Superstar Team GB ice skaters open the new temprary rink at Westpoint
Amateur skaters were treated to displays by the professionals as the ice rink was officially opened
Last updated 13th Dec 2024
Team GB ice skaters say they hope the new temporary ice rink at WestPoint will inspire the next generation.
It opened last night and raises funds for the charity behind the Devon County Show, which owns Westpoint.
Across the country many ice rinks have struggled - including the closure of the permanent one at Plymouth Pavilions at the start of last year.
Last week Kristen Spours won the senior national championships and last night said: "For training full time skating is a very expensive sport, which makes it difficult to make it more accessible to people.
"Across the country rinks are closing down which is a massive shame as they just don't have the footfall coming through.
"I hope doing Christmas rinks and Dancing On Ice starts to bring more people in.
"It's lovely to see so many Christmas rinks and here having real ice is really lovely for us."
Zarah Wood and Alex Lapsky who’ve won the British championships and been skating together for 18 months also performed at last night's opening.
Alex said: "It means a lot. It's very nice to show other people and the younger generation what we can do - and hopefully they can take up after us."
Zarah added: "There's quite a few rinks to train at around the UK but the pop up rinks are always nice because they're Christmasy, they're cute and it's a nice opportunity to show the public what we can do.
"It's not an easy sport and it is pretty impressive."