Just started taking some lessons , has anyone else succumbed ? What do you think of it as an leisure activity

Skating is dirt cheap here as well $2.50 for 2 hrs , I remember in Nottingham it was a lot more.

Skating is fun but if you really want a hobby for life then try Curling - I took it up in the one and only rink in the UK this year and I will never ever look for another hobby, all my time is spent trying to get on the ice currently. I have to travel 75 miles each way in the UK and it is worth every mile. Would love to know how much it is to play in Canada? Any ideas please? And please please try it for a god laugh and a good nights exercise

Have fun

Grap

What about Skiing? How does it cost?

By the way, I have lived all my life in a tropical country. I have never touch snow...

Never touched Snow - WOW are you in for a fun day when you do. The snow in Canada is metres deep and as soft as, as.... well as soft as snow. When you get the opportunity you will have the time of your life

Iceskating, ahh yes Tried it once it hurts. Curling, even better still on ice was very painful. Now skiing or rather snowboarding - well I can't praise it enough. The white stuff doesn't let you down and it is only 1 hour away from Calgary. Still to try; cross country skiing and hunting! I don't know if the later is a sport but it is big round here (apparently).

Phil

I can see your point on Skiing around Calgery, some of the very best in the world within 2 hours drive and worth every second of the drive.

hi ray1968,
yes, ice skating is great! I am a skater myself. My advice to you is if you want to take this up as a hobby, see if you can invest on a pair of decent skates, the kind with solid ankle support. Also, take a few beginners' lessons and learn some basic technique (at least learn how to stop!) The group classes are fun and usually not expensive. People of all ages learn how to skates all the time, and in time, you will find your balance and start to want to learn a few tricks :-)

enjoy!

I joined the curling club in Bridgetown this year. It was C$110.00 all in.
(that was to curl with the seniors but I think the club dues are the same for all.)

WOW, is that a years ice time and membership? If it is then the very first thing I will do on arrival is join a club, who needs a Medicare card anyway here in the UK I pay $110 per year to join a team, $150 for membership of the rink (the only one in the UK) and $25 each game? Something wrong somewhere?

That was to join the club. Curling was free, at least twice a week for an 8 ender. Every two or three weeks was either an additional host game or an away game. For these games we contributed some food for the lunch, kind of a pot-luck (big in this part of the country). A nice little four sheet rink, very friendly folks and loads of fun.

Sounds perfect - what part of the country is that please? Any jobs available?

This winter my daughter (11) went on the ice for the 1st time (I was on it for the first time since I left school 16 years ago and have only ever done it about 5 times(keep it clean!!!!) on real ice and a few times on that strange plastic stuff that went round the schools in the early 80's). With in a few lessons (from expert Mum) and after plonking her in a middle of a pond (no sides to hold onto) she was good to go and spent many an hour on the (free) community rink with her friends. Looking forward to the snow already for next years skating sessions!!! Gonna get some camping in first (something else I havn't done for many a year

I am sure that curling is very popular everywhere in Canada. Lots of people in Regina curl. I think there are at least half a dozen curling rinks here. My sister in Vancouver has curled for years.

I bet wherever you emigrate to, curling will be popular.

We live in Annapolis Royal, N.S. The curling rink is about 25km away.