Herne Bay United youngsters excel with four titles at British Roller Skating Championships

Six months' hard work paid off for Herne Bay United’s Artistic Roller Skating squad at the British Roller Skating Championships.

The club's youngsters excelled with four titles and more promising displays at the Breydon Arena in Great Yarmouth.

The age categories were Tots (eight and nine-year-olds), Minis (10 and 11-year-olds) and Espoirs (12 and 13-year-olds). The championships were in two parts, with the first requiring the skaters to compete with two dances and the second being a routine with set elements designed to test their abilities throughout the levels.

Lewis Hackman was named Mini Men’s Solo Dance British champion and he partnered Lucia Fairbrass to be crowned Mini Couples Dance champions.

Caydn Harwin also had a successful time of it.

He was Espoir Men’s Solo Dance vice-champion and Espoir Couples Dance vice-champion alongside Suzanne Greenstreet.

Fairbrass came sixth in the Tots Solo Dance, there was a fourth-placed finish for Greenstreet in the Mini Ladies' Solo Dance and, in the Espoir Ladies' Solo Dance, Prarinna Harris and Willow Frith came 11th and 16th respectively.

The club’s head coach Kym Caira said: “The preparation, hard work and dedication that has gone into getting the skaters ready for their championships over the last six months has been worth every minute.

“The skaters have continued to strive to reach the highest standards and this wouldn’t have been possible without the support from their families.

“The coaching team (Kym Caira, Mike Caira and Melanie Harwin) are incredibly proud of their achievements. We would also like to thank Paul McCann and Silvina Fairbrass for their support off skates with the team.”

If anyone would like to get into roller skating, they can attend the club’s basic