Bracknell Ice Skating Club Newsletter - June 2004

Six Ice Dancers Win National Recognition

Six BISC members have been selected for national ice dance squads. Kira Geil and Andrew Smykowski, both aged 18, have been chosen for the National Development Squad; while Tamsyn Pack, 14, and Richard Boaden, 16, and Rebecca Forsyth, 13, and Christopher Hockaday, 15, have been picked for the National Junior Development Squad. Their selection by the National Ice Skating Association follows their placings in recent championships. Andrew and Kira won bronze at the junior ice dance championships in December when Tamsyn and Richard won bronze at primary level. Rebecca and Christopher won the novice ice dance title in February.

While the two junior squad couples are trained at Bracknell by David Phillips and his wife, Lucine Chakmakjian, Andrew and Kira were trained by the same coaches until they moved to the national skating centre at Sheffield last autumn.

It is the most ice dancers the club has had in national squads at one time. There are only four couples in the development squad and three in the junior squad.

“We congratulate all of them,” said club chairman, Roy Welham. “We hope they will benefit from the special training camps they attend, the mentoring they receive from judges and the possibility of competing in more internationals.”

Tamsyn and Richard Go Live

After reading BISC publicity officer, Scott Waller’s reports in the local papers about the selection of six club members to British development squads, BBC Radio Berkshire was keen to interview two of them about their skating.

They arranged to talk to Tamsyn Pack and Richard Boaden and, after Scott had briefed a BBC production assistant about the skaters, they were interviewed live on Maggie Philbin’s Sunday morning show on May 30.

* See page 3 for Tamsyn’s report of the experience.

Tim Newton Leaves After 3 Years As Rink Manager

The club wishes all the best to Tim Newton who left the JNLC in mid-June after three years as rink manager.

Tim and his wife, Sarah, will spend the summer in Switzerland where Tim will work at the sports camp he has help-ed at each year since his university days.

In October they will travel to Nepal to do voluntary work before going to Australia and New Zealand where they will work to fund their way back to England via Fiji, the Cook Islands, the USA and Canada.

We hope to include details of the new rink manager in the July newsletter.

 

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