BWRSC Coach and Chairman John Fry Senior has been nominated for the BBC Sports Unsung Hero award by our Junior Speed team - see the TV footage aired  on the BBC on Thursday 4th December on the Brumskate video site.

The video is also available on Bont TV.

The Birmingham Wheels Roller Speed Club AGM was held at  the Birmingham Civil Service Sports Association, Old Damson Lane, Solihull on Sunday 23rd November.

Congratulations to Alex Bradley on being awarded the George W.R. Lloyd trophy by the FISS committee, presented at the FISS AGM on November 16th 2008

 A bonfire, fireworks and food were enjoyed by BWRSC members at the Birmingham Civil Service Sports Association, Old  Damson Lane, Solihull on Friday the 7th of November. Thanks to Ray and Grace for organising this great event.

Photo by Brian Wood

The Birmingham Wheels Roller Speed Team did it again on September 20th/21st at the FISS Outdoor Championships 2008 held at the newly resurfaced Tatem Park in Enfield, London.   

Every one of the dedicated team, who train at least 3 times a week, skated to the best of their abilities, which manifested in 12 gold, 20**silver and 11 bronze medals and 3 new British Records by three different skaters for the Team.

Summary of results

Mini Girls (6-9 years); the small field was dominated by Danielle Smith from CadoMotus. All of the tiny skaters put in good performances, so well done to all of them.

Mini Boys (6-9 years) Jordan Robins from Birmingham Wheels RSC set a new British Record in the 200m time trial in a time of 26.145 seconds. Zachary Tong from Ashbourne SSC won the longer events, with Jordan gaining the Overall British Championship trophy after gaining second place in those races plus his recent win at the Mini Boys British Championship Marathon.

Pupil Girls (10-12 years); a hotly contested category again dominated by the partnership of Chloe Astle and Lydia Bunn from Cado Motus, who both set new British Records over the weekend. New skater Maryo Takezoe from the London Skaters Speed Team did exceptionally well to gain 3 bronze medals, with Louise Sullivan from South Woodham Ferrers RSC taking the bronze in the 2000m points race.

Pupil Boys (10-12 years); Joe Adam Hardy of Belotti Wisbech showed his sprinting prowess to take the 200mTime trial, but had to relinquish the rest of the races to Alex Bradley (BWRSC) who has dominated the age group races throughout the year, gaining the overall British Champion trophy and setting a new 3000m British Record of 5.57.760 minutes. Nathan East of ROK YMCA featured strongly in all the races, winning one silver and two bronze medals, with Jared Williams (BWRSC) showing his stamina gaining a bronze medal in the 3000m elimination race.

Cadet Girls (13-15 years) the Birmingham trio of Hannah Wilkes, Jennifer Wilkes and Rachel Knight broke the hold of Jessica Hoare from South Woodham over this age group, with Hannah winning the 5000m elimination race and Jennifer taking the Overall title by winning the 500m and the 3000m races.

Cadet Boys (13-15 years) one of the rare groups where every single race was won by one skater, Daniel Smith took the honours for South Woodham Ferrers RSC. Robert Whiting of SWF also had a good weekend taking two silver and one bronze medal. However in their first year in this age group Jordan Thomas of ERRSA took two silver medals in the shorter distances, Harry Hoare of SWF took 2 bronze medals and Max Rothwell from ROK YMCA took the bronze in the 5000m elimination race, which should make for an open field and some interesting racing next year when both Daniel and Robert move up to the Junior age group.

Senior Ladies; this group was won by Tanya Gibson from CadoMotus who has continued to improve her performance throughout this year, but Alice Dobell, Sharon Tongue and Pammie Murray-Hopkin all from Birmingham Wheels RSC showed good form and between them took the rest of the medals.

Senior Men; Vincent Henry (BWRSC) set a new British Record of 18.209 seconds in the 200m time trial, and won all the other distances apart from the 15000m taken by Sutton Atkins of CadoMotus, making him the Overall British Senior Mens Champion of 2008. Doon Huen (BWRSC) won a silver medal in the 200m time trial, and Chris Stafford (BWRSC) brought home both a silver ( 5000m elimination) and a bronze (500m) medal .

