The roller skating rink at Southend pier has finally opened after a long delay. The roller skating rink opened its gates after a VIP launch by the mayor Gwen Horrigan and the Southern Sabers roller skate team.

The launch of the roller skating rink was delayed on Saturday morning due to strong winds that damaged the roof and forced the organisers to close the venue.

John Lamb, the councillor for Southend, also responsible for tourism, said that the roller skating rink was a very good addition to the pier.

He said that with launch of this rollerskating rink, anyone would be able to enjoy roller skating and keep fit. It has been a long time since Southend had a rollerskating rink.

The new roller skating rink would prove to be a very popular attraction for people who want to roller skate, visitors as well as residents.

The roller skating rink was opened with the help of a £50,000 grant from the Government.

The rink would definitely have a lot of visitors and there are many people in and around Southend pier who like to roller skate and always wanted a rink to enjoy their roller skates.

Leading ice skater Heather Sneddon tackled a very tough and able competition and won the silver medal at the Sheffield British Solo Ice Dance Championships.

The teenage ice skater from Deepdene Road, Bearsden ended up second in the extremely competitive under-16 category. Heather was the only Scottish ice skater to win a medal.

The young ice skater was praised for her ice skating skills by all the judges. This is not the first win for Heather, as she won the Scottish Championship earlier in Dumfries and came third in the British Championships.

Ice dance director, Noel Grimshaw for Sk8scotland that organises competitive skating in Scotland, said that it was great to have Heather achieve a medal at the solo championships.

Heather is a member of the Paisley Ice Dance and Figure Skating club based in Braehead.

Heather was unable to practice at the Braehead ice skating rink as it was closed this summer. She gets up at 5 am every weekend and travels to Kilmarnock Ice Rink and Murrayfield for her ice skating training.

The world famous Imperial Ice Stars are to go on a nationwide tour of the UK along with Sleeping Beauty on Ice this summer.

For the first time in the UK, a show would feature four marks of distinction, the world’s most admired ice skating company, Tchaikovsky’s glorious music, the best stately homes of England and tented ice palace.

Around 23 Olympic, national, European and world championship ice skaters will showcase the classic love story of Sleeping Beauty through their amazing ice dancing which will include aerial gymnastics, high speed throws, fire effects and stilt skating. Seating would be reserved at the tented ice palace.

Imperial Ice Stars is one of the world’s best ice skating companies that specialises in theatrical ice skating performance. The company has the best of Russian ice skating talent, most of them coached and schooled by the country’s leading coaches. Some of these professional ice skaters have been practicing ice skating since the age of 4.

This ice skating event will surely attract a lot of ice skating enthusiasts from around the country. The show will be on from August 6th till August 10th this year. So get on your ice skates and rush to Burghley grounds this summer.

It is quick, it is entertaining and it is full of energy! What is it? It is roller derby, the latest sport that is fast catching up with women.

If you love trying out new sports then you must try roller derby. However, before you put on your roller skates, you’ll need to leave your good manners behind as roller derby is a full contact sport. You not only have to use your roller skates but also your hips, bum and shoulders to knock off your opponents.

The game has gained a lot of popularity within a very short span of time due it to its unique nature. Roller derby gives you the opportunity to roller skate and be someone else for a little while.

All you need is a pair of good roller skates and the right protective gear to get started. A game of roller derby lasts for 90 minutes. There are two teams, each having a jammer, three blockers and a pivot.

The pivot has to lead the way on her roller skates and the three blockers have to stop the opponent team’s jammer from reaching the other side of the track and score points. The main skill required besides roller skating is learning to tumble, so that you do not end up hurting yourself. There are about 20 roller skating derby teams currently training in the UK.

Residents of Oxford, who use the ice rink, are calling on the leaders of Oxford City Council, asking them for guarantees on the future of ice skating facilities in the area.

It was known last year that the city council was planning to knock down the ice rink at Oxpens Road to replace it with new facilities in a proposed multi-purpose sports complex.

The new ice rink would be Olympic sized and would offer better facilities for skating than the current rink.

Many people currently enjoy ice skating at the rink. Members of the Ice Rink Users Group want an answer as to for how long will the popular ice skating rink remain open.

The members understand that the current site is not appropriate and needs to be reconstructed but they need an assurance from the city council that they would not be left without an ice rink for a long duration. Residents love to ice skate and do not want to be deprived of their favourite ice skating rink.

