Moray Figure Skating Club star Dan Crowley from Miltonduff glides to silver at British Ice Skating Young Stars event in Sheffield, the first competition in 16 months due to Covid-19 pandemic
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MORAY Leisure Centre's ice rink may be closed until next month, but local figure skaters have still shone on the national stage.
For 12-year-old Moray Figure Skating Club youngster Dan Crowley returned to action in the British Ice Skating Young Stars competition in Sheffield and did his club proud.
It was the first competition in 16 months since the pandemic shut the sport down but the Miltonduff skater showed no signs of rustiness on the rink.
Competing in the level 1 men's event, Crowley skated to second place with the highest technical score in his category.
He produced a clean skate with no falls and also achieving the scores required to move up to the next competitive level.
His home rink in Elgin has been closed since March 2020 but will finally return to action in September.
Moray Figure Skating Club members have been taking part in Zoom off-ice training sessions and special "off-ice" designed skates, with wheels instead of blades, with their coaches, Sue Summers-Farrell and Graeme Summers.
They were able to train just once a week, after seven months off the ice, when Inverness Ice Centre extended an invitation to train there between October and the second lockdown at Christmas.
The Moray club skaters have endured a further five months away from the ice since then, only resuming for one hour's training every other week when Aberdeen Linx club were able to offer some limited on-ice space from mid May.
Crowley's coaches arranged for him to be coached at the event in Sheffield by the current British men's figure skating champion Peter James Hallam.
