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´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport

GB's pairing Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear will hope to end the 39-year wait for a British medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in Japan this week.

The last British medal came in 1984 when Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean won ice dance gold.

Gibson and Fear travel to Saitama having claimed silver in ice dance at the European Championships inJanuary.

Other Britons in action are Graham Newberry in the men's event, Kristen Spours in the women's and the pairs of Lydia Smart/Harry Mattick and Anastasia Vaipan-Law/Luke Digby.

´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer

Thursday, 23 March

02:00-05:50 - Pairs Free Skate - Red Button, iPlayer, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website & app

05:50 - Men's Short Program

Friday, 24 March

01:45 - Ice Dance: Rhythm Dance

08:20-12:20 - Women's Free Skate - Red Button, iPlayer, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website & app

Saturday, 25 March

03:30-06:55 - Ice Dance: Free Dance - Red Button, iPlayer, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website & app

08:20-12:20 - Men's Free Skate - Red Button, iPlayer, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website & app

Sunday, 26 March

14:40-16:00 BST - Highlights - ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two, iPlayer, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website & app

´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport

How do I start?

If you're a beginner you can check out - a 10-stage programme to help get you started.

But what is it?

There's figure skating and speed skating - sports you may have seen at the Winter Olympics. But skating doesn't have to be competitive. You can put on a pair of skates (which you can hire at rinks) and start gliding across the ice. It's best to make sure you can skate in a straight line before you attempt jumps and turns.

Is it for me?

Ice skating is for anybody and easy to learn, whether you just want a bit of fun with friends or are serious about joining a team.

Useful links

What to expect when I get there?

• If you haven't skated before, you might be scared of taking a fall on the ice. But don't worry, most people will take a tumble at some point and you'll be surprised at how quickly yourbalancewill improve.
• There's an emphasis onquick foot movement and supple knees, so you'll also improve yourflexibility.
• The focus onlower-body movementwill helpbuild leg muscles.
• Concentration is key, so ice skating can bementally stimulating.
• You can start young - is a training programme for pre-schoolchildrento enjoy.
• is an organisation that is striving to make ice skatingaccessible, and they have devised a scoring sys