They couldn’t use COVID-19 as an excuse to not reopen, that’s to cruel.
I wouldn't put anything past the politicians over here. If they can see a way to save a few pennies in the short term, even if it means losing out on lots of pounds in the long run, they'll take it.
To be honest, if I look at it without my figure skating fan glasses on, I can kinda see why keeping the rink closed would make sense. I don't know how much skating clubs pay to to hire a rink, but I would imagine that if would not cover the costs of keeping the rink open. That's fine if the rink is generating additional income from the general public using it. But, even if the rinks are allowed to open for public skating, I fear there will be enough people turning up to make it viable.
Although there is no confirmation yet about when the Dundonald rink will re-open, ice rinks are specifically mentioned in the lastest announcement about the easing of restrictions in Northern Ireland. Here is the story from BBC News NI:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-53154830
So, the ice rinks can re-open on 7[SUP]th[/SUP] August.
Meanwhile, here is a story from BBC Sport NI that is specifically about the resumption of sport:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/53180840
It says that elite athletes can start training indoors from 29[SUP]th[/SUP] June. However, it adds:
"Athletes classed as elite include Olympians, Paralympians, professional rugby and football players and cricketers."
So, where does this leave figure skaters?
None of the figure skaters from this island have competed at the Olympics in the past, and only two have a slim chance of doing it in Beijing (assuming it happens) - Sam McAllister and Conor Stakelum. Sam may be from NI, but he lives and trains in England. So, he will come under whatever is happening in England. Conor is at home in Dublin, but he normally trains in Scotland. So, I don't know what will happen with him.
If he is not able to return to Scotland, it will be interesting to see if Conor will be able to come up to Dundonald to train. At the moment, the restrictions Down South mean that you can only travel within your own county, or 20km from where you live. From Monday (29[SUP]th[/SUP]), all travel restrictions within the country will be lifted (see the link to the RTÉ News story near the top of my
previous post). However, any of the stories I have read have not made it clear whether travelling to the North will be OK.
That said, the BBC News NI story that I linked to earlier in this post says that Northern swimmers have been travelling to Dublin to train. So, you would like to think that this would be reciprocated.
My rink in London Queensways is opening soon but you have to prebook your ice time.
Ah, so you're not home at the moment. I was going to ask you if there is any update as to what's happening with the rinks in Scotland. After all, despite what the governing body may think, Scotland is where the heart of British figure skating is.
Whatever is happening in the various parts of these islands, I think it is safe to say that if competitive skaters can't resume training until August, then that is 2020 written off for them. Even if there are competitions before the New Year (which I very much doubt anyway), the skaters won't be anywhere near peak condition after such a long lay off and such a short time back training.
CaroLiza_fan
Unfortunately, it is one of those sites that is just there to tell you to go and buy the newspaper. 
And hopefully it will not be too long until you can start training properly again.
