Looking at the list of entries for the senior events, I'm hoping that someone (of the many) I don't know about will shine.
Imagine British skating... 3 straight Olympics with an OGM... Curry, Cousins, T/D... should come to this.
I imagine the sport is popular, as it is featured on BESP regularly. But, really, I don't understand how the federation has let things slide.
Disclaimer: I don't say that to disparage those who will be trying very hard, I just want Britain to return to the glory days.
Other that dancers C/B, does anyone have an entry that I should keep my eye on?
On the contrary, skating is not popular at all. Ever since those glory days in the 80's, when everybody knew our skating stars, it has become a fringe sport.
When Torvill and Dean came along with "Dancing On Ice" on ITV, it did raise people's awareness a bit. But, not much.
Since the 80's, no competitive skaters have been household names.
In the late 90's / early 2000's, Jenna McCorkell was a household name here in Northern Ireland. But that was because the local media thought it was a novelty for somebody from "Our Wee Country" to compete in figure skating. Once the novelty wore off, we didn't hear about her too much.
To be honest, I am as blind as you when it comes to the skaters competing in the Senior British Championships. The only skaters that I am familiar with are those that we regularly see competing in the international competitions.
In Ladies, Scotland's Karly Robertson should win, all things being equal. The only others I have seen before are Danielle Harrison and Katie Powell, and they are the favourites to join her on the podium. The rest, I am afraid, I am not familiar with.
In Men, the field may be smaller, but there are actually more that I have seen before! But, that is purely because of watching Senior B's earlier in this season. Before then, I couldn't have named any of them. But, as they were in different competitions, I don't know how well matched they are against each other.
I'll have to take a good look at previous results before I make my Men's predictions...
Pairs, well, Amani and Christopher are the only entries. But, they are a couple to watch for the future. If they stay together... (They have already given us one scare this season, when it looked like they were splitting)
Apart from Coomes / Buckland, the only Ice Dancers I have seen before are Jones / Sharpe. But I would not say I was that familiar with them. Although, I have to admit, I am slightly more familiar with Carter Marie than with Richard, purely because she has previously competed on the international stage with other partners.
On the whole, I am familiar with more Junior and Novice skaters than Senior skaters. And that is purely because of the recent CBBC documentary series "Ice Stars" (see
this thread).
If you want a name to keep an eye on for the future, my pick is Junior Men's skater Josh Brown. He was one of the main featured skaters on Ice Stars, and made his Junior GP debut this season. And although his first Junior GP did not go too well, he grabbed a lot of people's attention in his second.
Also, keep an eye out for Ellie O'Connell / Josh Tarry in Advanced Novice Ice Dance. This is their first Nationals at Advanced level, so I don't know how they'll fare against the others. But they are adorable! You can't help but like them!
CaroLiza_fan
