So, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are nearly finished, and with only a few days left we thought we’d give you a bit of information on how you can get involved in some of the winter sports you may have seen on tv in the past few weeks. We may have the most abysmal weather at times, but it’s no Russia over here, meaning it’s not so much snow-capped mountains as it is massive warehouses, but you get the idea!
Skiing & Snowboarding
Whether you’ve been skiing/snowboarding before or not, the Vertigo Ski Centre in Belfast is a one stop shop for all of your snowy needs. Situated in the Newtonbreda Factory Estate, this indoor ski centre features never ending slopes to help you learn up to five times faster. Why not follow in Jenny Jones’ footsteps (board steps…?) and take a snowboarding lesson? Open from 9am to 9pm every single day of the week, there’s no excuse not to head on down and hit the ‘slopes’ at least to give it a try. There’s also memberships available, alongside group rates and birthday parties. Prices look like this:
Figure Skating & Ice-Skating
Dundonald Icebowl in Castlereagh is Northern Ireland’s only Olympic sized public ice rink, so why not take advantage? Public skating sessions are held daily both during the day and in the evening. Check out the times here. If you’re new to skating, then why not take a few lessons like Team GB’s Jenna McCorkell once did? Dates and details are available here. All courses are 6 weeks long and consist of half hour lessons taught by a NISA qualified coach. I have to admit, I’ve taken this course before up to grade 3 and it’s really great no matter what your experience is, you cover the basics as well as some harder things and at the end you do a short test and get a certificate to show what you’ve learned. Here’s a guide to ice skating grades to see what you’ll learn at each stage. Courses are £50 per person. They are also running a new Ice Tots scheme for kids aged 2 – 4, which is a great and safe way to introduce your kids to the world of ice skating.
Ice Hockey
Dundonald Ice Bowl occasionally hold ice hockey lessons as well, so keep an eye out if you’re interested. But in the mean time, why not catch a Belfast Giants match at the Odyssey? The Giants have just won the Elite Ice Hockey League for the fourth time, so you know you’re going to see some quality ice hockey.
