Covid: Skaters and hockey teams call for Cardiff ice rink to reopen

Lily is more nervous than usual for her upcoming figure skating competition.

Unlike her counterparts in England who have been able to practise on the ice since May, the 13-year-old still trains on roller skates.

"I think it'll be difficult because we'll be at a disadvantage," she said.

Ice rinks, nightclubs and adult entertainment venues are the only leisure facilities in Wales that remain closed under current Covid rules.

The Welsh government has said it will not consider easing current restrictions until July.

This is of little consolation to Lily, who trained at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff, before it was shut at the start of the pandemic last March.

And she is not the only one affected.

The arena, home of the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team, estimated it has already lost around £500,000 in that time.

The professional hockey team - one of the UK's most successful - said delaying reopening beyond 1 August could cost them a further £100,000.

The Devils' managing director Todd Kelman said it took six weeks to get the building back open so they have had to "hedge our bets and start the reopening process to get open by August".

"If we get told we cannot open by then, we will have gone all in to get back open and will lose close to £100,000 in reopening costs," he said.

That sum would come on top of the monthly running costs of between £25,000 and £40,000 it has incurred since closing 15 months ago, he said.

"We are the only ice rink in the UK that is still not allowed to open.

"All our customers are doing is either travelling to England to go on the ice at a huge cost, still waiting for the rink to open or just quitting the sport they used to love.

"It is a terrible situation and we need the Welsh government to show us why we need to be shut, or allow us to open."

The ice rink's continued closure has also affected the Cardiff Devils' junior teams.

Since sports have been allowed to resume, the Devils' under-11s have trained on roller skates at the House of Sport in Cardiff.

There is concern the delay to reopening the ice rink could harm grassroots ice hockey in Wales, particularly among the younger age groups.

Under-11s coach Jason Lambly said: "A few have dwindled away from the club.

"We had good numbers before but it's hard to tell yet how many will re-engage with the sport until the ice is ready to go.

"A lot of the kids have joined clubs in England temporarily - well, hopefully temporarily - as the ice rinks are open there," he said.

Junior Devil Kian is eager to get back on the ice.

The nine-year-old said: "I'm a bit disappointed as we're not allowed on the ice because the other teams in the UK we play against will have had more practice than us when we go to play games and also I just don't see how we can play roller hockey but not ice hockey."

Figure skaters from across south Wales are also affected.

Dozens in Cardiff have been forced to spend hundreds of pounds on specialist roller skates to practise on the concrete outside the ice rink.

Lily - who is competing in a few weeks - said: "I'm a bit nervous. Figure skaters in England have been able to train whenever they want but we've only been able to go there a couple of times a week to use the ice."

Ceri Davies Jeans has been travelling to Coventry every weekend and Swindon during weekdays so her daughter can use the ice rinks there.

She is frustrated by the situation in Wales and has set up a petition calling on the Welsh government to allow the rink to reopen.

Mrs Davies Jeans said: "It involves waking up at 3am and leaving the house to travel to Coventry at weekends.

"They skate there on the ice for two and a half hours then it's another two-hour drive back home.

"It costs us a lot of money in petrol and sometimes hotel stays, and of course it takes up a whole weekend.

"I just don't understand it. I don't see how the rinks elsewhere have reopened and yet we have one ice rink here in Cardiff and the Welsh government are not allowing it to reopen," she said.

Tracey Keeble, a figure skating coach at Ice Arena Wales, said: "Physically and mentally it's a huge impact on them.

"They go to school then on weekends they're getting up early to travel to England to train on the ice there and it's very tiring. But they love the sport and they're very dedicated," she said.

A Welsh government spokesman said: "The first minister has announced a four-week pause to any further changes to the coronavirus rules because of the spread of the Delta variant.

"Welsh government officials are in ongoing discussions with Ice Arena Wales about the possibility of sportspeople returning to the ice, when it is safe to do so."