THREE Basingstoke ice skaters have qualified for the forthcoming British championships in Nottingham.

Annabel Colenutt and Laura Freeman, who were second and third respectively in the novice ladies category in this year's championships at Ice Sheffield, will be making their national debuts in the junior ranks in January.

Colenutt, who is 16, secured her place when she added a short-programme pass at the IJS (international judging system) event at Ice Sheffield to the free programme qualifying mark she had already attained.

Her seventh-place finish in the short programme earlier this month was good enough to earn her British entry at Nottingham. Unfortunately, she then had to withdraw from the second day of competition due to ill health.

Laura Freeman, who is 15, achieved junior qualification last year and was the youngest girl in the country to do so.

She finished fifth overall at Ice Sheffield, recovering from ninth place with her short programme, moving up four places after the free skating.

This improved on her seventh-place finish at Lee Valley the month before, where Colenutt was 12th.

Ellie Warn is 13 and the youngest of four Basingstoke skaters in the two competitions. She has already qualified to contest the novice title in January.

In her first junior IJS competitions, she was 21st at Lee Valley and 23rd of 29 at Ice Shef-field, with only the top 24 allowed to go on to skate in the free section.

Lucy-Anne Walker, who is also 15, is skating in her first season of junior IJS events.

She improved on her 14th-place finish at Lee Valley with a 15th place out of 29 at Ice Shef-field.

Colenutt and Warn are coached by Michael Jaye and Freeman and Walker are coached by Jenny Woolford at the Basingstoke Arena.