Figure skating & short track British Championships cancelled as ice rinks stay shut

Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson finished fifth in the ice dance at the 2020 European Figure Skating Championships

British Ice Skating has taken the "extremely hard" decision to cancel this winter's figure skating and short track speed skating British Championships because of the continued closure of ice rinks across the UK.

Ice rinks are not yet permitted to open after the coronavirus lockdown.

Two ice rinks - one in England and one in Scotland - have been opened solely to allow elite athletes to train.

But as they are unfunded, athletes must foot their travel costs to the venues.

The cancellation of the British Championships comes in the qualifying season for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

"It was an extremely hard decision," Michelle Draper, chief executive of British Ice Skating, told BBC Sport.

"We don't know when rinks are going to open, we don't know who is going to be able to train, are the majority going to be able to compete? Is it financially viable for rinks to open with social distancing? A number of rinks are saying it isn't.

"It's only a very small percentage of our athletes who can get on the ice at the moment, and the athletes below them that we want to get back training and help them achieve their goals in the sport, we can't facilitate."

The British Figure Skating Championships were due to take place in November and December 2020, while the British Short Track Championships were scheduled for January 2021.

British ice skater Mark Hanretty, who competed at the European and World Championships before being selected as a professional skater on Dancing on Ice, previously told the BBC the UK was at risk of falling behind other countries at an elite level because of ice rinks' ongoing closure.

Ice rinks, alongside casinos and bowling alleys, were due to open on 1 August but the government postponed their re-opening due to a rise in cases.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said at the time the government was hoping for a postponement of a fortnight.

However, 11 days on, Draper says they have not yet been told of a potential re-opening date despite frequent contact with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

"I think frustration and concern encompass everything that is going on at the minute, and a fear for the ice sports sector as a whole," she said.

"We've got rinks who are spending money because they thought we could open on the 1st and are now having to maintain the ice, which costs thousands and thousands of pounds a week and they are getting no income.

"Nobody can tell us why we can't open and there is no justification.

"If pubs can open, why can't the ice sports sector? We have guidance to make sure we are Covid-secure, but also, it supports the physical and mental wellbeing of the nation."