January

The first event of the year - GBSA training day for our Tot, Mini and Espoir Pro Team!

Our athletes participated in sessions both on skates and off skates with some of GBSA's dance and free coaching teams. All out skaters throroghly enjoyed their day, learning lots of new skills, practicing basics and catching up with their skating friends from other clubs. A big well done to our three tots who completed their first training day. And a huge thanks to GBSA for putting on the event!

Stanley had the fantastic opportunity of playing a major role in a short film following his successful audition last year. He was flown to Ireland to shoot the film and had to learn how to skate on vintage roller skates. Jamie Hawkesworth is the Grandson of Harry and wrote produced this film with the help of his editing team and great actors. The story is about a boy called Harry who was a messenger boy for the Air Raid Patrol in Gloucestershire during the Blitz in World War Two. The film is titled 'Marmalade' and will be premiering in Curzon Soho. Here are some action shots of Stanley!

Stanley's film Premier

BBC Radio Gloucestershire

GBSA Training Day

This week, Elite Head Coach and Choreographer, Lauren Jarvis, did her first ever radio interview at BBC Radio Gloucestershire!

The radio station were keen to find out about Lauren’s successful solo skating career, what it is like to skate for Team GB, her experience coaching top Athletes and what she is doing behind the scenes to make artistic roller skating more accessible for the communities around Gloucestershire.

Thank you too all my friends and family who listened in and sent me such supportive messages. I was very nervous but enjoyed every second. I’m hoping to inspire more people to get wheels on in 2025 so they can experience this fantastic sport!

To listen back use the BBC Sounds app - 20/01/2025 Lauren is on around 12:00 with Nicky.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0kh4hhn

February

February saw Elite athlete Rubee Rainbow being an advocate for the NAS. She was selected as one of the NAS' 'Brilliant People 2025' and was asked to be involved in the filming for their 'Spell' and 'Early Birds' Training Programs. She was named as a real asset to the project. In the filming process, both Rubee and Lauren were filmed live action in a training session and in a sit down interview.

It is very exciting to be involved in such a meaningful project and we are looking forwards to seeing the end results.

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MARCH

1. Portugal Training Camp

2. GBSA Spring Solos Competition

Portugal

Team Elite took a huge team of athletes to the Portugal camp this year - the entire Mini-Senior team were present. It was so exciting to take such a talented and hardworking group of athletes.

This was the second time Team Elite were invited to attend this amazing event. For Ellie and Beatrix, this was their first international training experience. It is safe to say all of the athletes thoroughly enjoyed their time in Portugal and soaked up all of the new knowledge ready to implement into their training.

It was an intense two days of training. The skaters had a lot of activities both on and off skates throughout the camp. The trainers were focussing on technique, Key points, execution, expression, fitness, strength, mobility, performance and much more.

For the third day of training, Elite and Hugo did a private session at the rink so we could work on more personalised feedback.

We were lucky enough to have some time to work on couples - Ellie and Stanley really took onboard all of the new ideas Hugo brought to the table and worked very well as a team to show how adaptable they are. They learned several new lifts, lift technique, turn technique and hold clusters.

At the end of the camp, the skaters took to the floor to give the audience a performance showing off the routines they have learned in the dance classes. It was a musical medley! The skaters all looked so amazing! After this, the skaters received certificates of their participation in the camp and a good bag!

Some of the highlights of the trip were

seeing the friendships forming between the Portuguese and Elite skaters - especially the lunch time football matches and learning each other's languages
Hugo noticing and commenting on how much the Elite skaters had improved since he saw them at the camp in 2024 - especially Ella!
A few of the Elite skaters were used as good examples! Eartha - Travelling. Beatrix - Cross rolls, Cluster and Mohawks. Rubee - Travelling. Saffron - Cluster. Ellie - Cluster.
The final performance and getting certificates.
Saying goodbye for another year to all of our friends

Spring Solos

The first competiton of 2025! Team Elite were super excited to take a small selection of skaters to the GBSA competition at Breydon Arena. Five of which were competing for the first time ever!

Ella skated up to Roller Cup for the first time, skating the olympic foxtrot and her freedance - Tim Burton inspired.
Eliza skated up to Non-medallist. Se skated the And Foxtrot and her first ever freedance to 'Come Little Children' from Hocus pocus.

Our five newcomers skated the arabesque and edges for solo dance and the Samba routine for their freedance.

On Saturday evening, the whole team joined for a team meal. It was great to get together and celebrate the successes of the day and for everyone to socialise.
Our Team Captain for the weekend was Eartha. She and her mum, Jo, were a great help with the backstage aspects of the weekend. Eartha made sure all the skaters were warmed up and ready to go on time. Jo took some fabulous pictures and helped with hair and makeup.

Stephen, our photographer, also took some amazing action shots both on and off the rink. It was great to capture the team spirit and amazing skating!

We are so glad all of our skaters and parents had a lovely weekend full of accomplishments, proud moments and team support.

