Welcome to IDC’s New Group Collection! For this collection, we interview athletes who entered the 2025-26 season in a brand new partnership, or debuted final season. On this interview, we meet Anna Mackenzie & Wesley Lockwood, junior ice dancers who characterize Sweden and began skating collectively in 2024.
To date this season, Mackenzie & Lockwood have completed sixteenth at Junior Grand Prix Ankara and twelfth at Junior Grand Prix Baku.
Inform us about your particular person skating journeys, together with any early particular recollections.
Anna Mackenzie (AM): I began my skating journey at a really early age. My mother was a skating coach that labored at my house membership. She nonetheless does. She put me on the ice after I was 1 or 2 years previous. I began in free skating and began ice dancing at age 9. I noticed that I had extra enjoyable in ice dance and formally left behind my free skate journey at age 12 to focus extra on ice dance. An early reminiscence that I’m keen on is after I was little I used to compete with my brother’s previous black skates and at competitions they’d have an image of me on show doing a Y-stand in my black skates on the pictures sales space.
Wesley Lockwood (WL): I began skating after I was 2 and a half, my Mother was my coach rising up and I initially acquired into skating to make my hockey abilities higher, however then I made a decision alongside the way in which that It was not for me and I continued in determine skating. A particular reminiscence of mine was for an ice present after I was 5. I used to be the cartoon character known as Peter Puck, it was plenty of enjoyable till I fell down then I couldn’t get again up. My costume was made out of two little one wading swimming pools and went previous my knees and elbows made by my Dad.
What drew you to ice dance?
AM: At first, I by no means actually thought of doing ice dance. I had all the time simply finished free skating. I keep in mind when my coach got here to me with one of many guys from my rink and instructed me I used to be going to attempt skating along with him. I ended up liking it quite a bit so I continued
WL: I initially had a crush on this lady that my Mother was working with and I knew of ice dance and knew that I used to be truly stronger in that space of my skating greater than freeskate. I assumed what higher solution to get to know any individual so I requested my Mother then I requested her if she needed to try this too which she mentioned sure.
AM: Our partnership began with my associate leaving and I had a yr off, we had been each on associate search and on the lookout for companions. We knew one another from earlier than so we related and tried out and it labored out fairly nicely and it simply went from there.
WL: Our partnership initially began out by truly understanding one another, Anna’s associate was injured as a consequence of a freeskate damage and I stuffed in for him at a coaching camp so she may maintain coaching. As soon as I discovered that the associate left her and he or she was on the lookout for one other associate, I assumed I ought to ask her mom and older brother as I had been mates with him for over a decade on the time as a result of we competed dance and freeskate in opposition to one another for a few years. Including onto this, as soon as we began dancing collectively, we by no means seemed again.
What do you want most about dancing along with your new associate?
AM: I like that he’s very decided and works actually onerous. He listens to issues I’ve to say and is all the time variety.
WL: She permits me to be myself and we sort of play off one another and simply be 2 youngsters on the market attempting to have enjoyable and work onerous and quoting Anna “look skilled”.
What experiences do every of you carry to the partnership?
AM: I’ve a bit extra expertise within the dance facet as a consequence of being a dance main at an arts faculty. Wesley brings plenty of power to our group, he’s a really sturdy particular person and we are able to do plenty of lifts due to it.
WL: My associate undoubtedly brings extra of the classical dance and ballet background to the group and extra of the general dance data, I imagine I carry extra of the ballroom and management required to permit her to be her greatest.
What has been the largest adjustment for every of you up to now within the partnership?
AM: I feel the largest adjustment for us was the gap that my associate needed to journey on the very begin of our partnership. It was a great distance for him to journey and was onerous for him to maintain going forwards and backwards between house and the rink.
WL: Our distinction in age and distinction in life. Including onto this, shifting away from house to skate right here at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ontario.
Inform us about your coaching website.
WL: It’s a public facility situated in Scarborough, Ontario known as the Centennial area, we particularly prepare on the Ice Galaxy which is an ice pad that’s Olympic measurement however has no boards which permit us to hop on and off shortly to permit extra groups to coach. We prepare for between 2-4 hours a day on ice with 3 occasions per week having an off ice class being both power, ballet or ballroom. We go exterior to the gymnasium individually at our personal occasions.
Who’re your coaches?
WL: Our coaches are Carol and Jon Lane with Juris Razgulajevs.
Who choreographed your applications? Is another person arranging your music?
WL: Our applications had been choreographed by our coaches Carol and Juris, however we do have professionals for our closing music modifying after the fork and knife cuts.
For those who may have a lesson with any ice dancer previous/current, who wouldn’t it be? Why?
AM: If I may have a lesson with any ice dancer I’d most likely need to have one with Paul Poirier, we skate with him at our rink. He’s actually enjoyable and such a pleasant particular person to speak to, he’s additionally very expert and has lovely strains and edges.
WL: Andrew Poje as a result of he skated very conventional and was total an excellent function mannequin.
What’s every of you trying ahead to most this skating season? What might be your largest problem(s)?
AM: I feel our largest problem and purpose is to enhance our turns and edge high quality. I’m actually trying ahead to going to worldwide competitions and seeing new locations that I’ll most likely by no means see once more.
WL: I feel our largest purpose is to carry up our skating abilities to enhance exterior of our technical parts and I’m trying ahead to attempting to qualify for Junior Worlds and representing Skate Sweden.
Please share something you want to our readers to learn about you as a group.
WL: We’re very lucky to be representing Skate Sweden internationally and to characterize Anna’s heritage, nothing makes a competitor really feel higher then to know you haven’t solely an important group behind you however a nation. We’d additionally like to get to know anybody that desires to get into ice dancing and if anybody has questions, please don’t be a stranger.
You possibly can observe Anna and Wesley’s progress this season by visiting their group Instagram web page @annawesley_icedance.