iceSheffield will welcome thousands of competitors and coaches from across the UK and the World for a series of five National Ice Skating Association (NISA) events.
More than 460 skaters will be hitting the ice on February 18 and 19 for the NISA British Synchronized Ice Skating Championships - one of the largest ever to be held in the UK.
Thirty three teams from around the country, including three from iceSheffield, will be out to impress an international panel of judges and clinch titles, medals and international assignments over the two day event.
The NISA British Adult Ice Skating Championships will be staged at iceSheffield once again on February 26 and 27. More than 130 adults aged from the age of 21 through to 76 will compete in both ice dance and free skating events for prestigious titles.
Skaters, their coaches and supporters will be travelling from all over the UK to Sheffield for two days of exciting ice skating competitions and for the first time these Championships will be judged in the new IJS judging system.
The NISA British Solo Ice Dance Championships will take place at iceSheffield from July 5-8 and the NISA British Ice Figure Skating Championships will be held at the Attercliffe venue from November 22-27.
Leading junior figure skaters from across the world will descend on iceSheffield between September 29 and October 1 for the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix – John Curry Memorial Competition.
The ISU Junior Grand Prix is a series of eight international high level events held across the world which allows talented skaters between the ages of 13 and 19 to compete for the chance to skate in the grand final.
NISA is hosting the UK leg of the series at iceSheffield and skaters will take part in all ISU disciplines, including single male, female, ice dance couples and pair skating.
Peter Morrissey, ice development manager at iceSheffield, which is operated by Sheffield International Venues (SIV), said: “iceSheffield is once again very proud to be hosting five of the biggest and most important ice events in the calendar.
“Staging major national and international competitions can play a key part in helping to inspire participation amongst people of all ages in the city and we and look forward to seeing some very exciting ice skating.”
SIV works closely with Sheffield City Council’s Major Sports Events Unit to attract these high profile events to Sheffield.
Keith Horton, chief executive of NISA, said: “This is a fantastic events programme and we are delighted to be hosting some of our most important competitions of the year at such a world-class facility.
“Having venues such as iceSheffield which are capable of staging high profile championships helps to support the sport’s development by creating opportunities for competitors to measure their performance against the best in the country and the World.
“We enjoy coming to Sheffield and are delighted that SIV and Sheffield City Council will be continuing to work with us.”
Cllr Sylvia Dunkley, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Tourism from Sheffield City Council said: “Sheffield is a city that’s always ready and willing to welcome different sports to enjoy competing in our city and we work hard to attract major events and sports like these. I’m delighted that we’re going to see so much ice skating in Sheffield this year and that there will be all these chances for local people to see ice skating at this level on their doorstep.”
