Dundee stars Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby are gearing up for a major milestone in their figure skating careers.
The duo are the reigning two-time British pairs champions and represented their country at the European Championships earlier this year.
They achieved a 10th-place finish in Finland and are keen to continue making their mark on the sport.
And next up is a debut at an even higher level – the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.
“It’s our first World Championships and being in such an exciting place like Japan where figure skating is a major sport will be great,” Digby told the Courier after impressing in an exhibition at Dundee Ice Arena for sponsor Thorntons.
“It will be a massive arena full of fans so it will be great to experience the atmosphere.
“It’s another milestone for us.
“These opportunities don’t come along too often and we’re really proud of achieving the scores to qualify.
“Our main target is to qualify for the second day, which would mean a top 16 finish in the short program.
“We know if we skate to our potential we can achieve what we want to.”
Vaipan-Law added: “We’re very excited, it’ll be our first time in Japan together.
“It’s a big deal for us because this is the biggest competition we’ve competed at so far.
“There are so many good skaters in this event so we’re going to just soak it all in and just enjoy it.
“We are happy to have made it this far in so little time together.
“We’re both really proud of how we’ve done so far.”
‘Big deal’
The duo hail from northern England originally, 23-year-old Vaipan-Law having arrived in the city from Blackpool as a teenager while Digby moved up from Sheffield in 2020.
Both have made big decisions to make it to this level, including the decision to join the Dundee stable of top figure skaters led by coaches Simon and Debi Briggs.
Now they make decisions as a pair, including the important call over which music to perform to.
‘Never Tear Us Apart’ performed by Bishop Briggs is their short program choice, though Digby admits it’s not always a smooth process to pick the perfect track.
“I wouldn’t say there are arguments but it isn’t always perfect harmony!” he added.
“The decision involves us, our coaches, our choreographer and other people.
“There can be five or six different opinions floating around and we all have our own personal choice.
“But we do agree on a similar style.”
Vaipan-Law added: “I would say as single skaters we are kind of similar so I think that helps – it’s not like I’m floaty-doaty and he goes for super-fast music!
“We do manage to come to agreement but it can take time.
“We are getting closer to the Olympic season so the next couple of years are so important. So music choice is actually quite a big deal!”
The pair will be hoping to make a big deal on the ice when they complete their short program next Wednesday in Japan.
The World Championships will be shown on the BBC red button and iPlayer.
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