TWO local ice skaters will be vying for the junior ladies title at the British championships, which start tomorrow in Dumfries.

Katrina More-Molyneux, who is 18, and Stephanie Allwright, a year younger at 17, qualified at Swindon last month for two of the 12 places in the junior championship.

Although they qualified in sixth and fifth places respectively, there is no rivalry between the two girls.

Each is more likely to be supporting the other, according to Len Allwright, father of Stephanie, who finished fourth a year ago at Basingstoke.

More-Molyneux will be contesting a national title after a gap of three years, while Allwright will be completing a fifth British championship appearance.

Allwright, who is coached at Basingstoke by Anita Curtis, will be skating to music from Bombay Dreams and Italian Fantasia.

She was forced to rest for three months because of injuries caused by ill-fitting boots suffered in the last British championships.

She has returned to full-time training at her home-town rink after parting with coach Lesley Norfolk-Pearce in Swindon some four months ago.

More-Molyneux, coached by Basingstoke director of skating Fiona Dickson-Allen, will use music from Schindler's List, Plunkett and Macleane and Journey of Man.

Basingstoke will have two other chances for medals with Antoinette Hempel, 15, skating as one of 18 qualifiers in the primary ladies. For the girl from Tadley, it will be a first British championships.

Shannon Loane, 13, and Alex Tait, 16, are the current British novice pairs champions and they have qualified for the primary pairs after taking their national title in April.

A number of Basingstoke ice skaters have passed national tests recently.

Olivia Calland-Scoble, Helen Griffiths, Gemma Grove, Joanna Llewellyn, Lydia McCann, Dawn Thomas and Sally Waldock were successful in novice field moves and Rachel Jackson and Hannah Loake in, respectively, prelim and inter-bronze field moves.

Bronze field moves was passed by Lucienne Ahvee, Victoria Caine, Kara Slaney and Natasha Iacona and inter-silver field moves by Lauren Homer.

Level one elements passes were achieved by Olivia Calland-Scoble, Helen Griffiths, Gemma Grove, Dawn Thomas and Sally Waldock.

Calland-Scoble, Grove and Lydia McCann passed the level one free test.

Elements and free passes went to Rachel Jackson (level two), Lucienne Ahvee and Hannah Loake (level four) and Victoria Caine (level six). Ahvee also passed level five elements.

Ice dance passes were achieved by Rachel Powell and Elisabeth Harris (compulsories levels one and two), Amy Sanders and Charles Howard-Jones (compulsories level two), Victoria Heath-Smith (compulsories level three and level four free dance and original dance), Charles Howard-Jones (free dance level three) and Claire Miller (level six free dance and original dance).