FOUR locals from the Phoenix Artistic Roller Skating Club all placed in the top five of the recent 2008 Mini Solo Dance Championships in Leicester.
‘I was ecstatic – it was brilliant,’ said coach Darren Dyke (pictured). ‘To get them all in the top five was amazing. It was a really close competition – one of the closest I’ve seen. All the judges had someone different in the top position and I’ve never seen that before.’
Monica Dekker was the eventual champion. The Sarnian put in a very strong performance to win the first dance, the country polka, and maintained a good standard in the Olympic foxtrot and rhythm ’n’ blues that saw her edge out the defending champion from Kent by three judges to two.
Fellow teammate Jodene Corbin also surpassed her own expectations by putting in some very confident performances in all three dances to take a bronze medal.
‘[This was] an exceptional result for Jodene with this being her first British Championship,’ said Dyke.
Rhiannon Fitch started very cautiously in the polka but settled well in the foxtrot by earning top marks to bring her back into medal contention.
However, despite being awarded 7.0, which was one of the top marks of the day, she was unable to convince the judges to place her in the medals.
Caitlin McNichol, although skating some very technical dances, which reflected in her receiving a 7.0 for her Olympic foxtrot, missed out on a medal to come fifth.
With Dekker and Corbin having finished in the top three for this age group, they have now been awarded places in the British team to skate in the Cup of Europe in Italy later in the year.
‘This demonstrates Guernsey’s continual selection to this event and the just reward to the skaters themselves in achieving this result,’ said Dyke.
Loading ...
Share this article:
What are these?