Swindon were well-represented in the British Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, with many participants and winners.

10 skaters from the Wiltshire town took part, with six of the skaters crowned as winners in their respective categories.

Kristen Spours was the Senior Women British champion, Leni Watson found success as the Basic Novice British champion, Zarah Wood and Alex Lapsky were the Junior Pairs champion and Jack Hammond and Annabel Mann took the crown as Advanced Novice Ice Dance champions.

Kiah and Jamie Hammond came 3rd place in the Junior Ice Dance whilst Zinia Wood and Lowri Best also competed.

The Advertiser caught up with coach and two-time national champion Christopher Boyadji on their triumph.

He said: "I think Swindon is the rink that had the most medals at the British Championships.

"It really means a lot because we work hard, our coaching team of three [Boyadji, Zoe and Lloyd Jones] really work as much as we can to make success happen.

"The skaters are also very committed and trained very hard so it was a good reward for everyone to have put so much effort in and to be able to deliver on the day."

(Image: Christopher Boyadji)

With the individuals that came first, a place in more reputable competitions await them as they will have the opportunities to perform on bigger stages.

Spours has a major opportunity following her recent success in the British Championships, as he can qualify for a major event this year.

"We have four British champions. The biggest one is Kristen Spours, the Senior Women champion.

"She's selected now for the European Championships at the end of January, she officially received a letter with an invitation for that competition.

"She should also qualify for the World Championships this year, which is very important as this year we can get an Olympic spot.

"It was one of her goals for Kristen to win in Britain and then try and get the spot in the Olympics."

Wood and Lapsky, the Junior Pairs champions could have the chance to perform at the Junior World Championships as it's likely they'll be invited following the success.

Jack Hammond and Mann will most likely not be rewarded with a chance to impress in a higher level competition due to their age limit, but it's still a good foundation to build on.

Watson will hopefully have the chance to travel to an international competition with her success, which is a big achievement having only joined the Swindon Ice Figure Club in September.

With younger skaters on the horizon, the success will only bring positives and Boyadji is happy that Swindon has got the recognition it deserves.

"It shows that Swindon is on the map and can train the best skaters of England.

"Many judges and people from the federation got in contact and told me, 'Oh wow, you really had a great week didn't you?'

"Hopefully it will inspire some young kids to start."