New Zealand Ice Skating Association

The SIMG were held in Christchurch for the first time this year.   They have been held in Timaru since their inception in 2000.    Each year they will now alternate between Christchurch and Timaru. 

It was great that two ice sports namely figure skating and ice hockey were included in this years games thanks to Jeanne Begej (figure) and Muriel Wheatley (hockey) who approached the  of the SIMG  and then organised their respective events. 

Figure skating had 22 entries – and this is comparable if not better than the NZ Masters Games have previously attracted in the Dunedin event.     The eldest competitor was 69 year old Arnold Schmidt and the youngest 28yr old Kendra Wilkie who competed in the Professional grade. 

The NZISA sanctioned our Figure event and also gave permission to include a Professional Grade for the coaches. 

The event was held between 5 – 7.30pm on Thursday 16^th October and I guess we were surprised at the number of spectators that came to watch and support the competitors in the event .   It certainly was an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of  our sport and the crowd really got into the act of supporting the competitors.   Some fine displays of freeskating and dancing were put on.    The coaches also provided some added  entertainment..

Many of those who participated  were skaters who had never competed before and only came along to the coffee club on Tuesdays and Thursdays – its just amazing how much enthusiasm they have had leading up to the SIMG.   Huge thanks to Kim Lewis who has worked tirelessly with this group so they could compete.   The Coffee Club Synchro team also put on a display at the conclusion of the champs. 

Already other “masters” skaters have indicated that they want to compete next time – so its all looking good for the future.

Results: