IW synchronized skating teams competing at the 2019 British Synchronized Skating Championships in Nottingham are on their way home after a successful event. Senior team Wight Jewels and  basic novice team Wight Sparkles both won silver medals, and mixed age team Wight Crystals and elementary team Wight Sequins produced strong results.

Wight Jewels just missed a total of 100. Lying in third with 33.82 after the short programme, their score of 65.22 in the free pulled them up a place to second overall (total 99.04).

Wight Sparkles’ score of 21.83 earned them second in the basic novice event.

Wight Crystals scored 34.15, leading the mixed age competition for a while until more experienced teams moved ahead, edging them down to fourth. The Crystals do not usually skate at this level, and were required to do so because of the criteria for categories this year.

Wight Sequins scored 16.28, earning them a respectable mid-table position of sixth.

The two-day event was streamed online for the first time by BBC Sport, with commentary by British synchro expert Chris Buchanan providing welcome insight into every team’s performance. It’s also probably the first British synchro competition to be streamed with perfect video quality and correct exposure and white balance.

Full results are at: http://www.iceresultsuk.org.uk/BritishChampionship/2019/Synchro/index.htm

The IW teams next compete in Dumfries at the Trophy D’Ecosse on 8 to 10 February.

Note: iowskaters’ report from Dumfries will probably be our last post. The site has been very quiet for some months, and it seems now is the right time to wind down after almost 17 years of covering ice skating on the Isle of Wight. Work has overtaken the ability to keep the site up to date, and with a shortage of information from club and coach alike since October there simply isn’t the flow of information required to keep the site current. The site itself will not vanish from the internet; it will simply not be updated unless a major event happens of interest to the Island. The club continues to update via its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IOWIceSkatingClub/