Kirkcaldy Figure Skating Club: 300 youngsters at Fife Ice Arena for major show

Young female and male skaters aged between six and 22 will compete in a range of classes from Beginner to National 7, with Kirkcaldy head coach Jackie Coubrough excited at the prospect of hosting the Skate Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy event for a second straight year after the success of the 2022 competition.

She told the Fife Free Press: “We ran it last year for the first time and it was very successful so we decided to do it again.

"And we’ve just been inundated with entries to the point where we’ve got waiting lists for most of the competitions.

"The Kirkcaldy skaters did well at it last year – they had several podium places – and we expect them to do well again this year. Fingers crossed they get a lot of medals.

"Our skaters show great dedication, hard work and determination. Most of all they just love it.

"There’s a lot of different goals they’ve got. They can attain scores that allow them to skate at British qualifiers, they can move up the standards from their competitive scores.

"A lot of work and a lot of organising has gone into this, with international officials flying in to judge.

"We didn’t have quite as many competitors last year because people weren’t as aware that it was happening but this year the online entry form had to be shut down after an hour and a half such was the high level of interest.”

Running from 9am on the Monday and from 8am on both the Tuesday and Wednesday, entry is free for spectators on all three days to see a series of categories which will each run until late afternoon.

The youngest junior competitors will perform 90-second routines, with the oldest skaters on the ice for up to four minutes.

"The youngest beginner groups usually prove among the most popular skaters with spectators because they are just so cute,” Coubrough said.

A total of 24 of the skaters will be from the local Kirkcaldy club. They are coached by Coubrough, plus Katie Powell and Moira Robertson.