The Olympia Skating Club hosted their 4th annual Merry Christmas Family Fun Skate and this year was our biggest turn out yet! We had over 100 people take part in the fun and festivities. Our event began with several of our adult skaters showcasing short programs skated to Christmas music. All ages, levels, and abilities were highlighted. The mini-show ended with a surprise visit from Santa with his two reindeer and little elf helper, Cathy Thoms. They skated to Eartha Kitt’s rendition of Santa Baby. This fun number got the crowd going and ready to take to the ice.

Our free, open public skate was filled with children and their parents, family and friends who came to celebrate the season. Our rink was decorated with festive ornaments. People could have their picture taken with Santa or tell him what they wanted for Christmas. He had a lot of visitors throughout the afternoon! Everyone received a treat who came by to see Santa.

We had our usual reindeer games too, featuring the ham toss. This year, the ice sliders earned style points to nab that Christmas ham. Our big winner was Chloe Quick – congratulations on your fine display of artistry out there on the ice!

There were plenty of refreshments enjoyed as well – oranges, donuts, chocolates, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. You could even jazz things up with whipped cream too! Special thanks to Hayley Stevens for running the refreshment table which was quite busy at times.

Special thanks to our co-sponsor, The Grassroots Skaters’ Foundation, who generously supported our ice time. The Foundation raises money to support adult figure skating in Alberta.  We also wish to thank WinSport for their support in helping this event run smoothly. The staff was always attentive and helpful.

We also wish to thank our Olympia Club members and the community for coming out to support this event. We had a really wonderful crowd and a good time was had by all! It’s always nice to see the young ones enjoying the ice and having fun with their family and friends. Skating is a great sport for all ages – there is no other activity like it in the world!