VINTON, Va. – The Winter Olympics are here! You can watch athletes compete in events like figure skating, curling, ice hockey, bobsledding and more — and you can even give them a shot right here in Southwest Virgnia.
Ice Hockey
There are a bunch of programs to learn ice hockey for children who are under 18. Valley Youth Hockey Association offers hockey from Learnt To Play to House League programs. There is also an adult rookie league at Lancerlot Sports Complex that plays every summer. If you want to watch the action here at home, the Virginia Tech Ice Hockey team has their last two games at Lancerlot this weekend.
Curling
If you want to try out curling, the Roanoke Valley Curling Club offers Olympic Beginner League classes.
This two-week course provides all the fun of learning to curl with the excitement of a game. No prior experience is needed. They also have a learn to curl session on Sunday, March 20. The session will provide approximately 30 minutes of off-ice instruction and plenty of on-ice instruction. You will be able to try throwing a stone, sweeping and more.
Figure Skating
If figure skating is more your speed, Lancerlot offers Learn to Skate USA classes. These classes teach the fundamentals of ice skating and provide a foundation for figure skating, hockey and speed skating. All classes are taught by Learn to Skate USA Certified Instructors. The classes last for 6 weeks and the next one starts on Feb. 26.
Meghan Noga, Lancerlot Sports Complex Figure Skating Director says she loves figure skating because anyone can try it.
“It doesn’t how old you are or what your background is, if you are an athlete, if you are not an athlete anyone can come out here and learn to skate,” said Noga.