The IWID&FSC is holding a special fund-raising gala on Saturday 3 May to help send the Wight Diamonds synchronized skating team to compete in Moscow later this month.

The gala takes place at Ryde Arena (Planet Ice), doors open at 5:45pm, and the show runs from 6pm to 7pm. Admission is just £2.00.

The Wight Diamonds, British synchronised skating champions at novice level, have been invited to skate at an event in Moscow on the weekend of 10/11 May. The event is the first time that the Diamonds have been able to skate at an international competition. Please come along to the gala and give them your support.

The IWID&FSC’s free skating competition takes place today, 30 March, at Planet Ice Ryde from 3.30pm. Spectators are welcome.

The event comprises spin, spiral and jump competitions for pre-beginner skaters,  and pairs and singles free competitions for skaters from beginner to level 6. Artistic events take place at a separate competition in autumn.

Photography at the event is by permit only. Please see Janet Marsh on the day. Absolutely no flash photography is permitted during the competition as a courtesy to the skaters and the judges. Anyone taking flash photographs or who takes photographs without a permit may be asked to leave the arena.

Isle of Wight synchronized skating teams added a second national victory to this year’s achievements when the Wight Crystals won the juvenile category at the 2008 British Synchronized Skating RJS National Open and British Championships.

The event took place at Ice Sheffield on Monday 24 March, and two Island teams - the Gems and the Crystals - braved the journey through snowy weather to take part.

The Wight Gems suffered a misfortune on the night before the competition with one team member injuring herself and ultimately pulling out at the very last minute, requiring a reserve to take her place. The Gems came fifth at intermediate level.

The Crystals join the Island’s premier synchro team, the Wight Diamonds, as champions at their respective levels: the Diamonds won at novice level at the IJS event in January.

The Island’s synchronized skating teams are sponsored by Wightlink.

The Wight Crystals are Charlotte Chapman, Daisy Jones, Demi Agar, Felicity Gingras, Isabelle Parkes, Jemma Southwell, Kayleigh Pedley, Kirsty Atter, Leah Hancott, Louisa Wrighton, Lucy Burns, Maggie Read, Mitchell Brown, Nikita Heathfield, Sabrina Danzig, Sarah Close, Tia Daley and Zoe Southwell.

The Wight Gems are Charis Jones, Charlotte Mennie, Demi Agar, Emma Wilks, Francesca Fry, Gemma Fishel, Gemma Marsh, Heather MacDonald, Isabelle Coeshott, Kate Nutbourne, Leah Hancott, Louisa Wrighton, Lucy Burns, Maggie Read, Naomi Hunter, Rachel Dickson, Rhian Teasdale, Sabrina Danzig, Sarah Close and Zoe Southwell.

IW County Press report: www.iwcp.co.uk

The British Synchronized Skating RJS National Open Competition and British Championship takes place at Ice Sheffield on 24 March 2008, starting at 2.30pm. Entry and car parking is free.

The UK’s biggest synchronized skating event involves 32 teams from across the UK, including the Isle of Wight’s Wight Gems and Wight Crystals. The event is different from the British Figure Skating Championships that took place in January in that it uses the Relative Judging System (RJS), rather than the International Judging System (IJS). The RJS is the 6.0 scoring system that will be familiar to most club skaters, but it is no longer used to resolve international events nor national figure skating events.

For more details, tel: 0114 223 3900.

IW ice skating coach Terri Smith won the lady coach category of the IW Sports Achievement Awards, held at the Riverside Centre, Newport, on Friday 25 February.

The IW County Press report and pictures of the event are at: www.iwcp.co.uk

The Wight Diamonds synchronised skating team are also pictured in the gallery. Because the awards are for achievement during 2007, they therefore do not take into account the Diamonds’ British Championship win in 2008, just the bronze medal position in 2007. The Wight Diamonds are sponsored by Wightlink.

The DVD of the Christmas Ice Gala is now available.

Order slips for the DVD, which will cost £10.00, are available in the coaches’ room at the rink, and head coach Terri Smith has kindly agreed to be the point of contact. Cheques need to be made payable to IWID&FSC. You need to pay when you hand back the slip to Terri.

DVDs are only available to members of the club and their families. Show picture kindly provided by Mavis.

The Isle of Wight County Press’s report on the Wight Diamonds at the British Ice Figure and Synchronized Skating Championships appears in its edition dated Friday 18 January.

The report is also available on the IWCP website.

Isle of Wight radio is due to have a report on the championships in its news and sports broadcast sometime after 6pm on Friday 18 January.

Ian Marsh submitted his resignation from the committee on 19 December and it was accepted at the committee meeting on 16 January.  Ian edited the newsletter and his resignation may affect the publication of the next issue, which is due on 1 February.

There are currently two vacancies on the the club committee.

The Wight Diamonds have won the Novice Synchronized Skating event at the 2008 British Ice Figure & Synchronized Skating Championships, making them British Champions at this level.

The results, marked under the International Judging System (IJS), are now on the official results website at http://www.johnds.org/British’08/CAT013RS.HTM. The breakdown of marks is at http://www.johnds.org/British’08/SEG028.HTM, and shows that the Diamonds won by picking up points on technical elements compared with the program components. The positions and total marks are as follows:

1st Wight Diamonds, 31.75
2nd NIC Shadows, 29.14
3rd Bracknell Fusion, 28.31

Congratulations to the team members, the team managers and to coach Terri Fleming, all of whom have worked hard to achieve this result.

The Wight Diamonds, the Isle of Wight’s premier synchronized skating team, are sponsored by Wightlink.

The John Wilson/MK British Ice Figure & Synchronized Skating Championships are currently under way in Sheffield.

Island synchronized skating team the Wight Diamonds travel up to Sheffield on Friday to compete at Novice level in the synchronized skating championships on Saturday 12 January. The Diamonds, who are sponsored by Wightlink, are competing for the first time in an International Judging System (IJS) event and for the first time at Novice level. IJS events use the open-ended scoring system used in recent World and European championships.

For the draw order and results go to: http://www.johnds.org/British’08/index.htm

NISA’s page for the championships is at: http://www.iceskating.org.uk

Synchronized skating’s Relative Judging System (RJS) opens take place later in the year in March. RJS events use the familiar 6.0 scoring system.