On the Ice

Nottingham has a long tradition of ice skating stretching back many years, and the sport lives on at the National Ice Centre.

Get Your Skates On!

The National Ice Centre hosts a range of lessons and activities in top-class facilities to inspire the next generation of budding skaters. Their professional coaches run regular skating lessons for those wanting to improve their skills, as well as dedicated courses for ice sports including Ice Hockey, Speed Skating, Figure Skating and Synchronized Skating. There are also tailored lessons for toddlers aged 2 to 4 years with the Tots Learn to Skate with Parents classes, as well as the Tots Learn to Skate without Parents sessions for children aged 3 to 5 years.

For recreational skating, there are public skating sessions every day of the week plus an exciting calendar of themed skating parties and events to suit everyone, from families with young children to the city’s many students. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday there is a dedicated Tots Zone, filled with free equipment to help youngsters take their first steps on the ice. Under 5s also skate for free when accompanied by a full paying adult.

As well as boasting two Olympic-sized ice pads the National Ice Centre is also home to Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. The arena is the hottest concert venue in the East Midlands, hosting live music and sporting entertainment to audiences of up to 10,000 people.

Check out what’s happening at the National Ice Centre with regard to major ice sport events and competitions as well as skating lessons and public skating times on their website.

The History

It all started way back in 1895 with skating on the frozen River Trent to over 60 years of skating in the old Ice Stadium.

Now Nottingham boasts the UK's first centre of excellence in ice sports - The National Ice Centre.

The Ice Rink was opened on the 1st April 2000 by Jayne Torvill and was followed by the opening of the Olympic Rink just a year later on 7th April 2001. This made the National Ice Centre the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice rink facility in the UK.

It was the 80s that really saw the glory days for British skating with Nottingham’s most famous couple Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean dominating the World and Olympic Championships. 

In 1984, the Nottingham pair won Olympic gold medals in Sarajevo for their interpretation of Ravel’s Bolero. Later that year, they were the joint winners of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In 1994, they made a dramatic return to the Olympic stage in Lillehammer, Norway and took the bronze medal. Both Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were awarded OBEs in 1999.

Their triumphs have inspired a whole new generation of youngsters into taking up ice sports.

British Ice Skating (previously NISA) has designated the National Ice Centre as a Centre of Excellence for Short Track Speed Skating and is home to the Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating squad. The Nottingham Panthers also train at the Centre and use the venue for their home games.

The County of Nottinghamshire is proud of its long tradition of successes on ice and we’re sure you’ll be impressed with our excellent facilities. The National Ice Centre is the perfect place to spend time having fun on the ice.