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Aviemore Ice Rink: Community Owned and Operated

Original Aviemore Ice Rink (1966 – 1999)

Many locals and visitors to Aviemore hold nostalgic memories of the original Aviemore ice rink. Opening in 1966, the rink was an impressive 60mx30m ice sport facility boasting 7 sheets of curling.  For over three decades the rink offered locals and visitors access to ice sports and provided a venue for many national and international sporting events like the Highland Week of International Curling and other events such as the “Made in Scotland – Highland Trade Fair’.

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Sadly during the 1980's Aviemore faced economic challenges, influenced by factors such as the accessibility and popularity of overseas package holidays. This resulted in a decline of the “Aviemore Centre” which ultimately led to the original ice rink being demolished in 1999.

Following substantial reinvestment in the “Aviemore Centre” from Macdonald Hotels and with the establishment of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Aviemore has reclaimed its position as one of Scotland's top holiday destinations.

However, for Aviemore and the communities of Badenoch and Strathspey, where winter sports hold significant local and cultural identity, the loss of Aviemore Ice Rink is still keenly felt and the desire to see sports ice return remains strong!

AGCT Aviemore Ice Rink (2021)

In February 2021, AGCT (Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust) launched the successful Aviemore Community Ice campaign, raising close to £200k in funds to purchase an ice rink and a marquee in which to house the rink.  

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You can read more about our ice fundraising and community build by visiting the Aviemore Ice Rink website here.

The rink was built on the back of hard work and enthusiasm of a team of over 30 community volunteers including those from the Strathdearn Moorland Group.  Volunteers donated many hundreds of hours; to prepare the base, erect the marquee, install the rink and build and fit-out the reception and skate hire area – all within a 3-week period. The build team continue to support the rink with any on-going maintenance support required at rink.

Aviemore Ice Rink opened for public skating sessions on 9th October 2021, and in its first year welcomed over 22,000 skaters to the rink, with many fantastic reviews on returning skating, ice hockey and curling to the Aviemore area.  

Aviemore Ice Rink - Ice Hockey 1 credit Robin McConnellLearnToSkateSquareAviemore3

The rink has quickly become an important facility for both visitors looking for an additional activity offering and for local people, which has enabled many to reconnect or take up ice sports.  

Making the rink more energy efficient

As you can imagine, energy is the ice rink's highest operating costs after staffing and AGCT has been proactive in working to mitigate rising energy costs.   The trust has been able to make substantial energy savings by insulating the rink and installing a new energy-efficient chilling plant.  

Through joint grant funding from Cairngorms National Park Authority, Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise the trust purchased new energy efficient chillers.   This has not only reduced rental costs by £40,000 per annum but the combination of insulation and the new chillers, has enabled the Trust to decrease energy consumption by more than 75%.

Achieving such energy savings whilst operating from a marquee is remarkable - imagine what could be achieved in a super-insulated permanent building.

Profitability and Community Benefit

The rink not only contributes to local employment but also, despite the ongoing costs of living crisis, has achieved profitable operations. These profits are reinvested into the development of community ice programs and rink facilities, ensuring its continued benefit to the community.

Aiming for Sport Ice

The trust’s goal is to build on the success of the recreational ice rink and our aim remains to return a full-sized sports ice rink to Aviemore.