Freeze - Skating on the Edge

[Riverlee]

Has anyone else been watching this, about British ice skaters ( BBC 3 ).?its fascinating, both from an iceskating point of view, and from a professional sports angle.

We watched it and found it a bit sad. Most of the people featured on it are clearly at a stage in their life where it’s now or never and the Olympics/gold at competitions is nearly past them and they’re trying to obtain something before they are pushed out completely and they feel as if their whole sacrificed childhood/teen years was for nothing. (Which I disagree with, I think that even if you don’t end up winning gold or going to the Olympics being good at a sport is a massive achievement in itself)

It’s such an expensive sport that takes up so much time, money and resources that when it’s time to come to an end I don’t think that some people can accept it as it is their entire life and personality.

They are all extremely, massively talented and that goes without saying. I am on their side in that it just is a ruthless sport in terms of the age ‘cut off’ of about 18.

I used to figure skate as a teenager and that is the reality sadly. It’s not a nice sport and can be very very cruel. I think the programme is a good insight into that even though I don’t think that’s the message they were trying to send with it.

I googled PJ afterwards and discovered that he had retired at the grand old age of…26! I watched his speech announcing it. He appreciated the success he had, but what struck me was when he can lead a normal life again. I thought that was so sad.

Graham Newberry I felt was the one who was more pressurised out of the two. His dad has basically trained him since birth.