Ashbourne Speedskating Club

Well....just over one week to go and the 2008 GB domestic season gets under way. 20th January is the Ashbourne indoor race meeting and the first of the new season. It's also the first race meeting under the guidance of the newly elected FISS committee.

With regards to Ashbourne, hats off to Ben and Liz Gaskin. Ben, a former Birmingham Wheels skater and international (2000 and 2004) set up his own club a couple of years ago and with his guidance and coaching has already produced some junior national champions. Now, for the second year in succession, they are holding their own race events. With Liz as Club Secretary they seem to have on a winning formula.

John Fry from the Bont Forum  12/1/08

ASHBOURNE News Telegraph June 2007

ASHBOURNE Inline Speed Skaters enjoyed more success when they competed on the rain-soaked track at Birmingham.
The event was the first outdoor meeting organised by the Ashbourne club. Skaters from all parts of England took part in a very competitive event.
George Cooper, 12, came top of his category, with Douglas Illingworth gaining third place in category seven. Another Ashbourne skater, Luke Campbell-Lyons was placed third in category six. Other team members skated well and many were only narrowly beaten in some exciting races.
More success came in the two popular events which took place towards the end of the meeting. The first was the 2000m 'Little Devil', a continuous knock-out race where the competitors are eliminated every 200m until the fastest four remain on the track and race it out to the finish. Helen Bannister's stamina and competitive spirit gained her the bronze medal.
The final event of the day was the ever-popular inter-category knockout, where skaters of all ages and abilities skate against each other using a simple handicap format. Zachary Tong and newcomer Sophie Pritchard skated exceptionally well in the early rounds only to face elimination from stiff adult competition in the quarter-finals.

Ben Gaskin, the club's coach said: "The day was a huge success despite the rain and it will serve as a useful starting-point for the build-up to the British Outdoor Championships to be held at the Birmingham track in September."
Ben added: "Over the summer holidays the club is hosting skating sessions at the Ashbourne Leisure Centre, on Tuesdays at 5pm for the next few weeks, as well as its usual Saturday morning session at 10am. Anyone is welcome to come along and take part."

The Ashbourne team in full were: George Cooper, Douglas Illingworth, James Thornhill (Category 7); Luke Campbell-Lyons, Edward Thornhill, Sophie Pritchard (Category 6); Jayne Thornhill, Helen Bannister (Category 5); George Stone and Zachary Tong (Category 4).

ASHBOURNE News Telegraph April 2007

ASHBOURNE Speed Skating Club went to the British Championships on Sunday and returned home with a British Champion and a silver medallist.

The national indoor competition was held in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
Zachary Tong, 9, won the under 10s 500m final convincingly and was awarded with the British Championship Trophy for the second year in a row. Abi Cooper skated with great confidence and won the silver medal in the Cadet Girls 1000m final. This was an improvement on last year's bronze and she was delighted with her achievement.
This was Ashbourne’s second appearance at the British Indoor Championship, but many club members got their first taste of national competition. The team included George Cooper, Edward Thornhill, Douglas Ingleworth in the Under 10s competition; Luke Campbell-Lyons in the Pupil Boys and Jamie McIlroy in the Cadet Boys competitions; and Helen Bannister taking part in the Senior Ladies events. Patrick Ingleworth took part in the unofficial ‘rat-races’.
Coach Ben Gaskin summed the day up as “a very successful day for the team, with some excellent individual performances”, and he is looking forward to the next outdoor fixture in Birmingham in early May.

ASHBOURNE News Telegraph August 2006 ASHBOURNE Speed Skating Club competed in their first British Outdoor Championship and returned triumphant with a haul of seven silver medals.

The two-day event took place on purpose-built tracks in North London and Birmingham.
Abi Cooper won four silver medals in the various category races she took part in, which ranged from short 200m sprints to gruelling 3000m endurance race.
Zachary Tong took part in the ‘mini-boys’ events for the 10s and under. He won silver in all the events he entered. He was on target for a gold in the 1000m but a fall on the last lap left him scrambling to regain the lead position and was pipped at the post.
George Cooper took part in this category and skated very well, gaining valuable experience at this level.
Away from the official competition the unofficial ‘rat races’ took place and Ashbourne Speed Skating club member Jacob Tong took gold on both days.
Speed Skating coach Ben Gaskin said: “I’m very pleased with the weekend’s performance, the skaters have done exceptionally well and are a credit to the club.”
Ben, a former British international speed-skater, is hoping to build on this year’s success by attracting new members. The club meets every Saturday morning at the Ashbourne Leisure Centre for training at 10am, followed by a two-hour fun-session at 12.30pm. He says: “Anyone is welcome and skates are available to borrow. So if you are interested come along and give it a try!”

