British Skating News, 2022 and beyond

[Belsornia]

I'm surprised to see Solomon Williamson in the mix, since at least as of the British Championships he didn't appear to have triples beyond loop. But he does have a lot of TikTok followers...

It will be interesting to see who gets the men's assignments, especially now we're down to three spots. All the boys are wildly inconsistent, even by the standards of junior men. Women/pairs/dance I think are more straightforward, unless there are some new teams we don't yet know about ready to compete internationally.

 

[Belsornia]

But we still have three or four junior teams - Marler-Davies/Black, Mann/Hammond, Slatter/Gregory and maybe Tallulah Neary / American partner - which is more than enough teams to use all the JGP spots.

Neary’s partner is Jonathan Young. Skating Scores tells me that he competed in juniors at US nationals three seasons ago, and I think he had a Swedish partner last season but don’t recall them making it to competition.

Neary/Young competed at the Dallas Classic this weekend so they’re already doing better than her previous partnerships. First time out skates at usually a bit rough but based on their scores I don’t expect them to be on the JGP.

Not listed on their website, but BIS is holding their JGP Selection Camp this week. They've shared a few IG stories on their own IG acct -

No formal announcement, but thanks to coaches on instagram we know that Wood/Lapsky have two JGP assignments again, Arina Vorobeva has one, and Jack Donovan is a substitute.

Entries for the August singles and pairs qualifier are out on Sportity, and we have a new junior pair, Wakana Katayama and Elliot Appleby. She had some decent singles results at the lower levels but stalled a bit the last couple of seasons. He was junior pairs champion in 2021-22 with Charlotte Hodgkinson, but a weaker field than now.

Also a new basic novice pair, Ellie-May Coley (Leah’s sister?) and William Sandelands.

The qualifier is running in tandem with the Robin Cousins international, and the JGP will be underway so I don’t think we can draw any conclusions from who isn’t on the list (but I wouldn’t be surprised if Coley/Casey are done).

 

[Karen-W]

No formal announcement, but thanks to coaches on instagram we know that Wood/Lapsky have two JGP assignments again, Arina Vorobeva has one, and Jack Donovan is a substitute.

I'd guess that Davison/Borisov have 1 assignment since we know they're still together. GBR has 1 entry in each of the 4 pairs JGPs, so BIS may be saving the last assignment until they see how Katayama/Appleby do at the August qualifier.

 

[miffy]

Yay for new pairs!

 

[Belsornia]

I'd guess that Davison/Borisov have 1 assignment since we know they're still together. GBR has 1 entry in each of the 4 pairs JGPs, so BIS may be saving the last assignment until they see how Katayama/Appleby do at the August qualifier.

Ritchie/McLeod are also still together so I think they’re a good shout for a JGP spot too, given his experience.

We actually have 6 junior pairs at the moment. But Dracas/Wright would have to have progressed substantively in the last 6 months to be at JGP level. And novice champs Shenton/Kirby have nice quality pairs elements and were at the ISU pairs seminar in Berlin in April, but I think will be limited by their (lack of) side by side jumps.

I also wonder if Wood/Lapsky and/or Davison/Borisov will try to enter a senior B or two this season, since the second Euros spot is there for the taking if anyone can manage to finangle the CTES.

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like Atl may have found a partner and be in the process of switching to Germany.

https://bev-eissport.de/wp-content/uploads/BEV-Kader-2025_26-Eistanz-Stand-Juli-25.pdf

 

[Belsornia]

I'm sorry to lose Atl, but I think this was the likely outcome since the split with Ashlie, and probably a good move for him. IIRC he may have some German background through his mother. I don't really recall Mia Lee Mayer with her previous partners, but hopefully she's up for some interesting programmes.

And tbh I feel a bit relieved to not have the stress of Ash/Atl face-offs for international assignments over the next decade plus.


In other news, Edward Solovyov got assigned to JGP Riga.

And Torvill and Dean may have retired from skating but they're doing another Saga Cruise. I love T&D, but I can't imagine a much worse holiday than being stuck on a boat with Chris Dean for 2 weeks!

 

[Lanie]

a 2 week cruise with Chris Dean sounds like my nightmare though he was nice (after stepping on my feet) at 2016 Worlds when I facetimed my dad the boomer T&D fan (T&D are why he got into skating -> why I got into skating) and Chris said hello to him and my dad about had an aneurysm

 

[Belsornia]

Another new pair team in the entry list for the Robin Cousins Cup: Zinia Wood and Harry Mattick.

