Dancing on Ice Cancelled

[AgnesNitt]

I read the UK version of Dancing on Ice will be cancelled at the end of this year (the 9th season) after Torvill and Dean retire.

Anyone in the UK follow the show? Did it have a positive effect on adult skating in the UK?

[taka]

Not sure how to answer this! I've watched most of it, both before I started skating again and since.

The main thing DOI does is bring skating into the foreground and gets it some airtime. If people haven't heard of the sport or ever seen it in action in any way, shape or form, then for many it won't occur to them to even give it a try! DOI is the only skating that is on non subscription TV in the UK AFAIK. You can pay for Eurosport but even their coverage is poor and often dumped for pretty much any other sport... most recently for dirt bike racing during the European Championships!!
 

Once DOI starts each season, the numbers of people trying skating (and taking lessons) hugely increases, at least at my rink anyway. It is very, very noticeable. Not all of them carry on, but some do - a number of which wouldn't have ever thought to try skating otherwise (both adults and kids). Heck, before I started skating regularly again, the only time it occurred to me to head to the rink was during DOI season because I was watching people skate for weeks on end!

IMO it gives people the wrong idea though... that with very little time they can go from looking like bambi, barely able to stay upright, to being able to do some rather impressive scary looking "tricks" and lifts. It isn't exactly realistic and the basic skating skills of some of the "celebs" are actually pretty poor but are made to look impressive by the pro skaters and helpful choreography. I mean how may adults do you know who can spare many hours a day, everyday for months on end and afford to have hours upon hours of one-to one lessons each week with top coaches? How many watching even realise they start lessons months in advance of the show starting?

Torvill and Dean were the last skaters who became household names as a result of skating here and that was 30 years ago (hence why DOI is running again this year - so T&D can make a big fuss of the 30th anniversary!). Only handful of people even noticed the Kerrs gaining bronze at European Champs a couple of times and no-one I've talked to this week has any idea Penny and Nick just won bronze at the Europeans in Ice dance! So, to a whole section of the public, DOI IS skating and pretty much all they know about it!

I do worry about the viability of some rinks once DOI stops ends at the end of this season. My rink gets a huge boost in income when it is on and it won't be the only one.