ABOUT US

The Junior Blades Ice Skating Club is operational throughout the year and is only closed for the Easter Weekend and the December School Holidays. If the club is going to be closed due to any other event (e.g. competitions) we will advertise timeously on both the notice board and social media sites.

Junior Blades

Sergio Pinto started Junior Blades Ice Skating Club at the old Goodwood Ice Rink on 7th October 1975. At the time, Sergio was a competitive skater in the discipline of Ice Dance. He attained his Gold Medal in Ice Dance and in 1978 he received his Springbok Colours. In 1974 he became a member SAISA (SAFSA) and competed in the same year for the first time and continued to skate for Western Province competitively at National and International level until 1981. Sergio became a Senior National Figure Skating Judge for approximately 17 years and was a committee member of SAFSA - WP for about 25 years. For the past 18 years he has been the official video operator for SAFSA's marking system used at competitions. He is an Honorary Life Member of SAFSA. In 1976 the club became an affiliated member of SAISA (South African Ice Skating Association - which later changed to South African Figure Skating Association). The club proved to be immensely popular and in no time the membership grew beyond two hundred and at one stage over three hundred of which most of them were active members. The membership remained over 200 and new applications had to go on a waiting list. The club had its own library of figure skating books for the members to borrow free of charge and operated on Saturday mornings. It was popular and a major source of additional information about figure skating. The coaches were all competitive skaters and teaching at the club was by invitation with no remuneration (it was a way of giving back to the community). One of the most decorated teachers at the club was Helga Balk, who later became Sergio's wife. In 1984 the Western Province Team selected for the National Championships were all members of JBISC except for one Senior Precision Team, the Black Panthers Team.

Past members and coaches of Junior Blades Club still involved at a high level in the sport include: