The Wales and West Synchronized Skating Competition at Planet Ice Cardiff on 16 November saw three IW teams in action, acquiring two gold medals and one silver medal.

Former junior team Wight Jewels have been training hard all summer trying to master group lifts, and the competition saw them take to the ice for the first time in competition as a senior team, although in the Senior B event (the B event allows more flexibility on age ranges than the ISU senior category). They scored 25.49 in the short, with a deduction of 1.0 for a fall, and 49.74 in the free, with deductions  of 2.0 (one fall, one interruption in excess), for a total of 75.23 and first place.

The Jewels’ scores for a first outing at this level are encouraging. In comparison in the short programme for the full senior event Team Spirit of Wales & West scored 25.61 (one deduction) and Zariba of Aberdeen scored 25.66; scores in the free were 54.60 (one deduction) for Spirit and 58.05 for Zariba, giving totals of 80.21 for Spirit and 83.71 for Zariba. If Jewels could compete at a full senior British event, by fielding a team of the requisite ages, it would all probably be quite exciting.

In the Basic Novice B, Wight Crystals scored 19.71 for first place.

And in the Elementary, Wight Sparkles scored 15.84 to take second place behind Nottingham’s Icepops (19.68). Solihull Sparkles were third on 14.30 and Basingstoke Snowstorm fourth on 13.54.

Catch-up video is available through Ryan T Thornton’s On The Rocks channel on Livestream at http://livestream.com/accounts/1743329.

Results: http://www.icephoto.co.uk/Cardiff15/