Bracknell Ice Skating CLub

BISC - Newsletter May 2006

Bracknell Ice Skating Club Newsletter - May 2006


More Qualify for Solo Dance Championships

Two more BISC members have qualified for the solo dance championships bringing the total to eight with one qualifier left.

Olivia Clarke, 11, secured her place in the novice championship when she came 5th in the compulsory dance and 4th in the original dance, despite a fall, to place 4th overall out of 22 skaters competing at Deeside in North Wales on May 7.

And Laura Hartley, 14, the only other Bracknell skater to compete at Deeside, qualified for the junior championship when she came 8th in each section and 7th overall out of 16. She was delighted to beat five girls who had beaten her a week earlier.

Both Olivia and Laura had probably their best ever skates in competition and both took the second qualifying place in their class on the day. “Olivia skated exceptionally and Laura really went for it,” said coach David Phillips.

Four club members had also travelled to Sheffield for the fifth solo dance qualifier and free dance competition a week earlier. Fiona Piggott, 15, who had already qualified, came 3rd in the compulsory, 3rd in the OD and 3rd overall to win bronze in the junior class,while Laura Hartley had her best skate of the season so far but came 17th of 18. Fiona also won gold in the junior free dance and Hayley Salmon and Sadie Robbins, both aged 10, skated well to come 1st and 2nd in the novice free dance.


Meeting the Coaches


Alex Verkovitch

“I began skating at the age of 11 in Minsk, Belarus, and for as long as I can remember my life-long dream was to skate and eventually coach others this wonderful sport. During my competitive career, I participated in national and international championships, winning many Belarusian Champion titles. I began coaching shortly before graduating with a degree in Physical Culture and Sports Education. I am very honoured to be considered as a Master of Sports of the USSR as well as receiving the title of a Distinguished Coach of Belarus.

One of my most successful pupils was Natalia Mishkutionok who I coached for eight years as a solo skater and who went on to become two-times European and World Pairs Champion and Olympic pairs gold and silver medallist.

I began working in England in 1994 at the Tamara Moskvina School of Ice Skating at Stevenage where I worked briefly with Clive Shorten who landed his triple axel for the first time with me. I began coaching at Bracknell in 1996 and between 1997-99, jointly with Anthony Baron, I coached Tammy Sear who became British Ladies Champion in 1999.

During my 28 year coaching career I have worked in Belarus, Russia, USA and England and have also produced and choreographed numerous galas and pantomimes.

I have now settled in Bracknell and to the amusement of my pupils I have been seen wearing make-up and funny looking costumes during the pantomimes. I am currently coaching pupils of all levels and ages and hope to continue doing so for many more years!”


Emma Riazancew

“My family moved to Oxford when I was nine and, to keep me entertained, my mum booked me on a summer holiday activity camp at the local sports centre. One of the activities was roller skating and I became hooked straightaway and booked on to their courses to work through the grades so I could join the club.I came 3rd in my first competition and the following year came 1st in the standard above. During the year, I collected many 1st, 2nd and 3rd places throughout the country. When I was 12, my family moved to Maidstone, Kent, and fortunately there was a roller skating club nearby. I made it to the British Squad and once a month went to Bury St Edmunds for squad training. I finished 4th in the novice, 4th in the primary and 5th in the junior British Championships.
Although it was going well, I no longer enjoyed roller skating as much and decided to try ice skating. By 13, I had made the transition which my parents thought was great until they found themselves taking me to Gillingham - the nearest rink - at every possible opportunity. Looking back, I was fortunate to have parents who gave me the opportunity to skate as much as I did. I won my first ice competition and worked as hard as I could to keep myself on the rostrum and gained many more 1st, 2nd and 3rd places around the country.

I passed the inter-gold (Level 10) test at 15 and competed in the championship qualifying rounds at junior and senior level and won them all. At 16 I started skating at Bracknell to have lessons with Chris Howarth. I competed in the British Junior Championship and in an inter-club competition in Luxembourg. I was fortunate to train in the summer at Ohio in the USA with Carole Heiss which I loved - it was a great experience. They invited me back the following year and took me to Detroit where I competed and came 3rd.When I was 19, I was unable to carry on training so decided to become a coach which was something I’d always wanted to do. I passed my coaching exam and waited for a position at Bracknell. I have been coaching for 10.5 years and last year gained the Level 3 coaching qualification.”

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