Sponsorship, logos, gift bags, trophies, travel, accommodation, advertising, catering … Alexei Kislitsyn’s list of things to organise and coordinate has been getting longer and longer in recent months ahead of the UK’s first International Solo Ice Dance Competition. And that’s all alongside training some of England’s top competitors.
‘It’s important that this event being held in Blackburn represents our impeccable standards’ says Alexei of the official ISU (International Skating Union) contest which runs from October 2-4.
‘Several countries signed up immediately when we announced the event and more continued to confirm, so we’ll be welcoming competitors from Finland, France, Spain, Slovakia, the United States, South Africa, Ukraine and Holland to name just a few. We’ll also be joined by some of the world’s most experienced and respected judges.
‘Natalia and I have been performing since we were seven and six and have been in our fair share of competitions. We want this international event to reflect the high calibre of performers you’ll see on the ice. Everything is being organised with precision and finesse, as it will reflect on our reputation, and because these young competitors deserve a top class experience.’
Ukrainian and Russian-born Alexei and his wife Natalia Pestova are head coaches at Blackburn’s ice rink and are themselves award-winning ice dancers who have performed around the world, from Hong Kong to the Caribbean and beyond. Based in the UK since 1994, they have an impressive list of medals, trophies and accolades that include being part of the Royal Variety Performance in 2007 and appearing on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
The pair, who live in Lytham, have been using Planet Ice, Blackburn’s Olympic-sized ice rink, for almost 30 years, and now focus on coaching young people there - including their two daughters Anna-Maria (19) and Amelia (13), Leyland’s Elsie Blake Hughes (11) and Ruby Morris (9) from Rossendale along with other skaters. ‘We’re incredibly proud of all the girls’ says Natalia. ‘They put in countless hours of practice and it shows. It’s a big commitment – they skate six days a week in peak season. It takes a lot of discipline to be at school all day and also put in so much on the ice.
‘When we were young and training in the Soviet Union, we were expected to spend hours on the ice every day as well as doing ballet classes, but we would also miss school quite often. These girls have to keep up their academic grades as well as focusing on the sport they love.’
The four girls under Alexei and Natalia’s tutelage took two gold and two silver medals in the 2024 British Solo Ice Dance Championships in July. Amelia was crowned champion in the Intermediate Novice category while Anna-Maria became a silver medallist in the Junior’s (U21) section. Elsie took first place in the Juvenile category despite only taking up skating for the first time just two years previously, and Ruby claimed second in the Beginners.
‘Only the top five competitors in each ranking across the country are eligible to take part in the international event in October’ Alexei explains, ‘and this includes three of our girls.
‘They all deserve recognition though, they work incredibly hard.’
‘Anna-Maria, in particular, has amazed us over the last year’ Natalia says, ‘she suffered a hip injury last summer so she could only resume training in January – and then she was in a car accident in February which left her with extreme pain. …And she still managed to bring home a silver medal at the British Championships! On top of that, she’s also studying Law at Lancaster University, keeping up with all her studies and doing a bit of coaching too for the younger ones.
‘Solo ice dancing is a very specialist sport - arguably even harder than couples ice dancing because there isn’t a partner out there with you for support. There’s nobody to hold you up if you start to fall.’
The International Solo Ice Dance event is open to the public to watch at Planet Ice October 2-4 and Alexei and Natalia are hoping to set up a live stream so the international competitors’ friends and family can watch from home too.
The pair are excited to welcome the world to Blackburn and showcase an exceptional standard of ice dance. So excited, in fact, that next year’s event has already been confirmed too.
Planet Ice, Blackburn
October 2-4