The Veteran Ladies race was won by Birmingham’s Pammie Murray- Hopkin from Sharon Tongue, both from BWRSC.

The Veteran Men’s race was won by Michael McInerney of Belotti Wisbech from Sutton Atkins of CadoMotus and Peter Carr of London Skaters Speed Team.

A special mention to Michel Roman who won his first official British Championship medal in the Junior Boys relay as his residency requirement was finally met this summer. After racing in two previous Outdoor Championships, and winning places for which he was not allowed to bring home Championship medals, this does beg the question of should the residency requirements for Mini/Pupil/Cadet skaters (who have no personal control over their circumstances) be as long as that for 16+ skaters. 

Full race results available on the FISS website .

** Counting each relay place as one medal only - 51 actual medals brought home in total

For more photographs of the event see the Photo Gallery  

Central Weather girl Charlie Neil and the Wednesday Speed crew!

Central Weather girl Charlie Neil came to do a weather report here at Birmingham Wheels on Wednesday 8th of October. Charlie met club members and interviewed our Championship Gold medallists. The brave lady even got her skates on and had a go on the track (which is some achievement for a first timer!) Big thanks to Charlie and the Central team - and remember, we have an open session on a Saturday morning if any of you fancy popping down!!

 The results are available now  on the LIM website.

Well done to everyone who competed, particularly all our juniors who skated their marathon distances for the first time - an achievement in itself.

Very well done to Birmingham's Jordan Robins (1st mini boys), Alex Bradley (1st Midi Boys), Josh Robins (2nd Midi Boys), Jennifer Wilkes(2nd Cadet Girls), Rachel Knight (3rd Cadet Girls), Alice Dobell (2nd Senior Ladies), Chris Stafford (3rd Senior Men), Pammie Murray- Hopkin (1st Veteran Ladies), Sharon Tongue (2nd Veteran Ladies) and Derrick Ritchie (3rd Veteran Men) CP

It has been reported that the new tarmac is now down at Tatem Park, Enfield, in plenty of time for this years Outdoor British Championships in September . Well done to the Friends of Tatem Park and everyone else who has helped to make this happen !

On the 15th of August a team of skaters from Birmingham Wheels RSC competed in the Zanvoorde 3 day skate meeting in Belgium. This was a very exciting event, particularly so for the Junior Speed Team for whom this will be their first skate meeting abroad - indeed for some  of them this was their first trip abroad ever!! Big thanks to John Senior, Ruth and Sharon and all the rest of the gang who helped to organise it all for us.

 Photos are up now in the Photo Gallery.  Videos of some of the racing and an interview with some of the team are available on http://www.skeelertv.be/

Photo by Chris Ife 

The CEC European Senior Speed Skating Championships and the Masters Championship Marathon will take place in Gera, Germany from the 20-27th of July. Good luck to all the skaters skating for GB which will include Vincent Henry, Simon Davis, James Ashby, Matt Price, Gavin Pollock, Hans Brown, Tanya Gibson, Chris Ampadou, Dan Ibbotson,  Pammi Murray-Hopkin and Derrick Ritchie.

Reports and results will be found here (English translation)

Everybody’s talking about Worlds, pro-teams and higher ranks competitions, but what about the single most important aspect of our sport, its younger BASE? A recent thread in Kathie Fry’s forum proved that there are still too many people with the wrong ideas regarding pre-teenager sport. See here for an article first published in Barry Publow's "Need for Speed" written by M.Breslin

It is now possible to subscribe to Skate Magazine Uk and join up with the British Roller Sports Federation (BRSF) at the same time. The BRSF represents all skating disciplines in the UK including Artistic Skating (FARS), Inline Puck Hockey (BiPHA), Roller Hockey (NRHA), Speed Skaters (FISS), Inline Skater Hockey (BiSHA), Freestyle (UKFSA), Recreational Skaters (NARS), Roller Derby UK and Skate Boarding.

