Rise in demand of people wanting to try ice sports in Teesside
Tees Active says it's piquing the interests of the young and old
As the Winter Olympics ends today, we're hearing how it's getting more people to try sports like ice hockey and figure skating in Teesside.
Tees Active, which runs the Billingham Forum Ice Arena, says it's piquing the interests of the young and old.
Allan McDermott, community engagement manager, said: "Our receptionists are already reporting that we're getting lots of enquiries about our 'learn to skate' programme. We're always busy at this time of the year anyway but obviously young kids and young children have been enthused by watching the fantastic performances in Milano Cortina.
"The exposure of the TV is fantastic. We're very lucky here on Teesside that Billingham Forum we're the only ice rink. The next nearest ice rink in the north is Whitley Bay and in the south is Bradford, Leeds and Hull so we're very, very lucky on Teesside having Billingham Forum."
Andy Mack, who is from Tees Active, added about ice skating: "It's definitely a real mix of children, parents, and grandparents and the beauty of it is that it's an accessible activity that everyone can do. We're expecting adults who used to skate when they were younger, adults who just want to try a new skill, teenagers who come with their friends, and grandparents who bring their grandkids.
"Winter's really our busiest time anyway but when things like the Winter Olympics come around every four years, we tend to see a real surge anyway in numbers as a result of that. We're expecting that we'll probably see a lot more first timers, you're going to get the kind of sofa experts who suddenly start watching figure skating or snowboarding and become an expert in that area who then want to give it a go."
Billingham Forum Ice Arena holds various clubs and sessions like the figure skating club, Billingham Stars ice hockey team, and the Hockey Hound skate shop.