Four talented skaters won gold and silver awards at the 2024 British Solo Ice Dance Championships in Sheffield.

Anna-Maria Kislitsyn, 19 and sister Amelia, 13 along with Elsie Blake Hughes, 11 and Ruby Morris, nine, are coached by Alexei Kislitsyn and Natalia Pestova at Planet Ice in Blackburn.

The rink’s head coaches, Alexei and Natalia, are award-winning international ice dancers who made Lancashire their home some 30 years ago.

They are also the parents of Anna-Maria and Amelia who both hail from Lytham but train regularly in Blackburn.

Amelia was crowned British Solo Ice Dance Champion 2024 in intermediate novice category. 

While Anna-Maria, who also studies at Lancaster University, took home a silver medal in the Juniors (U21) section.

Elsie Blake-Hughes, a pupil at Westholme Junior School in Blackburn, won first place in Juvenile Category. 

Ruby Morris, of Rossendale, is a pupil at Northern Primary School in Weir and took second place in the Beginner category.

Elsie attends Westholme School  (Image: Nq/Wonder Ice)

Ruby took second place in the Beginner category (Image: Nq/Wonder Ice)

Alexei said: “The girls showed real passion and technical skill. 

“Natalia and I were both blown away by the girl’s competition scores."

All those countless hours of practice have clearly paid off, as Natalia explained: “The girls skate six days a week in peak season, so it’s a huge commitment. 

“Even now the season has finished, there’s no downtime. We must start preparing for the next, which begins in August followed by ISU International competition in Blackburn this October, Sweden and Poland in January, USA in March and finally the British Championships in April 2025. 

“The girls will also compete in multiple British Championship qualifiers throughout this season.”

Coaches Alexei and Natalia have travelled the world competing and performing in shows from Hong Kong to the Caribbean, including the legendary ice shows at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.