Membership benefits include annual subscription to Skate Magazine UK (6 bi-monthly editions), BRSF Membership Card, Limited Edition BRSF T-Shirt, BRSF Membership discount   at BRSF Approved Skate Stores and Discounted entry to some BRSF events.  See here for further details

Cliff Stafford was born on 26th January 1922. By the time he had reached his 17th

birthday he had become a member of the National Skating Association of Great

Britain. His interest and dedication to the sport of roller speed skating would last

another 70 years.

It is fair to say that his competitive skating career was not considered "illustrious",

although he was part of the Leicester Roller Speed Club that won the 1939 Inter-Club

Relay Championship. In fact, it was his younger brother, Dennis, who shone in the

early days when the Stafford’s took to the rink and he was duly rewarded with an

international call-up in 1958. However, it was Cliff who always seized opportunities

and made the most of his organisational skills to make his mark on the skating world.

In 1948 his attentions were turned towards ice and subsequently he founded the

Nottingham Ice Speed Club as a result. The club has continued to flourish and in fact

this year celebrates it’s 60th birthday! A fitting tribute to Cliff and an achievement of

which I am sure he would be proud.

Despite his involvement with ice speed, Cliff continued to support roller speed, and in

fact was named captain for the Birmingham Roller Speed Club in the mid-1950’s.

By 1959 and at the age of 37, Cliff was looking to wind down his competitive career

and maybe take a well earned rest from the tenures of the speed skating world. But

the arrival of two New Zealand skaters to these shores put any thoughts of a break

firmly on hold. Mervyn Wybrott and Ian Hughes travelled half way around the world

to meet and train with the Birmingham Roller Speed Club, of which Cliff was still

captain. Being a relatively new nation to the international roller speed skating scene,

Cliff took these guys firmly under his wing. Over the next 3 years Cliff would

officially become recognised as the New Zealand national Team Manager. His

greatest accolade came when Wybrott won the gold medal for New Zealand in the

1960 World Championships in the 20,000 metres on the road in Wetteren, Belgium.

In doing so, Wybrott had become the first New Zealander to win a World

Championship gold.

When Wybrott and Hughes returned home Cliff found himself at a crossroads in his

skating career. He was still involved with the club but his involvement was becoming

less and less. Also, the travelling to training from his Leicester home was beginning

to become more than a little tiresome. By the early 1970’s Cliff’s interest had all but

vanished.

Then, in 1975, a new club was born! Mercia Roller Speed Club. Out of the ashes of

what was once the Midland Olympic Roller Speed Club, which had it’s base firmly

planted in the centre of Birmingham, came Mercia. The idea was to create a club that

had more of a "regional" feel rather than a local one. The idea took off immediately

and with Leicester skaters such as Len Law, Geoff Mattock and even Cliff’s brother

Dennis donning a Mercia jersey, it wasn’t long before Cliff, too, found himself unable

to resist the lure of competition once again. With regular training sessions also taking

place in Leicester’s Granby Halls this suited Cliff down to the ground. Cliff had also

been good friends with the landlords of nearby Mallory Park motor racing circuit and

sure enough he did some of his persuasive negotiating and that, too, became an ideal

regular venue for club training.

On 9th February 1975, aged 53, Cliff did his first race for the Mercia Roller Speed

Club. Over the next 7 years, Cliff continued to enter events for Mercia – his last for

the club being in the Northern & Midland Counties in 1982. In those 7 years Mercia

had firmly established itself as the most successful club in the country. With

international stars such as John E.Fry, John Mullane and Patrick Feetham to name but

a few, Mercia was the envy of the skating world – and at the helm as Club Chairman

and President, was none other than Cliff Stafford himself.

By the mid 1980’s Mercia had given way to a new club, Birmingham Wheels RSC.

Effectively, the members were still the same, but the club had changed names to

coincide with a new project being opened in the centre of Birmingham that was

dedicated to wheeled activities. Cliff continued to be Chairman of the club and in fact

donned his skates for them, one last time, on 8th May 1994 in the British Marathon

Championships held at Skegness. Aged now 72, Cliff secured second place in the

"over 60’s". A remarkable achievement for a remarkable man.

