The great thing about ice skating is it can be exactly what you want it to be. If you fancy being the next Torville and Dean then you can find a partner and learn technical jumps and spins. If speed is your thing then you can try speed skating.

Those into team sports can learn ice hockey and dancers can try ice dancing, which puts more of an emphasis on the way you move to music.

And if you just enjoy gingerly skating around the edge of the rink while holding onto the barrier, you can do that too. Whatever you choose, you’ll need to practise, so have a family day out to the ice rink where you can rent skates and spend hours on the ice.

Ice rinks can be potentially scary places for some young beginners, but many rinks run sessions solely for younger children and families, where the pace is gentle. Some rinks also run family skating lessons, where a small group can learn to skate and then practise new skills for a reasonable fee.

In the past, figure skating involved holding one position for as long as possible until you changed direction. This was a long way from the current style of changing position as much as possible, which has been made particularly popular recently through celebrity ice skating contests on television.

There are five types of figure skating competitions. Men’s singles, ladies’ singles, ice dancing, pairs skating and synchronized skating.

The aim in each of these is to perform as difficult a routine as possible and to present that routine as well as possible.

Many rinks will offer one-on-one or group tuition so that you can improve your skating, whatever level you have reached.

Many towns put up temporary ice rinks in public places around Christmas time, particularly around tourist attractions. With lights sparkling in the background and a cold nip in the air, it’s great fun to pirouette around the ice for an hour before warming up with a hot chocolate.

For more information about ice skating and ice rinks go to www.iceskating.org.uk. For links to Christmas ice rinks in London try www.londonicerinks.co.uk.

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