2023-24 British and Irish Figure Skating

[CaroLiza_fan]

I was keeping my eye on the Basic Novice Ladies FS at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest today, because the youngest of the skaters that I have adopted was competing (she didn't just compete - she actually won the competition).

Anyway, I spotted a Mya MILNE (GBR) in the entries list, and I looked her up because my Dad has a friend with the same surname, and I was wondering if there might be a chance that they were related. It didn't take long to find out that the wee girl is Scottish, so it is unlikely.

HOWEVER, what I did find out was interesting. Mya is actually the daughter of the 1995 British Novice Ladies Champion. Going by the double-barrelled name on her Mum's Instagram page, I think she was known as Jennifer Morgan back then. But, I don't know for sure.

And that reminded me of something I have been wondering for a long time. Does anybody know where to find the full results from older editions of the British Championships?

It would be nice to know who all was in the field with Jennifer. See if there are many (or any!) familiar names.

Wikipedia is a good place to start, but the links to results that they have do not go back beyond the December 2001 edition (there are links to results on Die Eiskunstlauf Ecke going back to 1998, but that website has now closed down). And that is only for the Juniors and Seniors. The other levels do not go back that far.

The Skate Guard blog has a brilliant page that lists all the Junior and Senior Medallists for every edition of the British Championships:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2022/07/historical-records-from-british-figure.html

I have to admit, I did feel emotional when my eyes reached the 1997 Junior Ladies Champion: Katie Allan, one of my local skaters, who sadly died from bowell cancer at the age of 32 in 2013 (shocked to realise it was 10 years ago that we lost her. It doesn't seem that long ago).

But, it was amazing looking at those Junior Ladies results. Apart from 2001, 2003 and 2007, there was a skater from Northern Ireland on the podium every year from 1996 to 2008.

How times change!

Unfortunately, the page does not list levels younger than Junior. (I suspect Ryan was having the same problems in getting hold of them!)

So, does anybody have any ideas?

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Weetos]

What puzzles me is Kat Downes partners Robin Cousins in the commentary, does he not think someone better can be found for the job, I remember when Barry Davies used to do some commentating, and he clearly wasn't a skating person but as a professional commenter he seem to have knowledge of the sport and the people involved, even if you don't know much about the technical side you can still research the skaters, their achievements etc, instead of saying daft things.

On another note I wish the championships had been in Nottingham, I would have made the trip, Sheffield is a bit far for me.

I do wish they would vary it! Surely it would be good for audiences to have it in a different city each year? I guess it's cheaper for them to keep it in Shleffield?

Someone told me about https://www.flixbus.co.uk/bus-routes recently - they run cheapish services to/from Sheffield, including stopping at Meadowhall, right next to Icesheffield. Hope it might be useful.

Thanks for this I hadn't heard of it - unfortunately the trip up would be 7 hours for me which is a bit too far! I should really brave the drive, it's not a bad drive since it's mostly motorway, I just hate driving in the dark and wet

 

[Weetos]

Absolute trolling from Phebe and James this evening, my heart dropped into my stomach

 

[gleungc6]

As per Tessa Virtue’s instagram stories, she seems to be on her way to the UK for nationals to be with Lilah and Lewis, who have been working with her for some time. It remains to be seen how much she is there visibly with them… we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

[Weathergal]

As per Tessa Virtue’s instagram stories, she seems to be on her way to the UK for nationals to be with Lilah and Lewis, who have been working with her for some time. It remains to be seen how much she is there visibly with them… we’ll just have to wait and see.

Wow I didn't even realize she was coaching. I thought she had stepped away from skating and was focusing on other things, not sure what exactly though.

 

[ladyjane]

I was keeping my eye on the Basic Novice Ladies FS at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest today, because the youngest of the skaters that I have adopted was competing (she didn't just compete - she actually won the competition).

Anyway, I spotted a Mya MILNE (GBR) in the entries list, and I looked her up because my Dad has a friend with the same surname, and I was wondering if there might be a chance that they were related. It didn't take long to find out that the wee girl is Scottish, so it is unlikely.



And that reminded me of something I have been wondering for a long time. Does anybody know where to find the full results from older editions of the British Championships?

It would be nice to know who all was in the field with Jennifer. See if there are many (or any!) familiar names.

Wikipedia is a good place to start, but the links to results that they have do not go back beyond the December 2001 edition (there are links to results on Die Eiskunstlauf Ecke going back to 1998, but that website has now closed down). And that is only for the Juniors and Seniors. The other levels do not go back that far.

The Skate Guard blog has a brilliant page that lists all the Junior and Senior Medallists for every edition of the British Championships:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2022/07/historical-records-from-british-figure.html

I've got a book by Greg Fox: "Figure skating Competition handbook: who won what at all the Major competitions from 1891 to present day."
The book dates from november 2017 and is still available from amazon.co.uk. British championships are covered, although some of the oldest are missing (dus to lack of archive or chucking away of archive). There is a lack of coverage in many Asian countries (regrettably) but it certainly should help you! Only seniors and junior (when that comes into existence) though!

