Tuesday 5 February 2013

Hittin' The Ice!


Ice Skating is something that you can do in any weather, thanks to the multitude of indoor ice rinks that are around today, and the pop-up outdoor rinks that you see around, especially during the Christmas holidays. 
alexndrapalace.com
Children and adults alike love to indulge in this fun sport. Some may head out occasionally, hiring a pair of skates and having a few hours of messing about on the ice, where as others may take the sport more seriously and join figure skating clubs, maybe even becoming competition skaters.


In recent years, especially in the UK, ice skating has taken a big leap, with more and more people getting involved. This is most probably thanks to one particular prime time TV show…

Dancing on Ice, originally titled Skating With Celebrities, has been showing on our screens since 2005. Unbeknown to many fans, this format of reality Ice skating show was first shown on BBC1, entitled ‘Strictly Ice Dancing’, won by England goalkeeper David Seaman. This was aired as a spin-off to Strictly Come Dancing as a Christmas special. 

The following year, after Skating With Celebrities didn't do as well as they hoped, ITV renamed their original show to the name that we all know and love and the rest is history.

Since the beginning, each episode of the show has been opened by the much-loved Olympic champions, Torvill and Dean, who have been heavily involved in the training of all the celebrities taking part.
The 2013 Dancing On Ice Celebrity Contestants - Image curtesy of digitalspy.co.uk
Every episode, most of the nation watch in awe as the stars take to the ice and get whooshed around, every which way, before facing the infamous panel of judges.

The success of the show seems to be encouraging people, young and old to get involved in ice skating, whether they are giving it a go for the first time, or picking it up again.

A lot of people are put off by hiring skates because they have been used by so many people before them, and some people are keen to get their own skates because they want to take the sport to the next level. (We aren’t saying there is anything wrong with hire skates. They do clean them).

SFR have a great range of ice skates, both adjustable and fixed size.

The adjustable Ice skates are perfect for the little ones, as their feet are still growing, and our fixed size skates are great looking, providing great performance for those who don’t need adjustable boots or just prefer to have a more elegant looking skate. 
SFR Adjustable Ice Skates - Available in most skate and action sport shops
SFR Fixed Size Ice Skates - Available in most skate and action sport shops
There are many retailers stocking these skates, so all you need to do is Google the skate that you want, and see who pops up. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Twitter and we will be happy to help.