Olympic Oval sees uptick in speedskating lesson registration
More than 200 people have called this week to sign up for lessons
Calgary's Olympic Oval is feeling the ripple effect of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
More than 200 people have called this week to sign up for speed skating lessons, inspired by the success and spirit of Canada's Olympic athletes. While the increased interest in the sport is helping to raise its profile, it's also leaving COP with a problem — finding ice-time for lessons.
"It is a very good problem to have," said Marcel Lacroix, the Olympic Oval's associate director of sport. "We're looking at it like, this is very positive and let's try to find a way to fit them in our schedule because we're not going to say no to people who want to try speed skating."
Lacroix, who is the former coach of Canada's Olympic speedskaters Denny Morrison and Gilmore Junio, says this ripple effect isn't all that unusual.
Rather, it happens every four years as the sport gets increased coverage on news networks across the country.