Post by florida on Jan 11, 2009 14:17:42 GMT 1
To start us off, here's an article from the Herald on the 10th January. It's mainly about Henretty/Chitwood but S&J are in there too: www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines/display.var.2480586.0.Transatlantic_duo_have_ice_world_at_their_feet.php
Transatlantic duo have ice world at their feet
NEIL DRYSDALE
January 10 2009
For most of the past decade, Sinead and John Kerr have carried a lone flag on behalf of British ice skating at international level, the Livingston-based couple transcending all manner of obstacles to climb into the world's elite.
Given their story, one might imagine that the sport's administrators would offer a heightened level of financial backing to those youngsters following in their slipstream, but sadly, on the evidence of the problems being faced by Glasgow's Mark Hanretty, 23, and his ice-dance partner, Christina Chitford, 18, from Colorado, it seems the UK is persisting in its axel folly.
This transatlantic duo have recently performed minor miracles on a shoestring budget and will participate in the British Championships in Nottingham on Monday, safe in the knowledge that they have already booked their passage to the European Championships in Helsinki the following week, accompanying the Kerrs for the first time in a major event.
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And, even the most myopic outsider can surely recognise the wider appeal of Hanretty and Chitford, who have only been together since 2006, but have forged a dynamic symbiosis which promises to reap rich dividends in the next five years.
Mark, for instance, is an orchestral concert artist, who gained straight As in his exams at Paisley's Trinity High School, has snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef and excelled in junior skating on his own terms, prior to supplementing his income as a skating coach, often working 20 hours a day to keep the wolves from the door.
Christina, meanwhile, is a former national ski champion, who trained in karate and won a gold medal in the latter at the junior Olympics in 2005.
She is also as far removed from the prissy, silver-skate-in-the-mouth image of the old-fashioned rink brigade as it would be possible to imagine, having trained in jazz, modern dance and hip-hop, and she is a lifelong vegetarian with aspirations to becoming a vegan in the future.
In short, these are two genuine personalities who have quickly developed a cult following in their careers.
But how much easier their circumstances would be if they weren't pursuing their sporting dreams on a part-time basis.
"I was hooked on skating from the moment I saw the reunion of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1994 and although it can get pretty tiring waking up at six in the morning and fitting in practice sessions with teaching, we have been helped a lot by the Kerrs and they are an inspiration to us, in the way they have refused to let anything stand in their path," says Hanretty, who, in tandem with Chitford, recorded third place at last year's UK competition and is looking to improve on that result in the days ahead.
"It is a great struggle for Chrissy and I to finance our training. The costs of competing at an international level in ice dance are staggering. Costumes alone top £1500-plus every year, tuition fees can be £50 an hour, and we have to fund all our travel to international competitions and accommodation for us and our coach.
"As a result, I have to work daily, teaching children and adults to skate. But, leading up to Nottingham, I have taken time off work and it is such a luxury. So it would be an enormous help to us if we could receive some government funding to make our ambition of getting to the 2014 Winter Olympics a reality.
"Christina is studying a performing arts degree at Sheffield's Hallam University, and this provides her with the visa to stay in Britain as there is no avenue for an athlete to gain residence at the moment. This is frustrating for us when Chrissy's family have to finance very expensive international student fees amounting to around £10,000 a year on top of everything else."
And yet, oblivious to this litany of travails, the duo are widely considered to be the brightest prospects to participate in the Blighty cause since the arrival of the Kerrs.
Nor does Hanretty voice his concerns in search of cheap hand-outs. "Whatever happens, I love being on the ice and it will be a privilege to share a platform with some of the world's best at the Euros," he says. "Don't get me wrong, we haven't come this far so quickly to settle for second best. We want to be legends."
This observer once pointed out that the Kerrs would have enjoyed a smoother passage if they had been the Kerenskys. Let's trust history isn't poised to repeat itself.
Transatlantic duo have ice world at their feet
NEIL DRYSDALE
January 10 2009
For most of the past decade, Sinead and John Kerr have carried a lone flag on behalf of British ice skating at international level, the Livingston-based couple transcending all manner of obstacles to climb into the world's elite.
Given their story, one might imagine that the sport's administrators would offer a heightened level of financial backing to those youngsters following in their slipstream, but sadly, on the evidence of the problems being faced by Glasgow's Mark Hanretty, 23, and his ice-dance partner, Christina Chitford, 18, from Colorado, it seems the UK is persisting in its axel folly.
This transatlantic duo have recently performed minor miracles on a shoestring budget and will participate in the British Championships in Nottingham on Monday, safe in the knowledge that they have already booked their passage to the European Championships in Helsinki the following week, accompanying the Kerrs for the first time in a major event.
advertisement
And, even the most myopic outsider can surely recognise the wider appeal of Hanretty and Chitford, who have only been together since 2006, but have forged a dynamic symbiosis which promises to reap rich dividends in the next five years.
Mark, for instance, is an orchestral concert artist, who gained straight As in his exams at Paisley's Trinity High School, has snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef and excelled in junior skating on his own terms, prior to supplementing his income as a skating coach, often working 20 hours a day to keep the wolves from the door.
Christina, meanwhile, is a former national ski champion, who trained in karate and won a gold medal in the latter at the junior Olympics in 2005.
She is also as far removed from the prissy, silver-skate-in-the-mouth image of the old-fashioned rink brigade as it would be possible to imagine, having trained in jazz, modern dance and hip-hop, and she is a lifelong vegetarian with aspirations to becoming a vegan in the future.
In short, these are two genuine personalities who have quickly developed a cult following in their careers.
But how much easier their circumstances would be if they weren't pursuing their sporting dreams on a part-time basis.
"I was hooked on skating from the moment I saw the reunion of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1994 and although it can get pretty tiring waking up at six in the morning and fitting in practice sessions with teaching, we have been helped a lot by the Kerrs and they are an inspiration to us, in the way they have refused to let anything stand in their path," says Hanretty, who, in tandem with Chitford, recorded third place at last year's UK competition and is looking to improve on that result in the days ahead.
"It is a great struggle for Chrissy and I to finance our training. The costs of competing at an international level in ice dance are staggering. Costumes alone top £1500-plus every year, tuition fees can be £50 an hour, and we have to fund all our travel to international competitions and accommodation for us and our coach.
"As a result, I have to work daily, teaching children and adults to skate. But, leading up to Nottingham, I have taken time off work and it is such a luxury. So it would be an enormous help to us if we could receive some government funding to make our ambition of getting to the 2014 Winter Olympics a reality.
"Christina is studying a performing arts degree at Sheffield's Hallam University, and this provides her with the visa to stay in Britain as there is no avenue for an athlete to gain residence at the moment. This is frustrating for us when Chrissy's family have to finance very expensive international student fees amounting to around £10,000 a year on top of everything else."
And yet, oblivious to this litany of travails, the duo are widely considered to be the brightest prospects to participate in the Blighty cause since the arrival of the Kerrs.
Nor does Hanretty voice his concerns in search of cheap hand-outs. "Whatever happens, I love being on the ice and it will be a privilege to share a platform with some of the world's best at the Euros," he says. "Don't get me wrong, we haven't come this far so quickly to settle for second best. We want to be legends."
This observer once pointed out that the Kerrs would have enjoyed a smoother passage if they had been the Kerenskys. Let's trust history isn't poised to repeat itself.