I come from a family that plays on ice, Mom was a figure skater,  my sister played ringett,  my Grandpa was a skate sharpener and ran the rink in northern Ontario.  I on the other hand have weak ankles, so I generally focused on sports that didn’t require skates.

And yet..

 I love the sound of blades on ice, the smell and sound in the arena, the first time I held hands with a boy was at Vista Heights Arena on a Friday night public skate!  His name was Jason.   I can still remember that night so clearly.

Speed Skating  is one of those sports that tends not get a ton of notice unless it’s an Olympic year, but every 4 years or so we all watch these skaters with tree trunk thighs charge around a rink with long smooth strides.  They make it look so easy you know that there is no way it is.

The Kelowna Speed Skating Club invited me to come out and give it a shot!   

Usually when I am somehow involved with a sporting event, with lots of kids, at some point I find myself biting my tongue and cringing at a situation involving a coach or parent.   I’m not saying it doesn’t happen with this sport, but the night I was there it was one of the most positive experiences I have ever had.

If you are looking for a sport for your kids this is worth considering, the kids I saw ranged in age from about 6 to 17 and were all fun to talk to and no matter what skill level they seemed to be working well with everyone and no one was crying in a corner.   OK one person did look like they were about to throw up but he hadn’t been feeling well that day.

What did I learn?

Those blades are REALLY long on speed skating skates!

I really love to skate.

Age has played a role in my attitude,  fear of breaking something does keep me from “going for it” some people also might say that’s common sense finally developing..

Not all elite athletes are scary.

I’m happy I declined to wear the skin suit!

Confident kids rock.

I still like to hold hands with mittens on.

A big thank you to the Kelowna Speed Skating Club!! If you are interested please check out the website and hive them a call to find out more! > www.kelownaspeedskating.com