FIGURE SKATING: Four Lillehammer 2016 hopefuls will continue their journey towards the second Winter Youth Olympic Games when they take to the ice for the 2015 Australian Figure Skating Championships.
Australia is currently the third reserve in securing a quota for Lillehammer but the event will help decide which athlete would join the Australian Team if the nation is successful in gaining the Lillehammer spot.
Amelia Jackson, Emma Carr, Amelia Sadler and Yancey Chan will all look to add a strong result to their seasons as they compete in the Junior Ladies event which begins early next week in the Western Sydney city of Penrith.
“It will be an extremely close competition,” high performance director and former professional World Champion Robyn Burley said.
“All the girls are skating well, are highly motivated and would all love to get to the Lillehammer Games.”
Each of the four athletes in contention have competed on the international stage for Australia in 2015.
Sadler competed at the Asian Games before taking on stiff competition at the ISU JGP Riga Cup where she showed her continued progression by easily bettering her previous best international score.
Returning from injury, Jackson competed at the ISU JGP Croatia Cup but unfortunately had to pull out midway through the event. Her first competition since that withdrawal will be the National Championships.
Carr took to the ice in both the Volvo Cup and the Tinava Cup in Europe while Chan did amazingly well to finish third at the Crystal Skate Brasov/Romania event despite not having her skates until the night before competition.
“The chance to compete overseas has helped the girls tremendously,” Burley continued.
“They had the chance to skate in international rinks, with other judges and in front of big crowds.
“Competing against international athletes shows the girls what level they need to be at and they have since managed to come back to Australia and step up with their performances.”
If Australia were to be represented in Lillehammer, Burley believes it will be a big boost for the sport Down Under.
“Australian ice skating, myself & the entire High Performance Team would be absolutely ecstatic to gain a place for one of these deserving young ladies at the Lillehammer Youth Games.
“For one of these skaters to compete with other nations and gain experience, maturity and undoubtedly many new friends, it would be a special highlight for both Australia and the lucky skater.
“It would certainly contribute to our depth of skating and motivate others to emulate their idols.”
While Sweden and the Czech Republic both sit ahead of Australia in the pecking order of claiming the quota it is not out of the question that one of the four girls in the running follows in the footsteps of 2012 Youth Olympian Chantelle Kerry.
“There is always a chance.
“If we do have a representative then it will be wonderful. We have our fingers crossed.”
The Junior Ladies event kicks off on Wednesday December 2 with the results in the competition, alongside other significant results throughout the 2015 season, contributing to which athlete will be in line for the Lillehammer 2016 position if it becomes available.
Along with figure skating, Australia is looking to take a team of 13-15 athletes in snowboard, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing, ice hockey (skills challenge), luge and short track skating.
The Lillehammer Games will be the second Winter Youth Olympic Games, following on from Innsbruck in 2012. The 2016 version will include many of the venues from the Winter Games in 1994 with 1100 young athletes from 70 nations competing in 70 events. It will be a competition and education experience they will never forget.
Matt Bartolo
Olympics.com.au
