Livi lass crowned Ladies champ at British Ice Dance championships

Jul 15 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Gemma Findlay

GEMMA FINDLAY kept her cool last week to become the British Solo Ice Dance Senior Ladies Champion.

The Livingston teenager beat off competition from girls from all over the UK to take the top prize at the prestigious event in Sheffield despite being the youngest competitor.

Findlay performed three separate dances which earned her a judges scorecard of 77.67, which was 10 points clear of her second-placed rival.

But the 19-year-old West Lothian skater won’t be basking in her success for long as she revealed to the Courier she is desperate to find a male ice dance partner which would enable her to take her sport to the next level.

“I’ve done as much as I can in solo ice dancing, so now I need to get a partner to go on and compete internationally. But finding one is much harder than it sounds as so very few men in this country ice dance,” revealed Gemma.

“It is a minority sport here and because of this I have had to look abroad.

“I’ve had some emails from guys from various countries around the world offering to be my partner.

“At the moment, I’m trying to get some meetings arranged and there is a Ukranian guy who is hoping to try and come over to try out and see if it works.

“The main problem is money. Ice dancing is a really expensive sport and even more so when you add another person into that.

“I’m training in Sheffield because Scotland don’t really have the facilities and it costs so much money.”

Gemma headed for the British Solo Ice Dance Championships in confident mood.

After all she had been third in 2009 and she confesses she believed she had a great chance of the top prize as soon as she came off the ice following her triple dance performance.

She said: “I was up against girls from all over the UK, so it was tough competition.

“I was third in the same event last year, so I had hoped to better it and I ended up winning comfortably.

“I did three sections. The first is a compulsory section which is a waltz, the second was a flamenco and then I skated to the theme from Alice in Wonderland for the free dance.

“I felt I had done well after my performance but there was one girl left to skate after me and that was probably the longest wait of my life.

“When the names were announced, I just though ‘Oh my God, I’ve done it.’ It was a great feeling.”

Her national success is a fitting reward for someone who has made tremendous sacrifices to chase her dream.

She moved to Sheffield 14-months ago to make use of better facilities where now she fits a part-time job around a gruelling training regime.

But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I work part-time in a gym which I have to work all my training around which is really tiring, but I have to do it,” explained Gemma.

“I love skating and it is something I started when I was three and I was completely hooked.

“I was actually a free skater until I was about 15 and I used to do jumps and stuff but I suffered a really bad injury in my foot.

“I thought about the best thing to do whether I should give up or not.

“I wanted to progress so I moved to Sheffield about 14-months ago on my own and obviously it has worked.”

Now Gemma’s ice dance partner hunt is moving into full swing as she bids to follow in the blades of fellow Livi ice dancers and Olympians John and Sinead Kerr, who Gemma reveals she has known her entire life.

She added: “I’ve known the Kerr’s since I was a little girl. They’ve always been in my life and they are a real inspiration to me.

“Hopefully, I can get a partner and try to achieve what they have.”