FORT Regent witnessed some superb artistic roller skating last weekend, as Empire Skating Club hosted Sarnia Artistic Roller Skating Club for the first time in a top drawer inter-island competition.
About 62 competitors, 45 of whom hailed from Jersey, gathered to compete for medals in varying ability classes, with ages ranging from five to 58 years old.
“This event was definitely one of the best ones we’ve done,” said Bethany Lawrence, coach at the Empire Skating Club.
“It was a great environment, everyone cheered each other on. It was lovely to have Guernsey there as all the kids were getting along. To have all that, especially the camaraderie between the two, it couldn’t really have gone any better.”
An important milestone for the Channel Islands’ artistic roller skating community was marked with this competition, as this was the first inter-island event between Jersey and Guernsey “for many years”.
If the occasion wasn’t enough, the landmark event was possibly the last skating competition hosted at Fort Regent, with its closure scheduled by the end of the year.
Action began early, as competitors took to the arena from 8.30am, with contests and routines going all the way through to 3.30pm.
Even though Jersey’s Empire Skating Club dominated the pool of participants, Sarnia were raring to go, ready to showcase their skating ability in away territory.
It is fair to say performances did not let down spectators, with Lawrence noting the incredible efforts put into the routines: “Everyone skated really well, they all did their best and performed on the day.”
With everyone putting in 100%, differences in styles between the clubs became clear, with Lawrence adding: “There’s always going to be different styles between clubs, the Guernsey skaters were very poised and they had lovely, long extensions with their arabesques.”
“Then our skaters really pushed the boat out, in terms of trying new and harder tricks. We’ve kind of been focusing on that, getting the legs right up, jumping from forwards to backwards rather than keeping things straight.”
“We definitely push them a little bit harder to achieve the more difficult skills.”
Out of the 23 events in total, 10 consisted of just local skaters, as only 17 travelled with Sarnia.
To say Empire Skating Club did well would be an understatement and they won a remarkable medal tally securing a whopping 18 gold, 17 silver and 16 bronze medals to reign supreme.
The visiting Sarnians weren’t without success, however, garnering four gold, five silver and four bronze medals, which is an achievement given their considerably smaller number of entrants.
Competition was said to be tight, with Lawrence saying the medals were “very much shared” in the Jersey v Guernsey events.
Eight-year-old Holly Pirie had a day to remember, after earning the Judges’ Choice Award, a win in her solo event and a bronze in her trio team, alongside Harriett Smith and Grace Harvey.
Matilda Lucchesi put herself in good stead ahead of the rapidly approaching British Championships, receiving gold for her freedance, alongside two silver medals for her solo dance and sequence.
“Hopefully, this is the start of an annual competition, with them hosting next year to then return back to Jersey the year after, as this is something we want to nurture and continue,” continued Lawrence.”
“This has been a great experience for the kids, to compete against people you don’t necessarily know.”
Nine-year-old Lucchesi, along with Olivia Jardine (14), Elsie McCarthy (12) and Maggie Noble (11), wrapped up the contest by performing a demonstration of their British Championship routines, in which they’ll be competing from today.
Their impressive performance showed they are ready for the championships, with Lawrence saying: “Everyone stopped and had a watch, it was very impressive. Everyone has put in a lot of work and effort, and we’re certain that they’re going to go out there and do their very best.”
Despite the athletes’ showing, obstacles have come up to hinder their preparation, with the Empire Skating Coach saying: “Championship-level halls are much bigger than facilities we have available in Jersey, so there’s always challenges when we go over to the UK, as our skaters have to adapt their routines to the bigger size.
“That always brings a bit of stress, especially for those with less experience of going away to compete. We’ve adapted our training as much as we can to support our athletes, as there’s simply no other way.
“We don’t know what to expect, as our last British Championship appearance was two years ago, so it’s difficult to know what the standard is, but we’ve worked really hard with them to go out there and achieve their very best.”
Empire Skating Club’s future is now that bit more stable, relocating to Haute Vallée in September due to current plans for Fort Regent.
If you would like to get involved, please contact empireskatingjsy@hotmail.com. It offers something for all ages, abilities and backgrounds, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
