40 years of Ice Skating in Telford

Forty years ago Telford Ice Rink opened. Until 1984, for teenagers of Telford, the only option for ice skating was a coach trip to Silver Blades in Birmingham.

Telford Ice Rink has been an iconic venue within the Town Centre for the last 40 years drawing visitors from across the region as well as national visitors coming to events and supporting the Telford Tigers Ice Hockey team.

Over the decades Telford Ice Rink has hosted concerts from the likes of Status Quo and T’Pau, Disney galas and skating competitions. It is also home to the Telford Tigers Ice Hockey Team who use the rink for all their training sessions and home games.

The rink currently runs a Soft Play area, Learn to Skate lesson programme, family disability sessions, disco nights, tots on ice and Figure Skating lessons as well as the Skate4Life programme.

Over the weekend of Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of October, celebrations at the rink will include a Skateathon, special disco session, Speed Skate Session, fancy dress, cake cutting and more with sessions priced at a special 40th birthday themed £4.00.

Cllr Angela McClements, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism, Culture & the Arts said:“It’s been fantastic to see people sharing their memories of visiting the rink over the years on our social media posts and we know that the rink has been an integral part of the town centre offer.

“The venue has been drawing in visitors from across the region and from across the border in Wales and still provides fantastic entertainment value as well as a first class facility for improving and achieving skating skills.

“We are looking forward to a busy weekend on the 11 and 12 October with plenty of skating time with sessions priced at just £4 and we can’t wait to see those 80s fancy dress costumes!”

The programme for Friday 11 October includes a disco session from 6.15 to 9.15pm with a speed skate session included and on Saturday 12 October the Skateathon session will be from 11am to 4pm to include fancy dress competition and disco.

Pic: Cllr Angela McClements with Mark Gray of Telford Ice Rink