 

East Midlands Awards for All - March 2006 awards.

Ashbourne Speed Skating Club received a Lottery Grant for £4950. The group has been setup to teach young people aged 8-18 years how to skate and encourage them to compete in races throughout the country at a local and national level.The award is for skates, helmets, skinsuits,hall hire, venue, transport and coaching/coach education.

ASHBOURNE News Telegraph March 2006

THE newly formed Ashbourne Speed Skating Club have returned from the British Championships with a British champion and several medals.

The national indoor competition was held in Spalding, Lincolnshire, where Ashbourne were represented in many of the events by young local speed skaters.
Zachary Tong, 8, from Ashbourne, won the under 10s 500m final and was awarded the British Championship Trophy. Zach has only been skating for 18 months and this was his first official race.
He beat two-times national champion Lewis Cox, 8, from the Midlands in a thrilling final. Following a poor start, Zach gained some ground in the first 75m, passing Lewis into the second turn. He maintained a good line throughout the race and steadily increased his lead, eventually winning by 50m, and delighting his team mates.
Ashbourne’s coach Ben Gaskin said: "Zach skated well and his success was a great boost to the team."
Later in the afternoon, brothers Cameron and Callum Godfrey clinched a closely fought bronze medal for the Junior Boys 2000m relay final. At one point during the race their medal hopes seemed dashed when younger brother Callum, 14, slipped as he accelerated out of the corner. He rolled over twice out of the path of the other skaters, then began to chase his opponents down.
Callum and his brother took it in turns to skate two laps of the 100m course, and only in the final lap on the home straight, managed to gain an advantage, taking a well-deserved medal by a wheel.
The girls also shared in the success and Abi Cooper skated in the fiercely fought Cadet Girls 1000m final, gaining a bronze medal. Later in the afternoon, she stepped up an age group and took part in the Ladies’ 3000m relay.
It was a long race where her stamina and technique were tested to the full and she gained valuable experience at this high level of competition.
Away from the main competition Ashbourne Speed Skating team entered the fun Rat Races, which allow competitors to hone their skills for the major championships. The team was successful with Ed Thornhill winning gold, Esme Tressider and George Cooper each gaining silver, and Jacob Tong winning a bronze in their respective age groups.
Ben summed the day up as “a very successful first outing for the team” and he is looking forward to the next outdoor fixture in North London at Easter.
He added: “The club is always looking for new members. We meet on Saturday morning at the Leisure Centre and we are about to start outdoor training on Thursday night at Darley Moor, thanks to the generous support of its owner."

by CAROL FROST

ASHBOURNE News Telegraph

IN-LINE skating has proved so popular at Ashbourne Leisure Centre that tutor Ben Gaskin has set up Ashbourne Speed Skating Club, and has already won a little financial support from Derbyshire Dales Council.

Ben, who works as a teaching assistant, ran an in-line skating course at the leisure centre last year and through his contacts was also able to encourage the Federation of Speed Skating to use the local facilities by holding a race there in November.
The sport has proved so popular locally that Ben, of Belper, agreed to start a club which now meets for training classes each Saturday morning between 10am and noon.
Ben, 32, has been speed skating since he was 16, his achievements having included winning the national championship and competing for Great Britain in Italy in 2000 and in Holland in 2004.
Although speed skating is an expensive sport, with a set of basic skates costing as much as £250 and a set of wheels £50, he has already enrolled more than a dozen members.
The subscription is £18 a year for eight to 18-year-olds and £20 a year for adults plus a £5 fee for each Saturday’s fun training sessions which include games and some racing. The fee helps to pay for the hire of the hall and allows a sum to go into the club account towards the cost of equipment and future trips abroad.
Speed skating has been in existence as a sport for many years and the recent arrival of in-line skates has increased the speed of participation by 25 per cent over the use of regular quad skates — two wheels at the back and two at the front.
Racing can be undertaken on both outdoor and indoor tracks and speeds of 90 kilometres an hour can be achieved. Marathons at top level are won in under an hour.
Members of the new club are said to have a good ability for their age and Ben is hoping that some of them will be competing when they visit the indoor British championships on March 19.
Recently Derbyshire Dales Council awarded the club a grant of £150 towards the cost of equipment and skates, but Ben would be pleased to hear from any individual, company or organisation prepared to offer sponsorship. He may be contacted on his mobile telephone number of: 07870 591161 and would also be pleased to hear from others interested in joining the club.