A trio of iceSheffield-based skaters are celebrating after they were named in the Great Britain squad.

Katie Powell (16), who competed at the Youth Olympics in Poland earlier this year, has been named in the senior ladies section of the Figure Skating GB Performance Squad 2009/10.

And senior ice dance couple Christina Chitwood (19) and Mark Hanretty (24), who performed at the 2009 European Figure Skating Championships, in January, also made the cut.

The elite skaters, who spend long hours training at iceSheffield, which is operated by Sheffield International Venues (SIV), were selected after they met the stringent performance levels required by the National Ice Skating Association (NISA), who select the squad.

It means that the trio must now try to maintain their excellent levels of performance as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver draws closer.

Dedicated skating star Katie won her first national competition when she was 12, and recently came second in the British Ice Skating Championships in Nottingham.

And dancing couple Christina - from Colorado, USA - and Mark, who is originally from Glasgow, have competed together since 2006. Christina moved to Sheffield to take advantage of iceSheffield's top of the range facilities.

Peter Morrissey, ice development manager at iceSheffield, said: "We see a huge amount of talent and ability at iceSheffield. We are delighted for the chosen skaters who show have shown great motivation and talent to get this far.

"Skating is a sport which requires extreme amounts of dedication but the hard work appears to be reaping dividends as our figure skaters are creating quite a buzz on the international scene.

"iceSheffield offers some of the best coaching opportunities in the country, and we hope to continue to attract top athletes to the city for a long time to come."

If you want to find out more about the range of skating sessions available at iceSheffield call 0114 223 3900 or visit www.icesheffield.com.