Shortly after, Cliff announced that he was stepping down as Chairman, feeling that

the sport had moved on considerably with the introduction of in-lines just a few years

earlier and that his role was now more of a figurehead rather than anything of

practical value to the club. Despite this he continued to support the Birmingham

Wheels club and it wasn’t often that a Wheels race meeting was held where Cliff was

not in attendance.

1994 was also another milestone for Cliff. It was the year that his son and only child,

Chris, became an international speed skater, representing Great Britain for the first

time at that year’s World Championships in Gujan-Mestras, France. Chris’s success

breathed new life into Cliff and his support of his son in achieving his goals was

reminiscent of that he had given two young New Zealanders nearly four decades

earlier. With his father’s support and knowledge passed down to him, Chris has

become one of the most successful roller speed skaters this country has ever seen,

with well over 20 national titles and an international career that has taken him to

every corner of the globe over the past 14 years!

In 2005, Cliff fell ill and soon after was diagnosed with cancer. Over the next three

years he continued to battle the disease, and battle he did. Despite his illness Cliff

continued to come to races and socialise with his friends at events. In fact, only last

July he could be seen, sticks in hand, dancing away at my 40th birthday bash –

surrounded by his family and friends who know him so well and who admired his

strength of character and wise words. Cliff was certainly one for enjoying life to the

full. If it wasn’t roller skating it was ice skating, and if it wasn’t ice skating it was

skiing. Cliff continued to do the things that many people less than half his age are

prepared to do. And this alone is testament to what a character Cliff really was.

Sadly, on the morning of 8th June 2008, Cliff passed away. He leaves behind him a

doting wife, Carol, and a loving son, Chris. But more importantly he leaves behind a

legacy amongst his friends and those who knew him best. A legacy that life is there

to be lived, so enjoy every minute and embrace every moment.

Clifford Roy Stafford – the kindest of men and the truest of gentlemen.

John Fry (Junior)

Cliff's funeral was held on Monday, 16th June at 3.15 p.m. at St Phillip and St James Church, Groby, Leics. 

More photos in the Photo Gallery     

Well, don't let anyone say we don't battle on through to put on events here at Birmingham Wheels! The best laid plans of mice and skaters were put to the test in more ways than one on Sunday June the 1st here at Birmingham Wheels Adventure Park  when a complete loss of local electricity resulted in a series of unexpected events! The rapid deployment of generators all round were tripped at one point, probably by the lunch rush kettle and again later, by an amp deciding to end it's days viking style ie in clouds of billowing smoke.  Enormous thanks to Natasha from LSST who happened to have her street skating boom box/amp in the back of the car, which almost seamlessly (well once the fire had been put out!!) enabled the skating commentary to continue.

Talking of skating...!! Despite what started out looking like yet another wet racing day the clouds held at bay for the most part. With most of South Woodham Ferrers racing in Bruges and many senior skaters racing abroad, 52  registered skaters plus RAT racers made the journey to Wheels for what turned out to be another great days skating. 

In Cat 7 Callum Furber showed good form again, with  Scott Aitken racing well gaining a silver medal. In Cat 6. Kirsty Pullen gained her first medal in Cat 6 (well done you!) following recently promoted Lauren Furber to the line. New competitor Max Rothwell skated strongly to win Category 5, with Jared Williams and Hannnah Wilkes following closely behind.

It was a three horse race in Category 4 with Jennifer Wilkes winning the first race and doing most of the work in the second, to be pipped for the medal by the ever determined Zachary Tong, with a good effort being put in by all three skaters.

Cat 3 by contrast had a much larger complement of skaters and was a battle from the start in both races. Newly promoted Alex Bradley showed his preference for the outdoor track by taking up much of the lead in the first race, but both races were hotly contested with a well earned win overall by Ben Taylor from Alex Bradley and  Chloe Astle.

Cat 2 welcomed the return of both Chris Ampadou and Errol Spence back to the UK track for 2008 in what turned out to be, unusually, primarily a vet's race. Cat 1 threw up few surprises, won by Matt Price, but Simon Davis chased hard as ever gaining 3rd place to Dan Ibbotson. 