We had some great results over the weekend! All of our skaters finished in the top 10 which is amazing!

Results highlights:

1st - Primrose - newcomer dance
1st - Penelope - newcomer freedance
1st - Penelope - combined
2nd - Primrose - combined
2nd - Jaxon - newcomer FD
2nd - Jaxon - combined
2nd - Eliza - Novice dance
2nd - Eliza - combined
3rd - Penelope - newcomer dance
3rd - Primrose - newcomer FD
3rd - Ella - RDC dance

April

1. Elite Training weekend - Great Yarmouth

2. GBSA Style Dance/Free Dance Competition

GY Training weekend

Team Elite were lucky enough to have the national rink for the whole weekend this April. The pro skaters travelled to Breydon Arena to work on their routines before the first competition of the year for National Level skaters.

The skaters even joined in on the Retroskate session to play some games and have some fun before the training weekend began.

It was great so see so much support from the parents and skaters to one another. A lot of the skaters had personal best skates and really improved in confidence throughout the weekend.

Style Dance/Free Dance Competition

Team Elite travelled with two coaches and 16 athletes for the first National Level competition of the season. This is the largest team that Elite has taken to a National Level competition, it is so exciting to have a team so full of talent and passion. We were all really excited to see them shine with their new routines.

GBSA hosts this competition so that National Level skaters have a chance to perform before the Championships - they can work on competition nerves and get a PDF to work on.

Saturday was dedicated to the Free dances for Tot/Mini/Espoir and Style dances for Cadet skaters. Sunday was dedicated to the Style dances for the Youth/Junior/Senior skaters.

Our tots did fantastically well for their second competition and first go at National Level being scored under RollArt. It was also Eliza and Betsy's first time at National Level, both really enjoyed their experiences.

Well done to Eartha, Saffron, Stanley, Ellie & Stanley, Anasztazia and Ella who all went up to the next age category for this season. They have tackled more challenging techniques and levels in order to level up for this first competition of the season.

We are also super impressed with Eliza & Thomas who competed for the first time as a couple in this event. It is lovely to see them go from strengths to strengths together.

Results

1st Thomas - Espoir Men's Solo Dance
1st Eliza and Thomas - Espoir Couples Dance
2nd Eartha - Espoir Ladies Solo Dance
2nd Florence - Tot Ladies Solo Dance
2nd Ellie and Stanley - Cadet Couples Dance

MAY

1. World Skate International Series. Trieste, Italy

2. Crystal Tulip Cup. Moekapelle, Netherlands

World Skate Artistic International Series

We are so honoured to say Katie was selected to represent Great Britain this year on the World Stage for the first time! The Artistic International Series is a competiton split into two semi-finals, with a finals event later on in the season. Katie was selected for both the Argentina and Italy semi-final events this year - huge congratulations to her!

Team GB travelled to Trieste ready for a week of competing and seeing some of the best skaters in the world perform live. After checking into the hotel and completing the accreditation at the rink, we did a rink tour and then had some free time to explore the lovely town of Opicina.

Day two saw Katie taking to the rink for her practice session. An intense 30 minute session to plan out both her style dance and her free dance in preparation for the competition the following day. Katie was feeling confident after her session and she looked great on the floor.

After a very hot training session, we had some free time to explore some more of the area. We headed to Barcola Beach to sight see and have some lunch before watching the Espoir GB skater in her freedance later on in the afternoon.

We watched some great skating, visited all the stalls at the rink and caught up with our international and GB friends.

Day three was competition day for style dance...

Katie was ready for her world stage debut. Her style dance genre this season is musical/opera, she is skating to a selection of music from Mamma Mia! the musical. All of Team Elite were so excited to watch her on the live stream. Katie had a great skate, she dazzled the audience and judges with her amazing facials and energy. She also had some personal bests - she scored her first international Level 2 Cluster and she was awarded her bonus feature on her Travelling. She really rose to the occasion and put out a great performance. We are super proud of her.

Photos by Raniero Corbaletti Photographie

We finished off the week by cheering on the rest of Team GB in their performances and exploring some more of the area in our free time. We had a great walk around Piran in Slovenia, and we visited the caves.

Overall it was an amazing experience, Katie enjoyed being part of Team GB and skating on the rink, and we learned so much ready to put into training before the next competition of the year.

Crystal Tulip Competition

This season, Team Elite travelled to the Netherlands for their second Crystal Tulip competition. This time, we took a team of nine athletes and two coaches.

A special event for Thomas, Anasztazia, Ellie and Saffron as this was their first international competition. This is a great first event because it is such a friendly atmosphere and there are opportunities to make international friends easily during gala training, the outdoor rink and the presentations.

After a day of practice sessions and settling in, the skaters were raring to go for their first performances of the competition. The first portion of the competition was dedicated to the compulsory dances (Tot-Espoir) and the Style dances (Cadet-Senior).

