FIGURE skaters in the town say they may be forced to give up their sport because they are being pushed to one side in favour of ice hockey.

The skaters say that a ground-breaking development announced last week about the Okanagan Hockey School Europe, a division of the Okanagan Hockey School Ltd, setting up a new hockey business unit in Swindon would have an adverse effect on their own training.

It means for the first time that young British ice hockey players will have the opportunity to hone their skills, without having to leave the UK for professional coaching.

Youngsters would be able to take up places offered at Lydiard Park Academy where they will follow the national curriculum and a timetable tailored to allow for early morning ice hockey training at the rink at the nearby Link Centre.

But figure skaters have already met with the Link Centre in a bid to ensure they don’t lose out on ice time, and are still waiting to hear the outcome.

Aileen Hood, who has skated for more than 15 years and is the former chairman of Swindon Ice Figure Club, said skaters were considering giving up their hobby if an alternative time for the ice hockey club was not found.

She said: “Whilst more use of the ice rink is a good thing, a lot of figure skaters who have been customers of the Link Centre for many years could effectively be kicked out to make way for this ‘ground-breaking development’ because of the time when they want to use the ice.

“During our years of skating we’ve spent thousands of pounds in the Link Centre – but now our business doesn't seem to be as important.

“We’ve met with the Link Centre and asked for the hockey school to use a different time, when fewer existing skaters would be affected, but are still awaiting a response.

“Many of us will have to give up skating if this time is lost – even if we could come at a different time, our coaches will already be teaching other people at these times.

“So, despite there being a publicly-owned ice rink in the town, people who live and work in Swindon would not be able to skate in order to make way for the hockey school academy.

“In addition, the skating coaches would lose about 7.5 hours’ pay.

“They are self-employed people, and no other time is currently being offered for them to make up this loss.

“So some of them could be unable to make enough money to live on and will be forced to work elsewhere.”

Last year, the Adver reported how feelings were running high among ice skaters after Swindon Council allocated an extra hour to junior ice hockey following increased demand.

A Swindon Council spokesman said: “We fully support NISA’s (National Ice Skating Association) National Pathway and have set aside almost two thirds of our ice programme to figure skating training and casual skating.

“However, the partnership with Okanagan is a good opportunity to increase participation in ice hockey among young people and meet demand from our customers.

“We really value the ice skaters who use the rink during Patch time, which is why we are currently consulting with both parties to find a solution which best suits their needs.”