

Skating for the very first time can be daunting, especially if you’ve never been involved with snowsports. On Sunday, we had our first Introduction to Winter Sports class, 2012 Sunday edition, up on Mount Royal. There’s barely enough snow for snowsports, so we opted to go skating. It was a mild day with a few snowflakes and even some sun in the afternoon. Newcomers from France, Spain, Germany and Sudan tried their hand at skating – many of them had never (or barely ever) skated before. It feels like a pretty crazy sport the first time you stand on the ice with your skates! Many thanks to all of the participants for their persistence and enthusiasm, which will definitely pay off. Everyone had improved by the end of the session. Thanks a million also to our volunteer, who also volunteers with the like-minded McGill organisation B.Refuge, and has years of speed skating experience! We got lots of useful tips!
And here we are, showing off our newfound sense of balance. Beaver Lake is a great place to practice, especially when the two rinks are open (refrigerated and non) so there is lots of space. You can rent up there for about $9 for two hours – just bring some photo ID. See everyone next week!