Four Ayrshire Flyers Master skaters travelled to Sheffield at the weekend for the first of its kind masters only event. Benny, Brian, Stewart and Paul took part in the event with 19 other skaters form all over the UK.

This was a packed weekend with a hard training session on the Saturday night in the pub with a pool competition which Brian Logan won.

On the Sunday, the event was full of a whole range of races, with a difference. There were 444m, 555m, 666m, 777m, distances which were competitive at all levels. There was also team pursuit races and relays.

The best race was left till last Scotland vs. England Relay - this got the crowd going with loud cheers. Scotland took the lead with 2 laps to go and managed to hold their position right to the Finish line. Well Done Scotland's Masters Team: Stewart Logan, Brian Reid, Alan Dobbie and Keith Wright.

This event was never about trophies however there was one trophy THE SKATERS/ SKATER TROPHY. The winner of this trophy was voted for by the skaters for not necessarily winning but for trying hard and never giving up.

This trophy was won by our very own Paul McKeen. Well Done !!

This event was one of the best I have been to in the past few years. With two days of great racing especially in the junior F/E Category which had a huge entry. Shannon (Ayrshire Flyers)and Claire (Dundee) both had podium places with our Shannon getting third. Frazer (Ayrshire Flyers) got a respectable 14th in a very busy category and came home with 2 PB`s.

The local club made us very welcome and a huge thanks must go to them and Micheal the sectary who personally went out his way to make our stay one we would remember. The club paid our expenses which was a great help and I must thank them again.

Not only was it a great weekend of racing but with the return flight not till the Wednesday, we had a great couple of days as tourists. This included a training session with the Milan and Agora clubs in Milan. We also had an afternoon on long track in Trento which was excellent, not to mention the swimming and a go at the golf driving range which was interesting to say the least.

It is early days but I would certainly pencil this event in for next year.

Full Results Available Here

The annual active schools Ice Experience took place at the Magnum Leisure Centre on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th February. This event has been running for several years now and provides an opportunity for all young people attending any of North Ayrshire’s Additional Support Needs Schools a chance to experience a range of ice based sports and activities.

With a change from the normal venue of Harvies ice rink, while renovations take place, the Magnum, hosted the event. Young people had the chance to experience ice skating, curling, ice hockey shooting and a fun sledging activity.

This year the event attracted 65 volunteers from many different local clubs including Ardrossan, Auchenmades and Kilwinning curling clubs, Auchenharvie figure skating, Ayrshire flyers speed skating and the Magnum ice hockey club. We also had the help of sports coaching students from Kilmarnock College.

Without the continued support of all of these volunteers, this most popular event would not be possible.

A huge THANK YOU from North Ayrshire Active Schools team to all who helped.

Gail Crawford is organising a bowling night out on Friday 7th May at the Garage, Kilmarnock.

If you would like to take part in this please let Gail know as soon as possible so that she can finalise the numbers.

Well done - and thanks - to Sandra and Frazer who have supported the club by selling football cards to raise funds for the club. Sandra has more cards to hand out, so if you have not yet been approached please ask Sandra for a card.

If, like me, you have a card and have got stuck, please keep trying and you too could get your name up in lights on the site ..

The Scottish Ladies championship was held at the Magnum on 31st January. It is an indication of the breadth of talent amongst the Scottish ladies that this year saw the fifth different winner in 5 years. Well done to Shelley.

The men had some short, sharp and fast races, with the Walkers Sprint competition. A new format was tried this year with the focus on times in the early rounds. The final race in the competition was a closely fought sprint, with Scott managing to hold on to his lead.

Eight Ayrshire Flyers braved the elements and headed down to Nottingham for the last competition of the year. The JBO attracted skaters from all British clubs, and from many international clubs, including France, Germany, Belgium, Austria and even Australia.

Fiona and Megan competed in the Girls Junior E competition, one of the largest categories. They both had an excellent competition with Fiona coming 7th overall and Megan taking 11th place in her first international competition.

Roy skated in the Boys Junior C event. A collision early in the first race left him with a sore arm, but he carried on, skating well to take 8th place.

Alison, Rosslyn, Shannon and Shelley skated in a very competitive Girls Junior B event. All girls qualified for the 1500m super final, with only 5 points separating them. Alison took the lead early in the 1500m, and held her position for a very convincing win, closely followed by Rosslyn, earning both the girls a podium place. Alison came 2nd overall, with Rosslyn in 3rd place, Shannon in 5th and Shelley in 6th.

Euan was the Flyers only entry in the Boys Junior B. He was recovering from illness and had to withdraw after the first race. We hope you feel better soon, Euan.

Craig represented the Flyers in the Boys Junior A category. Another very close competition with 3 of the skaters on equal points at the start of the 1500m super final. Craig took the lead early on, was caught in the later stages of the race, giving him 3rd place overall.

Relays

Relays races were held at the end of the first day of the competition. These were fun events which included combined teams to ensure that as many skaters as possible could take part. While we say they were fun - the prize was chocolate, which makes it fairly serious.

Megan and Fiona took part in an international relay team, with Melanie Branter from Austria and Leo Demolinis from France (ASMV). The team worked well and they achieved 3rd place in a close race.

The Ayrshire Flyers B team was another combined team, consisting of Alison, Roy, Shelley and Claire from Dundee. Inspired by the chocolate on offer, this team excelled and pulled of a convincing win.

The Ayrshire Flyers A team was another combined team, with Craig, Shannon, Rosslyn and Mathias Voste from Belgium (BSC). Mathias was a great help to this team, but even with Mathias's help, this team could only manage 3rd place in a very strongly contested race.

This was an excellent event overall, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thanks are due to all the officials and helpers who gave up a chunk of their Christmas holidays to organise and run this event. I am sure the skaters would also like to thank the many parents who braved the weather on a long journey to and from Nottingham, luckily without incident.

Many thanks also to Stewart who coached all the skaters over the two days, his help and encouragement made a huge difference, and to Carol who spent a lot of time with Megan and Fiona, helping them prepare for their races and keeping them cool, calm and collected, and stepping in to help the other skaters and team leader when required - much appreciated!

The overall classification can be found here, with the majority of the racing results available on Shortrack Online.

Jnr Club Captain: Jennifer M.

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