British ice dance champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have launched a brand-new figure skating event at the very rink where they first started skating together as teenagers.
Torvill and Dean are best known for winning Olympic gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Games with their famous “Bolero” routine. They also won four world titles during their long partnership.
Their new event, called the Synchro9 World Championships, was launched this week at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena in England. Unlike traditional synchronised skating, which uses teams of 16 skaters, Synchro9 features smaller teams of nine skaters competing head-to-head in knockout rounds, a bit like a cup competition in football.
“For us, this is where it all started,” Dean said. “People that you will see here next year, you will see at the Olympics.”
Martyn Hindley, from the International Skating Union, said the new format could do for skating what rugby sevens did for rugby. British Ice Skating’s chief executive, Maggie Still, added that the goal was simple: “Our aim is to drive greater participation in sport… it’s a team sport, it’s fun.”
Synchro9 is set to feature at future Winter Olympic Games, giving young skaters a fresh new event to aim for.
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