News on Lee Valley Ice Centre

An Ice Dancer from Lee Valley Ice Centre has successfully made the grade to begin competing on the National Senior Ice Dance circuit, after passing his tests with flying colours.

Aaron Freeman, 22, shone in two national tests in Cardiff to achieve the grade necessary to begin competing at this high level. This is an amazing achievement by Aaron, who is currently coached at the centre by former Winter Olympians Marika and Vitaliy Baranov. Speaking about his latest achievement, Aaron said:

“I’m really pleased to get this test, it’s been a lot of hours training, but all worth it for the positive comments from the judges.”

Coach Marika Baranova was thrilled with Aaron’s performance, commenting:

“Aaron skated so well today. He didn’t miss a beat!”

Aaron and his dance partner Jodie Russell at Lee Valley Ice Centre

Aaron skates with his partner, Jodie Russell, and the pair are part of the Ice Dance Development training group that is based at Lee Valley Ice Centre. The duo train for four hours every weekday morning, with Aaron travelling over an hour to Lee Valley from Gillingham in Kent.

Aaron’s home rink at Lee Valley Ice Centre has been part of the community for 34 years and, excitingly, plans have recently been proposed for the centre to be replaced with a new twin rink ice centre. This would see the capacity of the centre double, with a dedicated rink for competitive skating, as well as improved spectator seating and facilities.

Aaron and Jodie in action training at Lee Valley Ice Centre

Improved competitive facilities will no doubt mean that more and more up and coming skaters like Aaron will come through the ranks to succeed on the national stage.

The proposed new Lee Valley Ice Centre would also be a place for the wider community to get active with a new gym and dance studio, café and community spaces. The landscape surrounding the centre would also be enhanced, opening up access to this green space.

The wider community can find out more and have their say on the plans at www.icecentreredevelopment.com . More detail about the drop-in exhibition events taking place across Waltham Forest and Hackney over the summer can also be found on the About the project page.

Aaron and his Coach Marika Baranova after passing his National test in Cardiff