Page 70 - RADC 2017

Skating on Thin Ice
Maj Verity Brown, RADC
There are few things I would willingly get out of bed at 4am for. It seems ice skating is one of those things. As I sat in the car park of the ice rink at Hull in the dark before the rink opened I had a moment to reflect on how crackers that venture truly was.
I started ice skating when I was 3 years old. May parents were setting up their dental practice next to the ice rink in Deeside so it was a great opportunity to learn to skate.
Ice skating is an all-consuming sport
and took up much of my teenage years: training twice daily six days a week on the ice, attending ballet and ballroom lessons, circuit training, and travelling the country
on the competition circuit. I was Welsh
and British Solo Ice Dance Champion in
the under-14 and under-16 categories. I qualified as a coach and wanted to be an ice skating show girl but I got good grades in my GCSEs and my teachers (and mother!) encouraged me to stay on, do some A-levels and think about university. I gave
up ice skating when I went to Manchester Dental School.
I had never been tempted to take up my sport again until I was posted to Dental Centre Leconfield, just a 20-minute drive from Hull Ice Arena. Shortly after settling into my new post I attended the Kingston Ice Dance Club and enrolled on an evening course. Very quickly I got the ice skating bug! I knew the British Adult Championships were being held in Sheffield in April and decided I wanted to compete again. I contacted my old coach who had moved to London and spent my Christmas leave back on the ice choreographing a routine to the soundtrack of Hook.
I was surprised how rusty I had become
My support team in the heavy hair and make-up session
and while my mind had not forgotten how to stand on two blades, by body took a while to comply. My flexibility and strength as a 30 year old just wasn’t the same as when I was 16... what a shocker! I came back from Christmas leave with a few bruises and aching muscles but had my routine to prepare for the Championships.
Vicky Mayne is my coach in Hull (if
you are ever there look her up, she is fabulous). Vicky is the reason I look forward to getting up at 4am to prance about in Lycra on two steel blades.
We are fully aware this is an obscure pastime and she helps me through
the training with humour and moral encouragement. Through her coaching and support we began to hone my routine, adding more expression, power, and class to all my performances. I absolutely loved every minute on the ice and was wide- awake by the time I rolled into work for my sick parade.
In the run up to the Championships I started to train at Sheffield with another coach who worked on the technical aspects of the dances. Sheffied Ice Arena is an incredible facility with 2 ice pads, and is the national centre for ice dance excellence.
Fortunately, my Mum had kept some
of our old ice skating dresses and was so excited about the whole venture, so selected some dresses suitable for the events I
was to enter: a blues, a waltz and for my Freedance to Hook. Diamante and chiffon everywhere!
I don’t remember nerves being an issue as a child but in the weeks leading up to the competition the Championships was all I could think about. A Lycra dress is the
Celebrating after being awarded with my 3 gold and one silver medals
BEST deterrent against excessive pizza and wine consumption. I prepared the make-up kit, did some dressed rehearsals and trained with my competition hair style in place. By the time the Championships arrived in April I was ready and eager to get back on the ice.
The atmosphere of the Adult Championships was just lovely! Unlike when I was a teenager, the adult skating scene is so friendly and everyone very encouraging. Everyone gets the fact that we all have
‘real lives’ outside of the ice rink bubble. Someone always brings alcohol in a hip flask for some Dutch-courage and everyone gets how scary this is. I was lucky that my coach Vicky- ever the cool customer- was there
for me throughout the whole day. My ‘fan club’ consisted of my parents, little sister and school friend, and were ready to cheer me on and, more importantly, ensure I didn’t chicken out!
My first event was the Silver-standard pattern dance event. I did the American Waltz first and it went well but my legs felt
68 RADC BULLETIN 2017
Action shot of a spiral during the Freedance
SPORT