Sheffield, your time has come!

[nineveh_uk]

The ISU has announced that the two autumn 2022 competitions that were to have taken place in Russia (banned) and China (withdrew due to Covid restrictions) will instead be held in Espoo (Finland, just outside Helsinki) and Sheffield. I have to say, I didn't see that one coming. Nor did I know Sheffield has two major manufacturers or ice skate blades - not that I'll be buying any.

Comments

[caulkhead]

Sheffield! I thought quite seriously about Worlds in Montpellier but never got round to booking it, but Sheffield would be very do-able...

I didn't know that about blades either, though thinking about it I suppose it makes sense.

[nineveh_uk]

It is really quite tempting if tickets are available.

[caulkhead]

I just asked a friend who would know, and she says the likely venue has 10,000 seats (!) so tickets are unlikely to be a problem. On the other hand, I should book a hotel early because the nearby Premier Inn is already up to £150 for that weekend.

My brother's in Glossop, which isn't that far away as the crow flies, but I suspect transport across the Peak is very far from free flying (I think there was a bus but they cancelled it).

[nineveh_uk]

I would have imagined a tenth of that capacity!

Premier Inn a useful indicator.

ETA. The Don Valley premier inn now appears to be sold out!

[mrs_redboots]

Oh yes, John Wilson blades are a very long-standing manufacturer in Sheffield. Also MK, but I think they are both owned by the same people, despite doing slightly different blades for different purposes (MK Dance are supposed to be the best dance blades on the market, or were in my day; Coronation Ace are widely considered the best all-round blades for beginners up to double axels).

Which is undoubtedly more than you wanted or needed to know!

[nineveh_uk]

Still interesting! It's nice to see the niche industry is still there.

[ruric]

The ice skate blade manufacturing doesn't surprise me considering history of fine machining and cutlery making. *G*

We even used to have a pretty decent ice hockey team back in the olden days (this is going back 40-45 years!) when I used to go skating regularly at the rink there.

[nineveh_uk]

I knew about the ice hockey team, oddly, but would never have guessed about the skate blades even though once learned the connection makes sense. May the city's November tourism benefit!

[highlyeccentric]

... what the hell.

I mean.

I will be in Sheffield in early September, and if I WANT to got to more ISU events, Grenoble would make more sense, but: SHEFFIELD??? HUH.

[nineveh_uk]

It makes sense (at least as the chosen venue for a UK competition) when thinking it over, but I would never, ever have expected it!