Did you know that Dundee is home to some of the most exciting ice skating talent in the UK? And now a local sports coaching programme will teach Dundee ice skating hopefuls as it plans to produce more world class ice dance champions — and it needs your help.
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So far Ice Dundee, which is the home of Dundee’s skating champions, has helped take talented skaters to the Olympics and to multiple World Championships, including in Japan in March 2023. But it has not done this alone, for Ice Dundee’s sponsors and business partners have also helped make these young skaters’ ice dreams come true.
British number one figure skater, Natasha McKay, is an Olympian who learned to skate at Dundee Ice Arena. Since Ice Dundee was formed she has received much-needed support from the organisation and its sponsors.
Natasha, who has won the British Championships for six consecutive years, said: “I learned to skate in Dundee after going to my best friend’s ice-skating birthday party when I was seven years old. I asked my Mum for ice skates and finally got a pair after a year of asking!
“I started off training with Debi and Simon Briggs until I was about 12 years old, then I moved away with my family to England. At the time, we felt it was the best choice for my skating career, but then we came back to Scotland and to my normal coaches. That’s when I got a bronze medal at the British Championships.”
Breakthrough year for Dundee ice skating star
“To progress, I needed to get harder jumps, and when I was 19 years old, it all clicked into place. That was my breakthrough year and I won the British Championships.”
Natasha, 28, has gone on to be crowned British Champion a further five times, as well as qualifying for the final in the European Championships the first year she entered. Last year, she competed in the Olympics. It’s all down to hard work and determination, as well as her parents’ financial support, but sponsorship from local businesses has also been instrumental in her success.
Natasha explained: “It’s an expensive sport. We paid for it all and had been funding travel all the way up since I was seven years old, so it has been such a big help having all the sponsors. Not just for me, but for the entire Ice Dundee team. I used to work as a retail assistant in TK Maxx to help my parents pay, but the sponsorship helped me give up my job and go to more training.
“Ice Dundee really did help get me to where I am today.”
And Natasha has a message for any local business who may be considering becoming a sponsor: “A little bit will go a long way. It will help so much. We would be so thankful to anyone who comes on board and the team would be so grateful for the opportunities it could lead to.”
What impact can an Ice Dundee sponsor make?
David Smith, managing partner at Henderson Loggie, was delighted to get on board with Ice Dundee as a sponsor and “be able to back the incredible work that they do in developing some of the most exciting skaters in the UK”.
The accountancy firm’s partnership with Ice Dundee will help support Scotland’s Anastasia Vaipan-Law in achieving her 2026 Winter Olympic goals.
Mr Smith added: “Supporting local clubs and organisations is important to everyone in our organisation and we are looking forward to getting more involved with Ice Dundee and following Ana’s journey.”
The sponsor explained: “Our support will mean Ana can follow a rigorous training and competition schedule fully concentrating on her skating goals. The funding will help cover travel expenses and equipment, as well as giving her the best training environment and coaching that it takes to make it to the Olympics.”
Helping young people Learn to Skate
As well as assisting the ice stars of today, sponsors also help develop young skaters who want to learn through Ice Dundee’s Learn to Skate programme. This is a six-week course for school pupils across Dundee, Angus and Perthshire. With the financial support from sponsors, Ice Dundee hopes to teach 2,300 young people to skate this year!
The scheme is for children of all ages and lessons are supervised by British Ice Skating (BIS) licensed coaches, who teach children the basics of skating up to more complicated moves. The six-week block consists of weekly 40-minute lessons and all barriers to access are removed as tickets, transportation and coaching fees are paid for by the charity.
The Northwood Charitable Trust is one of the Learn to Skate funders. Morag Neville at the Trust heard about the good work Ice Dundee was doing and was keen to get involved in “giving young people aspiration”.
She added: “We know Dundee is a world-renowned city for ice skating and we are delighted to support Ice Dundee in bringing as many young people into ice skating as possible. It’s an organisation that has gone from strength to strength.
“Northwood continues as a funder to continue to support young people and encourage them to try something they would not necessarily have access to. It’s great for the development of young people in the city.”
Dundee ice skating lessons have positive impact in classroom
Schoolteacher Louise Byrne at Burnside Primary in Carnoustie said: “My primary one class has just completed the six-week Learn to Skate programme and I have noticed positive changes in them, on their physical strength, endurance, postures, balance, flexibility and coordination. In the classroom, they are much calmer and focussed, with improved concentration after a skating lesson. They have also had a huge boost to their self-esteem.
“Skating is an expensive hobby, I am not going to lie, but everything has been free for the school, including the bus and the lessons. It has been a brilliant opportunity for our Angus pupils, providing children with something they would not have had. It is exciting to see some of the pupils taking up ice skating lessons in their own time as result.
“I am so glad the Learn to Skate programme has filtered out to Angus too. By the end of May, the whole of our primary ones, twos and threes will have been through the Ice Dundee Learn to Skate programme.
“The last six weeks have been very exciting for the children, getting on the bus in the morning and travelling to Dundee Ice Arena for their skating lessons. It’s been a really positive start to their day.”
Carol O’Rourke, whose son is in primary one at Burnside, added: “The Learn to Skate initiative is great. We can’t believe how confident our son is on the ice now, within only a few weeks.
“He’s only had good things to say about his experience at Dundee Ice Arena and we are so glad he has had this opportunity.”
What does a sponsor receive in return?
Legal firm Thorntons is passionate about supporting local enterprises. One of the partners, Chris Byrne, said that he saw Ice Dundee as such a positive and inspiring thing to be involved with.
Proud to be sponsors of Ice Dundee, Chris explained the benefits that come with being a sponsor: “On top of the good exposure, we also get the opportunity to take over the ice rink for a night a year and have used that to allow our employees and their families to have exclusive access to the rink (including a Learn to Skate session and also a short performance from the Ice Dundee skaters).”
More reasons why YOU should be part of Ice Dundee
- Ice Dundee is helping nurture the talents of the current UK ladies figure skating champion and the current men’s Irish champion.
- Simon Briggs is an Olympic coach and Olympic judge. He coaches alongside his wife Debi, also an Olympic coach, in Dundee.
- Natasha McKay is the six-time British Champion, an Olympian and a participant in six European and five World Championships.
- Anastasia Vaipan Law and Luke Digby are the two-time British Pairs Skating Champions and competed at two European and one World Championships.
- Lucy Hay and Kyle Mcleod are the British Junior Pairs Champion and are competing on the Junior circuit.
- Aleksandra Golovkina is the six-time Lithuanian Champion who has been in four European Championships and two World Championships. She is also supported by Ice Dundee.
Get involved in Ice Dundee or become a sponsor.