Hannah was the first of the Elite athletes to compete in her Carlos Tango. Due to this competition being so busy, the event made the decision for the Mini category to only perform one of their compulsory dances, therefore Hannah did not get to skater her G-Reggae.

The Espoir skaters performed their Little Walz and Cumbia Argentines. The Cadet skaters performed their Style dances - Musical/Opera with the Federation Foxtrot. Katie's theme is Mamma Mia! Saffron's theme is Bugsy Malone. Anasztazia has a Spanish medley with Imperial Tango. Rubee in Senior has Rock and Roll with Midnight Blues.

After a great set of results following the first portion of the competition, the Elite athletes were all excited to perform their free dances on the international stage.

Thomas had a beautiful performance in his Frank Sinatra inspired free dance and pulled up to 1st place overall in the Espoir Men's Solo Dance category. He achieved his Travel L3! Thomas is Elite's first male international skater, and the first ever Gold medallist for Elite on the international stage. We are so proud of him and how he is such an inspiration for other male athletes in this sport. He kept his cool at his first international competition like a professional.

Hannah skated an epic performance to her Spider free dance, achieving 14th/29 for her free dance in the Mini Ladies Solo dance category - a huge PB. She achieved her Travel L2! She facial expressions and characterisation brought her program to life and it was really memorable. She finished 17th overall.

Eartha had a 10.48 point increase compared to her score from last season. This was her first full event in the Espoir age category - renowned for being a tough category. She achieved her Travel level 3% with an awesome static leg feature! She also achieved L2 on her Little waltz. Her score means she has now passed her GBSA Inter-Bronze test! For the freedance portion, she places an amazing 15th/29 skaters.

Beatrix achieved an overall score PB which allows her to pass her GBSA Bronze test! She is showing her detail work in training is paying off as she achieved levels in both compulsory dances and her free dance. This is very impressive and shows she is really understanding what she is doing. Cumbia L1, Little waltz L1, dance steps L2 and her Travel L3% with her continuous leg movement feature.

Ellie skated like a true professional athlete, no one could tell this was her first international appearance. She also achieved a PB in her overall score from last season, this score allows her to pass her GBSA Bronze test! She has really levelled up since last season, scoring L2 little waltz, L1 Cumbia, Travel L3% and Cluster L1! Cluster is one of the toughest elements to score a level on, we know how much Ellie has focused on scoring this and it has paid off! She came an amazing 12th/29 on her Freedance and finished 15th overall.

This event was also Saffron's first international event, and her first full competition in the Cadet category. Her improvement this seaons means she blew her season 2024 score out of the water and increased herpoints by 17.1! This is down to her insanely good work ethic and detail work, she really listens to coaches feedback and is motivated to improve every session. She scored her L4% Travel in both her style dance and freedance! She scored her Cluster L2 for the first time, dance steps L2 and Artistic sequence L2. For her freedance, she finished in the top 10! Over all she finished 12th, amazing!

After her awesome skate at Artistic International Series, Katie was super ready for her next international event, and wanted to level up from last month. She had an awesome improvement from last years score, an increase of 10.13! This is due to her focusing on her levels in all of her elements, she has so much determination and commitment to getting her levels and being consistent. She scored a huge 73.01 and finished 8th overall. She achieved levels in every element she competed - this is a massive achievement. L2 federation, L4% travel, L2 cluster, L2 dance steps, L3 artistic, L2 footwork. Her score means she passed her GBSA Inter-Silver and Silver tests!

Anasztazia had an awesome skate for her Style dance in her first ever international competition. She acheived her first L2 cluster, L3 Travel, Imperial tango L1, footwork sequence L2! The levels didn't stop there, in her free dance she scored her artistic L3, and dance steps L2. All of this comes from all the hard work she puts in at training. It led to a huge PB, an increase of 13.7 from last seasons score! It also means she passes her GBSA Inter-silver test! In the style dance portion she finished 11th and over all 13th place.

Rubee skated some very exciting routines, all of the skaters enjoyed watching her and were wowed by her freedance skills! She scored her first dance steps L2, she was awarded her % feature in travel, artistic L2, footwork L1 and a choreo stop which made every one's jaw drop! Her first +2 QOE!! She has come back to the competition scene with a bang!

This event was full of hidden achievements and personal bests, it is great to notice and celebrate the 'little wins' for each individual as all are on their own journey of growth. Well done to all of our athletes, all had PB's and all achieved levels in elements they have been working super hard on.

After all of the competitions were completed, it was time for the Medal Ceremony where Thomas was presented with his first place medal. All the skaters also received a participation certificate and a gift from the club. It was lovely to celebrate all of the skaters.

The gala show was a highlight of the competition - as Thomas came first place, he was selected to give an exhibition of his freedance. This is an awesome opportunity for him to practice his competition nerves and performing under pressure. He rose to the occasion and put out an outstanding performance. Well done Tom.

All of the skater participated in a group dance and then it was time for photos and to say good bye to our international friends!