Unofficial Results as follows; 

CATEGORY RACES

Cat 7: 1. Callum Furber (Cado Motus) 2. Scott Aitken (Wheels) 3. Doug Illingworth (Ashbourne)
Cat 6: Lauren Furber (Cado Motus) 2. Kirsty Pullen (Wheels) 3. Danielle Smith (Cado Motus)
Cat 5: Max Rothwell (YMCA) 2. Jared Williams (Wheels) 3. Hannah Wilkes (Wheels).
Cat 4: 1. Zachary Tongue (Ashbourne) 2. Jennifer Wilkes (Wheels) 3. Nathan East (YMCA).
Cat 3: 1. Ben Taylor (YMCA) 2. Alex Bradley (Wheels) 3. Chloe Astle (Cado Motus).
Cat 2 1. Chris Ampadou (Cado Motus) 2. Errol Spence (South Woodham) 3.Peter Carr (LSST) 
Cat 1: 1. Matt Price (Cado Motus) 2. Dan Ibbotson (Cado Motus) 3. Simon Davis (Wheels)

AGE GROUP RACES

Mini boys 6-9 1. Zachary Tong (Ashbourne) 2. Jordan Robbins (Wheels) 3. Calum Furber (Cado Motus)
Mini girls 6-9 1 (no 2&3): Danielle Smith.
Pupil boys 10-12: 1. Alex Bradley (Wheels) 2. Jared Williams (Wheels) 3. George Stone (Ashbourne).
Pupil girls 10-12: 1: Chloe Astle  (Cado Motus) 2. Lydia Bunn (Cado Motus) 3. Amy Spence (South Woodham).
Cadet boys 13-15: 1. Max Rothwell (YMCA) 2. Michal Roman (Wheels) 3. Jacob Pullen (Wheels).
Cadet girls 13-15: 1. Hannah Wilkes (Wheels) 2. Jennifer Wilkes (Wheels) no 3rd place.
16+ females: 1. Pammie Murray-Hopkin (Wheels) 2. Sharon Tongue (Wheels) 3. Helen Bannister (Ashbourne).
16+ males: 1. Matt Price (Cado Motus) 2. Simon Davis (Wheels) 3. Ben Gaskin (Ashbourne).
Veteran females: 1. Jill Rothwell (no 2, 3)
Veteran males: 1. Errol Spence (South Woodham) 2.Peter Carr (LSST) 3. Bjorn Campbell-Lyons (Ashbourne).

Finally well done to all our RAT racers who continue to improve every time we see them race!     C.P.                                                       

Some Photos can be found now in the Photo Gallery (more to follow)

More comments about the race can be found on the Bont Forum and the LSST forum. 

Tiniest Rat Racers lining up for the start

Photo by Mathew Bradley

Well...

...the rain stopped play at Birmingham on Sunday. The now infamous INTER CATEGORY KNOCKOUT had to be cancelled due to bad weather. Whilst OK for the distance races it was felt that this out and out sprint event could prove problematic on the wet track. Despite this we still had an afternoon of some excellent racing.

As well as the category races there were also age group races. The most notable of these were Alex Bradley's win in the boys 10-12's and Harry Hoare's in the boys 13-15's. Bradley who had suffered at the indoor championships a little over a month ago has come into his own outdoors, as has most if not all of the Birmingham Wheels crew.

With the knockout having been cancelled the last race of the day was for the prestigious Keith Lee Boot,     a 10,000m race for both men and women over the age of 16 (separate medals for men and women). It was a big field but the confusing nature of the 2008 race programme meant it was once again difficult to determine the actual number of entries.

The early breakaway included James Ashby (Wisbech Belotti), Vincent Henry (Birmingham Wheels), Ghizlane Samir (Londonskaters) and Matt Price (Cado Motus). Very soon, though, Price found himself back in the chasing group whilst Ashby, Henry and Samir went on to lap the field. Ashby's sheer strength and sustained attacks eventually also took their toll on Henry and Samir and very soon the East Anglian youngster found himself 2 laps ahead and finally holding aloft the Keith Lee Boot.   

