Three talented skaters from Lancashire took first, second and fifth place in the 2023 British Solo Ice Dancing Championships.

Anna-Maria Kislitsyn, 18, and sister Amelia, 12, from Lytham, along with Elsie Blake Hughes, 10, of Leyland, are all 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.

The competition took place in Sheffield from July 10 to 12.

Lytham High pupil Amelia came first in the Basic Novice Girls category whilst Anna-Maria, who attends Cardinal Newman College in Preston, managed fifth place in the Junior Women section, despite suffering a debilitating groin injury.

Elsie Blake Hughes, a pupil at Westholme Junior School in Blackburn, took second place in the Young Stars Beginner category. Elsie has only been skating for two years.

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

"Natalia and I were blown away by Amelia and Elsie’s scores, and Anna-Maria performed incredibly well to finish in the top five despite being in severe pain.”

Natalia explained how the countless hours of practice paid off.

She said: “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 have to start preparing for the next, which begins in January 2024 in Sweden, followed by Finland in February and Blackburn in March — the latter is also a British Championship 2024 qualifier.

“Remember these names. We think you’ll be hearing much more of them in the future.”