​

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I've got a book by Greg Fox: "Figure skating Competition handbook: who won what at all the Major competitions from 1891 to present day."
The book dates from november 2017 and is still available from amazon.co.uk. British championships are covered, although some of the oldest are missing (dus to lack of archive or chucking away of archive). There is a lack of coverage in many Asian countries (regrettably) but it certainly should help you! Only seniors and junior (when that comes into existence) though!

​

Cool! I'll look it up, because my parents are looking to know what to get me for Christmas, and all I could think of was flags. But this sound like a better idea. They might prefer the sound of a book.

I'm a great one for reference books. In the late 90's, I got a couple of encyclopaedias that I went on to practically live in. But, a few months ago, I discovered that they had got damaged, and had to be thrown out. So, I found copies of the same editions online, and my parents got them for my birthday.

Yes, there is the internet now that has a lot of things (but not all!). But there is something romantic about looking up a book.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[dorispulaski]

Please use the British National Championships Thread to discuss the actual competition?

The thread is here:

2023 British National Championships

They start today, November 30, 2023, and continue for the next four days at Ice Sheffield. Federation web page: https://www.iceskating.org.uk/events Schedule https://x.com/BritishIceSkate/status/1729880576948400245?s=20 Livestream packages are available https://tv.iceskating.org.uk/ Tickets...

www.goldenskate.com

 

[DSQ]

I don't know what the weather's like in Sheffield. I'm further north than that and we had the first snow of the year last night. It was just a sprinkling, but I am expecting proper snow here over the next few days.

My friend in near(ish)by Halifax said it was snowing.

 

[Weetos]

Team for Euros announced

Not that it's anything different to expected, it's just nice to see them all listed!

Now to make some optimistic calculations to see what they'd need to do to keep spots for next year...

 

[DSQ]

Team for Euros announced

Now to make some optimistic calculations to see what they'd need to do to keep spots for next year...

I’m so bad at maths but I’ll give it a go.

So the PB, adding the best short to the best long, for all of the teams in pairs and ice dance (as we have multiple spots in both) are:

Ice Dance

• F/G: 216.82
• B/H: 169.07
• K/C: 149.47

Pairs

• V-L/D: 162.6
• S/M: 113.66

So to keep Ice Dance if F/G place 2nd B/H have to place 11th or higher to keep three spots.

In Pairs if V-L/D place 10th again then S/M have to place 18th or higher to keep two spots.

B/H have the 18th highest European mean score of the season and none of the teams above them have to sit out due to lack of spots. In conclusion we don’t have much hope of keeping our three spots in Ice Dance at Euros but will almost certainly keep two spots.

V-L/D have the 15th highest score in European Pairs with only one team above them who can’t go due to spot excluded. That means that S/M would have to place 13th to keep our two spots. So I think it’s likely we will go back down to one spot if everyone who is eligible competes, however in pairs that’s a big if.

Once we have all of the entries we can be more certain.

 

[Weetos]

Thanks for saving me the trouble I'm not sure I had quite worked out the rules

So in conclusion, anything can happen and I will cross my fingers for them all...

 

[FlossieH]

Yes, it's easier to get second or third sports if you have fewer entries for your country. If we had one entry in each this year, a 2nd place in ID would get us 3 spots for next year and a 10th in Pairs would give us two. With multiple entries, is difficult to get high enough placements with both teams.

 

[Weetos]

@CaroLiza_fan because I don't know if I've seen you mention it -
It appears Soucisse/Firus got their minimums for Euros last weekend so I hope that means we will see them at Euros for team Ireland! They are also in action tomorrow alongside Phebe and James at Golden Spin, and just need RD minimums for worlds, so fingers crossed for them, nail those twizzles!

Now come on Ed today

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

@CaroLiza_fan because I don't know if I've seen you mention it -
It appears Soucisse/Firus got their minimums for Euros last weekend so I hope that means we will see them at Euros for team Ireland! They are also in action tomorrow alongside Phebe and James at Golden Spin, and just need RD minimums for worlds, so fingers crossed for them, nail those twizzles!

Wow. I never even realised that at the time! (I keep forgetting to keep an eye for Minimums).

WELL DONE CAROLANE AND SHANE!!!

See, this is why I am delighted that they jumped ship. Because they are getting opportunities they would never have got with Canada.

The Short was pretty rough last week. So, hopefully the prospect of Worlds dangling before them will give them that extra boost to get it right this week.

By the way. You know how Laurence and Nikolaj became known as the "Danadians". How about referring to Carolane and Shane as the "Iridians"?

Yes I know it's spelt differently than in the series ("Yridians"). But, it's near enough to see the association but not cause confusion.

Although, now that I think of it, the Yridians weren't the prettiest of species. And I don't want it to be seen as an insult.

See, now I'm talking myself out of my own idea!



