ALL FOUR of the Isle of Wight's synchronised ice skating teams enjoyed a day camp with GB ice skater Mark Hanretty.

The skating star represented Great Britain at the World and European ice dance championships and is one of the professional skaters on ITV's Dancing on Ice.

On Sunday, October 7, the elementary, juvenile, novice and senior teams met up with Mark in Basingstoke.

He ran separate intensive off-ice sessions with each team, concentrating on the girls' posture and poise, adding to and enhancing their new season's routines with his distinctive flare and eye for detail.

The teams followed the off-ice sessions with practice at the rink where they continued to hone their performance skills under the watchful eyes of Mark and head coach Terri Smith.

Terri said: "All our skaters were given some excellent advice and motivational energy from Mark. These very long days are exhausting but worth the effort.

"All our teams are unfortunately lacking the ice time they need to improve and for their routines to reach full potential.

"This brought all the teams together and we saw massive improvement from enthusiastic skaters. We now have extra things to work on to polish our routines."

Jess Curtis, captain of Wight Sparkles, who also skates with Wight Crystals, said: "Having a day with Mark has inspired me to work hard to be the best skater I can possibly be. It was hard work but great and I had the best day."

The first competition of the season is the winter cup in Belgium in November, where Wight Jewels and Wight Crystals, the senior and novice teams, will compete.

The Island's figure skaters and synchronised skaters are managing to keep skating two years after Ryde Arena closed.

The IW Ice Dance and Figure Skating Club is committed to giving its young skaters the best possible opportunities to train and compete in the sport they love.

It is looking for sponsors to assist with training costs. To help, email Ruth Curtis and Nichola Roe on iwidfsc@outlook.com.