Ice Skating
With thanks to Skating ISU for the use of this video.
How many of you visited ice rinks during the Christmas holidays? If you had a great time, read on to learn more about this fantastic sport and how to learn to skate like a pro! If you’ve never tried ice skating we have the direct links to an ice rink near you.
Ice skating can be enjoyed through figure skating -dance routines on ice involving spins, jumps and turns.
With thanks to Skating ISU for the use of this video.
Or there are competitions for speed skating – racing sprints or long distances against others and the clock.
With thanks to Skating ISU for the use of this video.
Ice skating is obviously the vital element for ice hockey and there is also synchro which we cover later in the article. Ice skating is a great sport and improves balance, coordination, muscle strength, heart and lung strength as well as helps your mental health.
With thanks to Skating ISU for the use of this video.
Want to try ice skating?
There are ice rinks all over the country – have a look at the map!
If you visit http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/learn-to-skate/skate-uk/skate-uk-basic-skills-programme/ you can find out about the Skate UK Learn to Skate levels. Most UK Ice rinks run Learn to Skate courses so you can easily get started near where you live. Unfortunately, every rink charges different amounts but according to British Ice Skating it costs from approximately £25-£60 across the UK for a 6 week programme including skate hire.
With thanks to Skating ISU for the use of this video.
British Ice skating have shared an interview with Peter James Hallam who won the Men’s Senior British Championships in 2019. Watch his story.
With thanks to British Ice Skating for the use of this video.
This month it’s the Synchro Championships at the NIC Nottingham between 11-13 January.
All of the information on the competition can be found here.
One of the competitors is the incredible Sofie Ekstrom-Gabb
Here’s her story:
My name is Sofie Ekstrom-Gabb and I fell in love with ice skating after going to a skating party when I was 7 years old. I started having lessons and soon became quite good !!! I entered my first competition at the age of 8 and at the age of 10 I took part in my first international competition in Luxemborg. I have travelled all over the world with my skating - France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Finland and even as far as Canada. At the age of 15, I moved from Ice Dance to Syncronished Ice Skating and fell in love with skating all over again !!!! I love the team spirit of the sport as I skate with another 15 skaters on the ice - at the same time !
I am currently part of the Great British Team who are based Nottingham. I travel twice a week from Cardiff to Nottingham to train but this is a small sacrifice I have had to make just to do what I love to do. I have represented GB at the World Championships for the past 2 years and am hoping that together with my team, Icicles Seniors we get the chance to do our country proud at the 2020 Synchronised Ice Skating Championships in Lake Placid, USA.
I have missed out on lots of things a normal teenager would experience growing up but like me, if you have a passion for something you love - go follow your dreams because experiences like mine come with hard work, determination and the knowledge that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
