world championship event, with Icicles coming 15th in 2013 and Wight Jewels 15th in 2012. The only team to do better was Bracknell’s Ice Metrics, which achieved 11th at the first ever JWCC in 2001, also, curiously, at Neuchatel.

Well done Icicles: it’s a great achievement for British synchro.

The event was won by Team Finland 1 (Fintastic), with Canada 1 (Les Supremes) second and Finland 2 (Musketeers ) third. Sweden 1, Convivium, managed an excellent advance to fourth place.

iowskaters’ usual analysis of the event will follow later: there’s a lot to look at, particularly with several teams’ all too recent domestic championship scores not withstanding the scrutiny of world class judging by some 20 to 30 points.

Results: http://events.skating.ch/events1314/JWCC_2014/index.htm