CHAMPION OF THE ICE
Cambuslang skater wins Open and finds sponsor
A Cambuslang figure skater has came on leaps and bounds to beat her personal best and secure a sponsorship deal at the age of just 12.
Taylor McLeod placed first in the Coventry Open last month at the basic novice level A with an impressive 30.6 in one of the UK’s toughest competitions.
The youngster, who starts Stonelaw High in August, was also selected out of 300 to represent Love Ice Skating, who will fund her equipment in exchange for PR work and wearing ots logos.
Taylor has been going from strength to strength and the win in Coventry ended her year with a double first place after she also took top spot at the Murrayfield Open in May.
Her dad Simon could not be prouder of Taylor’s achievements. He said: “She skated at the basic novice A level, 12 and over, and won first place in the competition with double jumps and it is the first time she landed a double salchow double loop combination jump. She beat her original PB of 29.95.
“She was absolutely ecstatic. It’s quite difficult at her level. All the jumps she performs she did as double jumps and that’s what got her first place.
“It was one of the toughest competitions but there are no easy ones. It set Taylor up nicely coming into the year, as Coventry is the last one of the season.”
The former Calderwood Primary pupil, who is part of the East Kilbride Ice Figure Skating Club, has also competed in two international events in Hungary and Slovakia.
She will be hoping for a good performance in this year’s British Championships to earn her a place in the next international for Team GB.
Taylor and her parents welcomed the support from her new sponsor after having to travel hundreds of miles a week to get Taylor to training.
The closure of Taylor’s club’s rink in East Kilbride due to refurbishment has meant the family have spent many hours on the road to Dundee and Edinburgh for some practice time in.
Simon added: “Her next competition is in the Dundee Open at the end of July and she’s already managed to secure sponsorship with Love Ice Skating. They are a company based in Chelmsford in Essex and helped her out with equipment.
“At the moment they are in the process of getting her new skates. They’ll support her and Taylor will wear their logos and do a bit of PR for them.
“They also sponsor the top lady in Britain, Danielle Harrison. She is the current senior and junior ladies champion and trains in Dundee. So that
makes Taylor one of only two people in Scotland with a sponsorship deal from them.
“It’s a massive help financially. We’re still training through the week at different places because the rink in East Kilbride is still closed.We think it is set to open in October. With the amount of travelling we do it takes some pressure off a wee bit.”
Taylor has already secured her place in this year’s British Championships and it will be the second time she has attended the competition in England.
After attaining the technical score for qualification throughout last season, Taylor will travel to Sheffield in December in the hope of being picked for another international event later next year.
Meanwhile, Taylor’s seven-yearold sister Isla, who attends Calderwood Primary, is also performing well on the ice and won her first open competition at Blackpool Open in April.
This follows in her sister’s footsteps as Taylor won the level-five competition last year.