Solway Sk8ing Club Make History at Britannia Cup 2022

Solway Sk8ing Club left for their last competition of the season, The Britannia Cup which took place over Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th of April at Ice Sheffield after being postponed due to Covid earlier in the year. The two-day event saw all three local teams compete and they returned with history making achievements.

On the first day of competition, all three teams were set to take to the ice for their bid to become British Champions starting with the Beginner’s category which totals 6 teams. Our Solway Comets took to the ice and skated beautifully, entertaining the crowds from start to finish to their Jungle Book themed music. They scored an impressive 24.74 points, receiving an all-time personal best for the Solway Comets team and retained their Beginners British Championship title for the second year in a row.

Solway Eclipse were next to skate in the Mixed Age category with their technically complex and crowd-pleasing program to Belleville Rendezvous mix. They ended their competitive season with not only a personal best of 62.91 points which crowned them as the Mixed Age British Champions, but they also received the highest score a British Mixed Age team has ever achieved in competition.

Finally, Solway Stars took to the ice to skate their first of two programs over the weekend within the extremely competitive Junior ISU category. Their Short Programme routine to the sassy Peter Gunn music is always incredibly fun to watch. After a stellar skate from the team, they ended day one in first place with a score of 37.31 and smashed their season’s personal best in the process.

Day two marked the final day of competition which saw Solway Stars skate their Free program to Beetlejuice. After an incredible skate and a nervous wait for final scores they ended their competition with a new overall personal best for Solway Stars of 73.08 and a total score over the two days of 110.39. Solway Stars not only won their category but became the first ever Scottish team to become ISU Junior British Champions!

Head Coach, Philip Carter said, “I’ve coached here since November 1999 and I’ve never seen so many within the local skating as delighted at an event as they were over the weekend, it was great to behold.“

Solway Sk8ing Club Chairperson, Lindsay Henderson said, “After 16 months off the ice due to covid and a rollercoaster season we are extremely proud of our skaters and coaches ending the year with such wonderful achievements! An inspiration to others from a small town in Scotland – well done to you all”

The Solway Sk8ing Club would like to thank coaches Philip Carter, Molly Coxon and Julie Tyson for their hard work with our skaters throughout this season; our sponsors who have all helped fund our journey this season, The Holywood Trust, Solway Machinery Sales Ltd, Currie Solutions, Gordons Construction, Kip McGrath Tutoring Dumfries, Al’s Skate Shop, Ashleigh’s Builders Ltd Scotland, Albert Club Good Cause fund, Auto shop/Euro Route, Eurocar, Westsound Cash for Kids, Nithsdale’s Sports Grants, Dumfries and Galloway Council Region Wide community fund, Magic Little Grants, Ian D Archibald Limited, Klic cars, Hiddleston joiners, those who helped in our fundraising efforts and to those who donated to Go Fund Me; the Team Managers, Chaperones and Synchro Officers for their contribution to making sure competitions run smoothly and for all their help in the behind the scenes.
We would also like to extend a huge congratulations to our skaters and coaches for this incredible achievement