British Ice Skating hosted an action-packed day of events as it launched the BIS Academy of Dance, led a Figure Skating Performance camp and saw Ed Appleby become the first Junior Grand Prix medallist for 19 years.
The Academy of Dance, and Solo Dance Camps that will feed into it, welcomed over 70 Ice Dancers on the very first day. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean greeted the group before Gemma Parry held an athlete screening session. Briony Albert led the group through a dance class before skaters spent over an hour on the ice guided by Mark Hanretty, Karen Barber, Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill. It was a thrilling start to the Academy of Dance, with two Solo Dance Camps also taking place on Sunday.
Alongside the Academy, the GB Performance squad, many of whom had competed at the British Qualifier, met in Sheffield for a team camp. They completed media training, UKAD education as well as team building activities. This was one of the first opportunities since 2019 that the majority of the Performance Squad have been able to come together.
Away from Sheffield, Edward Appleby became the first Junior GB skater to win a medal in almost 20 years at a Junior Grand Prix as he picked up a bronze medal. Skating in the second Grand Prix in Courchevel, France, he was awarded 63.23 for his short program, second best in the competition behind Canada’s Wesley Chiu.
His free skate scored 119.18, leaving him with a total score of 182.41. That was comfortably enough to win a bronze medal and end a long wait for a GB Junior Grand Prix medal.
Arlet Levandi from Estonia took silver with Wesley Chiu ending on top of the podium.
All of this comes after an a exciting two weeks of competition as Nottingham played host to the GB Short Track Speed Skating Selection Event as Sheffield welcomed skaters for the British Figure Skating Championships Qualifier.