Luke Digby and Anastasia Vaipan-Law in medal hunt at European Figure Skating Championships

The rough, tumble and shoulder pads of Elite League ice hockey has taken a short break at the Utilita Arena Sheffield this week, replaced by the grace, elegance and sequins of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships.

Sheffield is used to cheering on an ice hockey powerhouse in the Steelers, but the city is showing its lighter side this week, and further underlining its ability to host international-standard sporting events.

In one of the few remaining facilities standing from the World Student Games here 35 years ago, the continent’s finest figure skaters have gathered for the chance to win European medals and gain one final tune-up before heading off to Italy for next month’s Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

It is the second time Sheffield has hosted these championships, doing so previously in 2012, their return evidence that even three and a half decades on from a World Student Games that divided opinion in the city on sporting infrastructure versus raised taxes, the legacy lives on.

The Steelers have been selling out this arena since 1991 and IceSheffield just down the road is one of a number of facilities in a small corner of Attercliffe that is the sporting and well-being envy of most cities across Europe, let alone this country. But legacy is about more than bricks and mortar.

It is about bearing witness to events like this and being inspired, as a 10-year-old Luke Digby was 14 years ago when he served as a flower boy at the 2012 European Championships at this very arena.

Back then he was already a regular in skating lessons at IceSheffield, what he saw that week convincing him he was on the right path.

That journey took him to Dundee to train, to a host of British titles and a number of world championship appearances and will continue onto Milan next month for a Winter Olympic debut.

He hopes to go there with a strong showing at his home European Championships behind him and did not disappoint alongside Anastasia Vaipan-Law in the pairs short program that began the championships on Wednesday afternoon.

In front of dozens of Union Jacks in the arena stands, Digby and Vaipan-Law produced a season’s-best score of 63.98 to a routine that began with a triple twist lift and a double axel and was headlined by a reverse lasso lift, which had the hardest value and in which they delivered their highest grade of execution.

“It was unbelievably noisy and we’re so grateful for that support and love to help us deliver a program that we were proud of,” said Digby. “To get a season’s best under a little bit more pressure and expectation with it being at home was important to build momentum into this busy part of the season.”

They go into Thursday night’s free skate program to decide the medal podium in fifth place, and while the medal places might be out of reach with the pairs from Georgia, Germany and Hungary scoring 75, 74 and 73 respectively, rising by a place to fourth to eclipse the fifth-place they achieved at last year’s Europeans in Tallinn, is well within the British pair’s grasp.

“We wanted to leave everything on the table and show everyone what we could do and I felt we did that today,” said Vaipan-Law, who has been Digby’s partner since December 2019. “What happens next is beyond our control so we’ve just got to make sure we leave here with no regrets.”

On competing in front of the Sheffield crowd, Digby added: “It really was a full circle moment for me and it has been really emotional hearing the crowd with my fiance in there, close family and friends. Seeing them in the crowd after this long journey from 2012 is incredible.

“It’s the biggest thank you we can give to all those that have helped us on the way and we were just so happy we could do that.”