I’m not really a fan of massive age gap teams, but I guess the goal here is Euros (and maybe Olympics reserve). So good luck to them - and to Harry’s off ice partner: two kids under two is a lot without throwing competitive pairs skating into the mix.

 

[Belsornia]

And we now also have the entry list for the ice dance qualifier, including confirmation that Layla Karnes has a new partner: Freddie Leggott.

Layla is my favourite and I always really enjoyed Freddie’s performance quality in singles, so I’m excited about this partnership. And they both have a bit of an offbeat style so I’m interested in seeing what they do for programmes.

Boo at BIS for scheduling senior dance at the beginning of the week though, so I won’t be able to watch this alongside Bolero Cup.

Also a bit surprised to see Bushell/Peña listed for the qualifier. I’d assumed they’d get the international, but it’s only Fear/Gibson and Bekker/Hernandez.

 

[Wyliefan]

First look (just a very brief look) at Slatter/Gregory: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNIcNpkISTP/?igsh=bWRvcjB2M3ZueWZp

 

[Belsornia]

Also a bit surprised to see Bushell/Peña listed for the qualifier. I’d assumed they’d get the international, but it’s only Fear/Gibson and Bekker/Hernandez.

Bolero Cup entries are out - Bushell/Peña got bumped up to the international, along with Karnes/Leggott and Sabatini-Speciale/Kaye, which I guess tells us which of the new / new to seniors / new to GB teams are looking best in monitoring. A bit of a shame that none of the three Sheffield teams get to compete in the international in their home rink.

Slatter/Gregory and Marler Davies/Black entered in juniors. Mann/Hammond will be at JGP Varese that weekend; more surprising not to see Neary/Young entered since they didn't get a JGP (presumably - not listed as a sub for the first three events).

And confirmation that we have no advanced novice teams this season. Dexter/Fouquet are staying intermediate, all the other novice teams from last season split.

 

[Belsornia]

BIS is streaming the August Qualifier (results)... with sound muted during the programmes.

I know skaters at all levels have been really stressed about meeting the new music licensing requirements, which seems in a large part ot be driven by "broadcast" rules, so hopefully this is just a temporary thing while everyone gets their approvals in order. I wanted to see the junior pairs, but skating without sound is practically unwatchable for me.

Anyway, for British junior pairs (and not even our top juniors!) they all seemed quite decent. Scary twists, not so scary lifts (at least if you didn't look at the men's feet), only one invalid death spiral, Zoe and Chris can teach great throw technique, lots of 1 axel sequences. Why are only boys who can't jump 2ax choosing to switch to pairs while guys with triples are doing dance?

 

[miffy]

Maybe it should be mandatory that everyone tries pairs first before going to dance

 

[ice coverage]

Sinead Kerr Marshall & John Kerr are on cast list for 2025 edition of Scott Hamilton and Friends fundraising show in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Along with other big names such as Nathan Chen.)

Sunday, November 23, at 4 pm.

Scott Hamilton & Friends — Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation

www.scottcares.org

 

[Belsornia]

Lloyd Thomson and Tao MacRae both landed triple axels in competition for the first time at the Robin Cousins Cup (mildly negative GOE, but fully rotated). Thomson also attempted quad toe and splatted, but it was called all the way round. I went back to watch on the stream and it looked much closer to happening than Ed Appleby's attempt a couple of seasons ago.

 

[danafan]

Kristen Spours posted to her instagram that she is taking a break to prioritise her physical and mental health. From the second slide: "I have decided to take a break from the intensity of training and competition to prioritise my wellbeing. I am not quite ready to go into details but for the last year I have battled with my mental health, this has been combined with a serious and complex injury and I believe it is now time to put my overall health above performance."

I really admire her longevity. She's one of few skaters who competed at worlds in Boston back in 2016 and again in 2025 where she qualified an Olympic quota place.

Kristen Reeds on Instagram: "Swipe to read 🙏🏼"

394 likes, 46 comments - kristen_spours on September 6, 2025: "Swipe to read 🙏🏼".

www.instagram.com

 

[Lanie]

I hope she has a good time off the ice taking care of herself. Her back surgery sounded so traumatic.

Will GB send anyone in ladies to the Olympics? I don't know if any of the other ladies have the minimums?

 

[danafan]

I hope she has a good time off the ice taking care of herself. Her back surgery sounded so traumatic.

Will GB send anyone in ladies to the Olympics? I don't know if any of the other ladies have the minimums?

