GET YOUR SKATES ON
NEARLY 100 skaters will congregate at the Dunedin Ice Stadium this weekend for the OtagoSouthland championships.
The Dunedin Ice Skating Club is hosting the event, which starts with a 6pm7pm session today, followed by sessions tomorrow (7amnoon) and Sunday (8.30am11am), and has attracted skaters from across the South Island.
Solo, ice dance, synchronised and masters skaters will take to the ice to try to lift their season scores and, if they have not done so already, qualify for the national championships in Auckland at the beginning of October.
While the skaters may hit the ice groomed to perfection and adorned in costumes worthy of any catwalk, their level of athleticism is not to be taken lightly.
The talented ice dance pairing of Dunedin skaters Lucienne Holtz (17) and Tim Bradfield (16) is no exception.
After passing several highlevel tests earlier this year, they are now eligible to compete in the junior grade.
Together, they work tirelessly on the ice for up to 10 hours a week in the pursuit of their goal of achieving international selection and representing New Zealand on a world stage.
The dynamic duo is coached by world championship and Olympic coach Fanis Shakirzianau.
He was awarded the Honoured Coach of Russia status in 1991, and has coached several world champions including Shirene Human, a South African champion figure skater, who competed at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
This weekend, Shakirzianau will be rinkside as Holtz, Bradfield and 10 more of his students compete, including the sibling ice dance team of Gemma and Benji Pickering.
Top Dunedin athletes also competing this weekend who gained international selection in 2020 include the Cutting Edge synchronised team (Zara AnthonyWhigham, Djuna Elkan, Amelie Henderson, Rachael Jannink, Levi Burnard, Jazelle McCormick, Katie Sewell, Briar Short, Katie St ClairNewman, Paige Symister and Tallulah WilsonBrown), Jazmyn Evangelou, Brooke Cathro, Rebekah Sime, Asia Tapelava and Hannah Sime.