Following the announcement of the venue of the 2023 British Indoor Championships, the entire Indoor Season calendar has now been confirmed.
From 2022 onwards, the annual skating season will run from October to August, with a full break wherever possible over September and also the festive period.
East Midlands Racing UK will kick off the season, Essex Skating Club will be holding their first ever indoor race at their home venue Rollerworld, and Wisbech Inline Speed Skating Club are hosting not one, but two races. There is also an additional domestic level event, the venue and host of which will be confirmed in due course.
Entries will open for the first race in Derby this week.
IN MEMORY OF THE LATE BOB HALFORD
We lost one of the true stalwarts of our sport, Bob Halford, at the grand old age of 94 years.
I knew Bob for 50 years, both as a race official and Roller Speed Committee member. But my most memorable time spent with Bob was when I was part of the British Team competing at World and European Championships where he proved to be an outstanding Team Manager. The Team consisted of myself and other young “hungry” skaters eager to make our mark at International level. He treated the boys like men, even though we were only kids, and that coming from a man who came from a rough, tough life as a docker in the East End of London, gave us the self-esteem and belief that we were equal to any of our opposition and paved the way to our individual and team successes.
Bob was enormously proud of the sport he represented and the teams he managed, often referring to the male members of his team as “His Boys”, and that’s exactly what we were.
I will always be one of your boys Bob and thanks for everything you gave me and the sport of Roller Speed Skating over many years.
God Bless you and all your family.
John Fry
Chairman