Dundee figure skaters are targeting medals at the British Championships this week.
There will be nine from the City of Discovery competing in Sheffield bidding to maintain the success that stretches back over a decade.
There is now, though, a change in focus for Dundee coaches Simon and Debi Briggs – it will be the first time since 2011 that the Ladies Senior champion won’t hail from the Dundee Ice Arena.
Natasha McKay won her sixth title last year but has since retired with Danielle Harrison, Karly Robertson and Jenna McCorkell all winning the title while training out of Dundee.
But there will be no Dundonian competitor this time around.
Instead, Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby are targeting their third straight pairs gold medal.
And in the junior and basic novice sections, Lucy Hay and Kyle McLeod and Emily Thomson and Callum Gilchrist are going for medals too.
New generation
“It’s exciting. It’s surprising how quickly the year has come around but our preparation has been good and we’re hoping for some success,” GB coach Simon Briggs told Courier Sport.
“We are looking to win three pairs championships this year, our focus is very much on pairs skating right now.
“Ideally we’d like to wipe the board with pairs events down there. And we hope one of our very good youngsters in the advanced novice will medal as well.
“We had the senior ladies champions for years but they have now retired and we are now starting the new generation.
“This will be the first year Dundee has not had the senior ladies champion since 2011.
“It will be strange not competing in that. We’ve often had one, two and three as well.
“But these things come to an end and it will be different but our focus is now on pairs skating and trying to build to 2026 (Winter Olympics).
“The junior team will hopefully qualify for World Championships and the senior team hopefully for European and World Championships this year as well.”
Also competing in the single events are Emma Lyons, who won bronze in the junior ladies last year with Thomson and Gilchrist joined by Eloisa Merino Sola and Mia Craig in the advanced novice event.
That gets under way on Thursday along with the junior competitions.
The pairs and singles takes place on Saturday and Sunday in Sheffield.
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