Get your skates on: The family-run speed skating club growing the next gen
6th March 2026
Under the lights of the ice rink in Altrincham, a handful of skaters are keeping a winter sport alive. It’s around 9pm on a Sunday night, extra late because the Manchester Storm ice hockey team have just snatched a last gasp winner in extra time – meaning a delayed start to tonight’s session for Altrincham Speed Skating Club.
It may feel a long way from the Olympic ice arena in Italy that hosted speed skaters during the Milano-Cortina games in 2026. Yet the cold, hard truth on this wintry night is clear to see: This is how the foundations of UK speed skating get built up, one steady session at a time.
The small group warming up on the ice is part of speed skating’s next generation. Developed by people like Sally Sherard-Bornshin: Coach, and Secretary, of Altrincham Speed Skating Club.
This is a family run club: Sally’s mum is an octogenarian tour-de-force who explains much about speed skating until a break in coaching when Sally has time to explain more about what it’s meant to have received grant money from Sport England (distributing money raised by The National Lottery players).
Support for the sport
“The grant from Sport England has been fantastic,” says Sally. “It’s made it possible for us to run beginner sessions – while gaining more exposure to our sport.”
Given that it’s a niche sport, how many newbies so far?
“We have held 17 beginners’ sessions, giving 29 skaters the opportunity to try Short Track.”
Sounds like good numbers of people are interested, how’s it going so far?
“We’re developing four of our beginners. Already, two of those are looking to have their first taste of move on to our club sessions and hoping to compete early in 2026.”
Being a small, local club Sally happens to be the only Coach. But she’s developing youngsters, in fact all age groups, from the basics to higher levels.
Some starters need to improve skating, but even experienced skaters need to practice the specific skills of speed skating. And even the tools of the trade take some getting used to – the blades are much longer than figure skating blades.
The club is doing a lot with limited resources.
“Last Summer we hosted a camp: Future Flyers,” explains Sally. “That saw youngsters from around the country coming to Altrincham for a fun-filled day of, both, off-ice, and on-ice learning. The feedback we received from this event was amazing. All the youngsters learned lots and enjoyed their time. So much so that we are delivering another camp for this July (2026) and expanding, opening to everyone, novices, and younger skaters.”
Ahead of the club’s summertime camp, what’s happening over winter and spring?
“We have around 30 more weeks of our beginners’ sessions,” says Sally (speaking at the end of January 2026).
“We have new people signing up and showing Interest every week. I'm sure that the Olympics will mean that our sessions can grow even more.”
The Club
In the stands at this cold winter night session, proud parent Craig O’Hara warmly chats about the sport while his 18-year-old daughter Isla whooshes round the ice.
“It's a niche sport,” Craig explains, “and given the size of the club it means advertising to get people in has never been high. Of course, the ice time costs money every week, so The National Lottery money has helped pay for that.”
So, what’s the attraction of speed skating?
Craig shares some of his daughter’s reflections: “Isla says the feeling of speed's not to be underestimated before you get on the ice. You do go round at speed. And it's quite difficult – like the crossovers that they do, where they're crossing over their blades around the corners. That takes a while for them to get the hang of.”
The community
“The club’s important to my daughter as well. It's like a family. And they go to competitions. If you get fast enough, you can get into the British Championship. They can compete in the same space as people like Niall Treacy (Team GB) – obviously not in the same race, but in that same space.”
Speed skating seems open to all ages. Craig points out one small girl, must be under ten years old: “She's only been coming a couple of months and she's improved massively. So much so that her dad (Craig points out the tallest person on the ice) has started doing it too.”
Up close, speed skating looks like a dynamic and fun, ‘you dunno what's gonna happen’ sport. But Craig’s not worried about his daughter – she’s wearing a helmet and a cut-proof catsuit.
Olympic magic
“It’s possible that anybody can knock anybody over at any point. Even at the Olympics - your whole Olympic campaign can be over if one person catches your blade. So, it can be quite brutal, but not always.”
Team GB’s Niall Treacy suffered medal-chasing slips at the 2026 Olympics. But Niall will return to the ice – and, perhaps, many people across the UK will get their skates on and give this most dynamic of sports a go.
