Plans to restore Aviemore’s winter sports appeal

HIGHLAND village once renowned for its winter sports could relive its past glories if plans for a £10million sports centre come to fruition.

Proposals put forward by the Aviemore Sports Centre Company include an ice arena, enabling the return of ice skating, ice hockey and curling to the village after a 10-year absence.
Aviemore’s ice rink closed in 1999, and while many residents have called for a new rink to be built, their campaigns over the years have failed.

It is hoped the new plans will provide all-year-round facilities for a generation of young sports fans and cater for skiers forced off the mountains by bad weather.
Building work could start on the new proposals next year, and will also include a multi-sports hall, four indoor tennis courts, changing facilities and a bar and restaurant.

Project chairwoman Yvonne Birnie said: “There are no indoor facilities in Aviemore. Living in the Highlands means that when the weather is bad there is little to do. The indoor climbing wall is excellent but there is little else.
“So many tourists come here in winter but when the ski-ing is stormed off they are always looking for the ice rink.”
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he added: “At the tennis club we have 70 juniors who train on Mondays but we can’t guarantee it because of the weather. There are lots of complaints about the Lawn Tennis Association that there are not many players coming through, but we are struggling because there are not the facilities to practise.”
A feasibility study has been done and the project directors hope to make a decision on their preferred site in the next few weeks.
Three sites have been mooted and the company has had talks with each of the landowners about their plans.

They are a site at Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort, a site on the edge of Rothiemurchus Estate’s planned new village at An Camus Mor, and a site owned by Seafield Estates, beside Aviemore’s call centre.

The group was formed after a public meeting in November 2007, when a wish-list of sports facilities was drawn up.
Suggestions that a swimming pool be included were rejected because the Macdonald Aviemore

Highland Resort’s pool now comes under the Highland Council’s discount leisure scheme.
A bobsleigh push start facility was also rejected because a similar development was planned in England and it was felt that the UK required only one such facility.
It is hoped funding can be sought from sports organisations, including the Lawn Tennis Association, and residents will also be required to raise funds towards the building.

The company will meet representatives of the Cairngorms National Park Authority and local Highland councillors to discuss the proposals before a decision on a site is made.
Aviemore Community Council chairman John Grierson said: “Getting an ice rink back in Aviemore is something we are in favour of. But we are waiting to see the outcome of the feasibility study before we make further comment.”

Aviemore Snowsports

Aviemore is based in the highlands of Scotland, with impressive mountain views, and surrounded by country-side it stands 26,000 feet above rural farmland. The area is renowned for skiing, having recently had British Army Competitions on its snowy peaks in the last two months. The ski resorts success, with professional skiing has also lead to success with tourists, having thousands people hitting the slopes each month. These massive numbers are also attributed to snowboarding, with boarding specific parks on one side of the mountain.

Aviemore recently commissioned a state of the art ski train that can travel up to 15 miles per hour, withstand winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. The amazing structure travels from the base to the top and is certainly an amazing sight for any avid skier

Aviemore is an unfortunate to only have snow for 4-5 months in the year, ruling it out of hosting many competitions, and really placing Scotland up their with as one the top skiing destinations in Scotland. The skiing destination has recently hosted the snowboarding freestyle championships

With a thriving economy that survives largely of the tourism industry, Aviemore had the facilities to bed over 2,000 people a night. The reasons for this is largely down to its proximity to a local villages that are able to provide bed and breakfast and self-catering accommodation.

If you have never been to Aviemore then I recommend you visit, whether or not you are a skier. The fact is, the views are amazing, the fresh clear air is refreshing and the people are fantastic. If you have never skied before, then what better place to learn than Aviemore.