Streatham ice skating youngsters head to Canada to represent Great Britain at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships
South London ice skating hopefuls Ashlie Slatter [13] and Atl Ongay-Perez [15] flew off to Alberta, Canada, yesterday [Sunday[ to prepare for the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Calgary.
The annual competition, which runs from February 27 to March 5, showcases the best young skaters from around the world.
Skating this upcoming Friday and Saturday, the duo will represent Great Britain in the junior rhythm dance section and hope to qualify for the free dance competition too.
Slatter from Croydon and Ongay-Perez from Streatham are hoping for success in Calgary, which could help them on their way to the Youth Olympics in South Korea next year.
The young pair have been skating together for six years and train at Streatham ice rink in south London. They are coached by the Towler-Green family, Pippa and Candi and their mother, Diane, who won gold in the Olympics for ice dance at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. The coaching team also includes Roland Hailston and Mathieu Geffre Gardiner.
Excitement is building in the Slatter/ Ongay- Perez camp ahead of the competition. The couple have already successfully competed in Italy and Riga ice dance tournaments in the last year.
Slatter and Ongay-Perez said: “To have got to Junior World Championships is a dream come true for us. We are so excited to represent Great Britain in Calgary next weekend. We’ve been training hard with our coaches and hope it pays off. We are proud south Londoners and hope everyone at home will be cheering us on.”
Coach Pippa Towler-Green said: “We are all so proud of them and their work and dedication! Whatever happens in Calgary, they have come such a long way in their first year as Juniors. They are now officially on the world stage.”
You can watch the World Junior Figure Skating Championships on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@
Help support Slatter and Ongay-Perez on their skating Journey – https://www.gofundme.com/f/
Trying to get hold of Roland Hailston
His brother is trying to make contact after losing contact years ago is there anyway you could pass his details on