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A Celebration of Sport and Community!
PRESS RELEASE
ISSUED: 8TH April 2023
For Immediate Release
Inclusive Skating was thrilled to welcome the global skating community back to in-person events for the first time since COVID-19. Competitors from around the world delighted the judges and audiences with exuberant performances, passionate choreography and fantastic skill.
These world championships broke our record for the most international entries, with skaters entering from all corners of the globe, including Australia, Jamaica, Latvia, and Sweden!
Catherine Quach proudly shows her championship medals with her mother and coach Jean. We were thrilled to welcome them, as they travelled all the way from Australia !
Many skaters posted personal best scores for their programmes with some breaking Inclusive Skating records. We are so excited for all of the skaters who participated, and especially those who have joined or moved up in the World Rankings.
Skaters competed for medals across all disciplines and levels.
This edition of our World Championships also served as the qualifying event for the Special Olympics GB National Winter Games. We wish the selected skaters the best of luck in their preparations for this special opportunity.
Some of our judges deliberating their scores to ensure accuracy.
During the event, further training was conducted with new judges officiating for the first time at an in-person event, and some trainee coaches becoming the amongst the first to complete and pass our SQA approved coaching courses. The hard work of our officials is especially noted during these championships as we honour the life of Walter Stuart. Walter’s contributions to our community live on through the mentoring and training he provided as a valued official, volunteer and friend. The officials from this event aimed to celebrate his legacy and to continue to uphold his standards of integrity, compassion and knowledge of skating. Walter is dearly missed and we thank his family for attending the event in his stead.
This event honours the life and legacy of Walter Stuart, a dear friend of Inclusive Skating.
During these championships, Inclusive Skating also affirmed our commitment to the aims of the United Nations’ International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Our community is dedicated to promoting peace, unity, love and understanding through our shared love of sport. Tolerance, and embracing a diverse community with different backgrounds and abilities is a fundamental component of fostering peace.
The Inclusive Skating community firmly supports the use of sport for the promotion of peace.
Inclusive Skating is immensely proud of all our competitors for their unique contributions to making skating more inclusive, more welcoming and more fun! Whether you are new to our community, or you’re a seasoned IS veteran, your unique contributions to our sport are celebrated and appreciated.
On behalf of the entire Inclusive Skating community: Thank you for your support!
Inclusive Skating would like to extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all the families, volunteers, officials, trustees, staff and coaches for their efforts to support our community. You are what make these championships so successful, and what makes these dreams possible to pursue and achieve.
Finally, Inclusive Skating would like to thank the management and staff of the Hamilton Ice Rink. Your support throughout the event, the immaculate condition and maintenance of the facility, and the warm environment you helped us to sustain are deeply appreciated.
To watch all the action from this exciting event please visit us on YouTube. Livestream footage is currently posted, and our professional video will be uploaded shortly.
To view the results from the event please visit the Resource Centre.
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Notes to editors
Contact
Margarita Sweeney-Baird Founder and Board Chair of Inclusive Skating
+44-(0)7813 993 237 margarita@inclusiveskating.org
Inclusive Skating is a world-recognised charity that provides events, activities, educational resources, training and championship events for skaters with additional needs. The goal of this global project is to create training and competition pathways for skaters with any form of disability. Our goal is to develop a programme that will include all skaters with an impairment and will allow them to participate in all competitions and events on an equal basis. www.inclusiveskating.org
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