BOISE, Idaho — One of the areas hit the hardest by the pandemic were hockey players and figure skaters who lost pretty much the only place they get could ice time when Ice World closed its doors last year.
The City of Boise runs Ice World and they closed down the indoor rink last fall because of COVID-19, they decided to keep the facility closed through the summer to save money on the budget, but now that it is back open this community is thrilled.
"It is amazing it really is a breath of fresh air," said Tara Yano who is directing the choreography for a new show called Jingle Blades. "We are getting more and more ice time as it starts to slowly open up hopefully we will be back to normal really soon."
Skaters are working on a Christmas-themed show called Jingle Blades that will happen next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise.
"The kids have been working really hard," said Yano. "They have been working for a few months now and of course we didn’t get to the show last year because of COVID."
It was pretty easy to notice the camaraderie of the young figure skaters who were working together to perfect their routines as they prepare for the show.
"Skating has really brought me closer to the people around me," said Justine Lam who has been skating for seven years. "It is a sport where we really get to bond with each other especially throughout shows, but we have so many memories here, it’s really nice now that it is open again and we just really missed this place."
The Boise Figure Skating Club and the Learn to Skate Program are putting together this show that features boys and girls ranging from three years old all the way up to skaters in the 60s.
Jingle Blades will also feature Ashley Clark, the 2016 U.S. Open Champion as she will find a way to blend fire and ice during the performance.
After such a tough year people can help support these skaters by purchasing a ticket to their show on Saturday night.
"You should come to our show we would all appreciate the support," said Lam.
Ice World has also opened back up to the public, masks are required but the Idaho Ice World has a schedule online that features anything from open skating to pickup hockey and freestyle skating for figure skaters.