CaroLiza_fan

 

[Weetos]

The Golden Spin scores are finally updating, and it looks like Ed had a great free skate! He's got 75 TES which is well over worlds minimums

@CaroLiza_fan I always preferred 'Canadanes'

Perhaps there are alternatives that aren't quite so unfortunate looking... Canadish? Eiradians? Some sort of joke about green maple leaves?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

The Golden Spin scores are finally updating, and it looks like Ed had a great free skate! He's got 75 TES which is well over worlds minimums

WELL DONE ED!!!

Unfortunately Dillon Judge didn't have a great Free Skate today by the looks of the scores. But, he got his highest ever SP score yesterday, so that's something to be happy about.

@CaroLiza_fan I always preferred 'Canadanes'

Funnily enough, I never liked that one. I thought it sounded boring in comparison.

But, life would be boring if we all liked the same things.

Perhaps there are alternatives that aren't quite so unfortunate looking... Canadish? Eiradians?

"Canadish" made me think of Mark Cavandish! (Not a fan of cycling, but I do have a soft spot for all things Manx). Plus, there are a lot of countres whose adjective ends in "ish". So, "Canadish" could legitimately be used to refer to any of them.

I do like "Eiradians", though. In fact, I might just start using it to see how it goes down.

Some sort of joke about green maple leaves?

Don't start me about green maple leaves. We have a maple tree out in our back garden, and after Storm Debi came through a few weeks ago, there were maple leaves lying everywhere! Even out the front of the house! And our next door neighbour was complaining about all the leaves that ended up in her garden.

My Dad's talking about cutting it down because of the mess it leaves every year. And you know what, I hope he does, but for different reasons. Because a few years ago, he decided to start grooming it into a circle. And it looks so weird now. It looks like it has one of those "matchstick" haircuts that you find in "Peaky Blinders". If he had just left it to grow naturally, it would have been beautiful. But he didn't.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[FlossieH]

The Golden Spin scores are finally updating, and it looks like Ed had a great free skate! He's got 75 TES which is well over worlds minimums

@CaroLiza_fan I always preferred 'Canadanes'

Perhaps there are alternatives that aren't quite so unfortunate looking... Canadish? Eiradians? Some sort of joke about green maple leaves?

I hope Ed gets to go to Worlds. I saw a post somewhere on here from someone who now trains with Graham in the US and it sounded like he was planning to compete for the rest of this season. I know Graham has a good record and a higher PB than Ed, but I kind of feel like Ed has earnt the Worlds spot with everything he's done this season. He has worked so hard to get those minimums.

 

[Weetos]

I hope Ed gets to go to Worlds. I saw a post somewhere on here from someone who now trains with Graham in the US and it sounded like he was planning to compete for the rest of this season. I know Graham has a good record and a higher PB than Ed, but I kind of feel like Ed has earnt the Worlds spot with everything he's done this season. He has worked so hard to get those minimums.

Is Graham injured, or is he sitting out due to other reasons eg. moving, coaching etc? If the latter, I think Ed would be ahead of him at this point on selection criteria. Having glanced through it there is leeway for different selections to be made over ranking (which includes 2023 nationals score) for 'exceptional circumstances' but I'm not sure that would apply if he sat out by choice. I hope they send Ed - I think I'll be cross if they don't! He's really been putting in the work competing this season, it's paying off with getting the scores, and he deserves it!

I would also he happy to see Graham back competing for a while longer though. It'd be great to see them pushing each other.

 

[Weetos]

"Canadish" made me think of Mark Cavandish! (Not a fan of cycling, but I do have a soft spot for all things Manx). Plus, there are a lot of countres whose adjective ends in "ish". So, "Canadish" could legitimately be used to refer to any of them.

I do like "Eiradians", though. In fact, I might just start using it to see how it goes down.

You made me look up to see if Cav had retired yet, I see he's going for one more year good grief!

Oh lord, I've been mashing them together every which way and somehow come up with Caneiries and now I can't get it out of my head. It's terrible. It might have stuck.

Don't start me about green maple leaves. We have a maple tree out in our back garden, and after Storm Debi came through a few weeks ago, there were maple leaves lying everywhere! Even out the front of the house! And our next door neighbour was complaining about all the leaves that ended up in her garden.

My Dad's talking about cutting it down because of the mess it leaves every year. And you know what, I hope he does, but for different reasons. Because a few years ago, he decided to start grooming it into a circle. And it looks so weird now. It looks like it has one of those "matchstick" haircuts that you find in "Peaky Blinders". If he had just left it to grow naturally, it would have been beautiful. But he didn't.

CaroLiza_fan

Laughing at this image of a maple tree with a sad haircut also laughing at someone complaining over leaves being in their garden....

I kept coming across these beautiful red Japanese maple leaves on a walk the other day and for the life of me I couldn't see where they were coming from. Maybe they were the last ones off the tree... (Hmmm, Japanese maples... I wonder if there are any Canadian teams that could switch to Japan?)