The council replied in a statement that it was committed to the future of ice skating in the city, and is looking at various options available under the current situation.

What is better than roller skating? If you are a true roller skating fan, you would say, nothing! Well now you have a chance to roller skate as well as contribute towards a noble cause.

Locals around Strathclyde Park are being urged to turn up in huge numbers for a sponsored roller skating event, this Saturday, 26th July 2008. The event is being organised to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The event will start off at 11 am and people will roller skate around Strathclyde Park. The entire event will take less than an hour to complete.

You can obtain your sponsor pack from a KAOS SK8 shop in Blantyre (Telephone no: 01698 822822) or you can also contact Macmillan Cancer Support on their number 0141- 952 0085.

All the participants receive a raffle ticket along with a chance to win prizes. For those who are not able to reach the event or simply want to donate to the charity, tickets are available at KAOS for £5.

It cannot get any better than roller skating and contributing to a charity at the same time.

This weekend, roller skating enthusiasts in Manchester will have something to rejoice about. Don’t rub your eyes if you see half the town on roller skates.

Castlefield Arena will be turned into a giant free roller disco this weekend. One of the most popular roller skating events, the Nokia Skate Almighty event, will be at the city centre for the entire weekend from Friday to Sunday. It will be very big, with over 1,000 people expected to turn up for the unique and fun filled experience.

The roller skaters will be able to enjoy at the outdoor rink and dance to the latest tunes provided by celebrated Hacienda DJ, Graeme Park.

According to a spokesperson for Nokia, Mr. Will Harris, Skate almighty would definitely be the most event popular event this summer.

People of all ages, young and old, will be able to roller skate at the outdoor rink during the three day event. Tickets are available for individuals as well as families. You can even log on to Nokia’s UK website for getting your free tickets.

Jordan Brown, the young ice skater from Woodley was crowned champion at the British Solo Ice Dance Championship held in Sheffield.

Jordan, a pupil of Waingels College and a member of the Bracknell Ice skating club showed an extraordinary form at the championship event and beat his own expectations by winning the place in the compulsory dance, second position in the original dance and first place in free dancing.

Jordan has been very strong in freestyle ice skating dance but faced tough competition from his opponents. By securing the top positions in all three events, he became the champion in the overall under-16 section.

Jordan began his career in ice skating by completing Bracknell Ice Rink’s various ice skating courses. He also took some private ice skating coaching lessons.

Jordan trains at the Bracknell ice skating rink as well as Guildford ice skating rink. The young ice skater is entirely focussed on his ice skating career and hopes to win many such championships in the future.

The Calthorpe sisters have gained much ground in skating and are now headed for America. Danielle and Rebecca, of Bingley Grammar School, have both won medals at the Sheffield British Solo Ice Dance Championships.

Eighteen year old Rebecca bagged the silver medal in the ladies senior event while fifteen year old Danielle won a bronze medal in the junior ladies event.

There has been a lot of improvement in the members of Bradford Ice skating club under the guidance of coach Sarah George. This is clearly evident from the fact that Rebecca, who is going to join the University of Newcastle to study medicine in autumn, had ranked eighth in the same event the previous year.

Danielle has cleared Level Eight at both ice dancing and free skating in the (NISA) National Ice Skating Association tests and had ranked ninth in the same event last.

Rebecca who has just appeared for her A-levels in geography, biology and chemistry is also a coach at the Bradford Ice Rink. After being out for several months due to an injury, Rebecca has achieved the highest possible levels at the NISA tests i.e. Level Ten.

Both the sisters are now heading towards Lake Placid, a former U.S Olympic venue for the United States Solo Ice Dance Championships in the coming month.

There are reports in the media that the former Dancing on Ice winner Kyran Bracken has spent nearly £150,000 on a portable ice rink for himself. The champion ice skater wants to practice and continue ice skating in his own personal ice rink.

Kyran is also a former Rugby star of England and had won series two last year in March along with his professional partner Melanie Lambert. He wants to take the portable ice rink with him on a tour, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

It is believed that former Olympic ice skating star Robin Cousins is choreographing an ‘Ice Party’ show that would feature Kyran and some of his friends from the world of showbiz.

Kyran won the Dancing on Ice competition in 2007 by beating Clare Buckfield in the final.

Ice skating is one of the most popular sports in the UK and has gained immense popularity in the last few years. There are numerous ice skating events that are held all over the UK.