Nina Povey has the minimums for Europeans/Olympics. I don't know if they will be able to use the second spot at Europeans though.

https://results.isu.org/isujsstat/CTES/cteswjustsen.htm

 

[skateblessing]

Nina Povey has the minimums for Europeans/Olympics. I don't know if they will be able to use the second spot at Europeans though.

https://results.isu.org/isujsstat/CTES/cteswjustsen.htm

Does anybody know why Nina WD after the SP at Robin Cousins cup? She had a pretty rough SP. I hope it’s not injury related. I see she is listed for Nepala in a few weeks. Hopefully that is a good sign.

Does Britain have special requirements for Olympic tickets or is the mins good enough?

 

[Belsornia]

Oh, poor Kristen. That must have been an incredibly hard decision to make.

Nina Povey has the minimums for Europeans/Olympics. I don't know if they will be able to use the second spot at Europeans though.

Yes, it will almost certainly go unused. Genevieve Somerville is the only other age eligible woman attempting most of the triples and she is a chronic under rotator (and a hard watch all round).

Injuries have really done a number on Team GB this season.

 

[skateblessing]

Oh, poor Kristen. That must have been an incredibly hard decision to make.


Yes, it will almost certainly go unused. Genevieve Somerville is the only other age eligible woman attempting most of the triples and she is a chronic under rotator (and a hard watch all round).

Injuries have really done a number on Team GB this season.

Sear-Watkins is senior eligble. But she is 14p short of the minimums. So that is not better. Somerville is missing 11p.

 

[Belsornia]

Does Britain have special requirements for Olympic tickets or is the mins good enough?

It usually is, but not 100% guaranteed. In recent years Team GB (British Olympic Association) has generally been good about sending athletes who meet international standards; I think a few throwing athletes with their standards were not selected for Paris, and there was a lot of with UK Athletics and Team GB, but most sports send everyone who qualifies. So it won't be another 1998, when we qualified a full team but only Steven Cousins went to Nagano.

Nina and Ed Appleby were both at the Team GB pre-Milano summit and media day in June, which I think is a good sign for them that they're on the BOA's radar as potential Olympians.

My personal view is that it will help Nina's case if GB qualifies for the team event. And I think that's fairly likely - in part thanks to Kristen - even if this season BIS' squad boils down to Fear/Gibson and a prayer for Ana Vaipan-Law's knee (though perhaps someone who's crunched the spreadsheet could confirm). Even if Nina continues to have a rough time this season, Team GB will want to get F/G out there in the team event, Spice Girling it up front and centre on all the Day 0 broadcasts, and now they'll need Nina Povey Olympian for that.

I think it's more likely that the second dance spot will go back in the pool if Bekker/Hernandez aren't able to use it, even if one of the new teams with citizenship somehow manages to scrape together their minimums.


Thinking of 1998 - I'm mostly sad for Kristen, of course, but I'm also sad for Zoe Jones. I thought this might be her chance to finally get to the Olympics as a coach, after qualifying and not getting to compete in 1998.

 

[Karen-W]

It usually is, but not 100% guaranteed. In recent years Team GB (British Olympic Association) has generally been good about sending athletes who meet international standards; I think a few throwing athletes with their standards were not selected for Paris, and there was a lot of with UK Athletics and Team GB, but most sports send everyone who qualifies. So it won't be another 1998, when we qualified a full team but only Steven Cousins went to Nagano.

Nina and Ed Appleby were both at the Team GB pre-Milano summit and media day in June, which I think is a good sign for them that they're on the BOA's radar as potential Olympians.

My personal view is that it will help Nina's case if GB qualifies for the team event. And I think that's fairly likely - in part thanks to Kristen - even if this season BIS' squad boils down to Fear/Gibson and a prayer for Ana Vaipan-Law's knee (though perhaps someone who's crunched the spreadsheet could confirm). Even if Nina continues to have a rough time this season, Team GB will want to get F/G out there in the team event, Spice Girling it up front and centre on all the Day 0 broadcasts, and now they'll need Nina Povey Olympian for that.

I think it's more likely that the second dance spot will go back in the pool if Bekker/Hernandez aren't able to use it, even if one of the new teams with citizenship somehow manages to scrape together their minimums.


Thinking of 1998 - I'm mostly sad for Kristen, of course, but I'm also sad for Zoe Jones. I thought this might be her chance to finally get to the Olympics as a coach, after qualifying and not getting to compete in 1998.

GB has already all but formally qualified for the TE. They've qualified in 3 disciplines already and are currently 8th in the qualifying points standings, though Germany is ahead of them in 7th & has only qualified in 2 disciplines.