 Henry, just back from training in the states, followed by Gross Gerau and then some racing in Holland (where he teamed up with French superstar Alexis Contin) made the Birmingham event his last race before he jets back to the USA to marry Emily Harris (sister of USA junior international Alex Harris) on Tuesday. All at Birmingham Wheels RSC congratulate him and sincerely wish him all the best!

The real superstars of the day were the RAT racers. These are events for non-federation skaters taking their first steps towards category racing. With around 30-40 skaters these races are no less exciting. With Birmingham Wheels providing up to 90% of these skaters the future for the Midlands club is looking rosy.

Despite the weather the track and facilities provided were once again top notch and by far and away the best in the UK. A big thumbs-up must go to all those helpers who made the Birmingham track look as splendid as it did - not to mention the new first aid facility and technical wizardry of Neal Broughton, giving us photo finish and the new "helmet-cam". (Watch out for you-tube later this week!)

To round off a damp but nonetheless enjoyable  day the presentation of medals and trophies was made by Birmingham Wheels hero - European Champion, British Champion and British international (1973-85) - John Mullane. Mullane who was making a flying visit from his new home in Adelaide, Australia, was a welcome visitor to the track.

Fry Junior

     Edited from the Bont English Forum

Photos up now in the PhotoGallery                                                                                                                                            

Well....the first British Champions of 2008 were crowned on Sunday. Racing was held at the old Sheffield Silver Blades ice rink (now a roller rink) for the first time. The track was made from linked plastic/polymer tiles and wheel selection seemed to prove critical in certain categories. Ask Hans Brown (Londonskaters) - he thought it was still an ice rink!!

The big showdown in the mens was won by Chris Orgill (Cado Motus) who it has to be said looked the best skater on the circuit - although there was some discussion as to whether he "infringed" James Ashby on the last corner.

Second was, in fact, youngster James Ashby (Belotti Wisbech) whilst 3rd went to last years disqualified "winner" Matt Price (Cado Motus). Vincent Henry (Birmingham Wheels) never really featured. After falling in his heat and scraping through into the final by the thickness of his skinsuit he could only manage 4th place. 6 times winner, Chris Stafford (Birmingham Wheels) opted to miss the individual event and concentrate on the relay with team mate Henry. However, Orgill & Price prevented any thoughts of gold leaving Stafford & Henry to take the "consolation" silver.

The ladies event was dominated by Sarra Dally (Cado Motus) with Birmingham's Alex Geen and Pammi Murray-Hopkin 2nd and 3rd. Pammi put in a strong performance earning her a place in the relay later that day and also a victory in the veteran ladies! The ladies relay, however, was won by Dally and young team mate Lydia Bunn. Bunn is showing herself to be an exceptional skater with great prospects. After a great 2007 season, 2008 will be most interesting to see if she can capitalise on her early successes.

Other noticeable skates included strong performances from Harry Hoare (South Woodham), William Archer (Cado Motus), Matt Cardell-Williams (Wisbech Belotti) and Michael McInerney (Wisbech Belotti) in the Veteran Mens - ending a "reign supreme" for former British Champ and International, Adrian Wordsworth (North London). I am sure that a full list of results will shortly be posted on the FISS website www.inlinespeed.co.uk

Fry Junior

Edited from the Bont  English Forum

Photo of Vincent Henry, James Ashby and Andy Porter, winners of Category 1.

their first race  meeting at Thornton Clevelys YMCA in Lancashire on the 17th February. Thanks to to Matt Glynn for organising the event in this excellent new venue. Well done also to Birmingham Wheels RSC skaters Liam Pegg, Derek Ritchie and  Pammie Murray Hopkin for winning medals in their categories. Photo shows  Derrick Ritchie and Pammie Murray Hopkin coming second and third in Cat 2 to Ben Gaskin from Ashbourne SSC 

This year both skating and tobogganing was organised in what is becoming the team's annual trip to Tamworth Snowdome. The inclines on the skating surface came as a surprise and quite a challenge to some of us (!) and lots of fun was had by all! Thanks to Grace and Ray yet again for coordinating our winter Snowfest! 

How About an Inline Marathon?
For the first time, the public is being asked for ideas on how to improve the Olympic Games.See this Inline Planet discussion/information mid - page here