I would not be the person I am today without the ice rink and I thank Ryde Arena eternally for that!

Ryde Ice rink was a massive part of my life and the day it closed was one of the saddest days of my life. The rink was a place to escape from everyday life, getting up at 5am everyday before school, training hard, getting changed, driving up to school and coming back down in the evening spending countless of hours on the ice with my friends. Starting at the age of 11 I was quite late to the sport but fell in love with it in an instant. At the age of 14 I broke my leg on the ice which prevented me skating for 6 months, having a cast from my toe to my hip, counting down the days till I could get back on the ice! I missed out on my first British Championships. When I finally did get back on the ice, I worked incredibly hard to get back to where I was. The day came when I joined the Wight Jewels which was the best decision of my life, allowing me to travel and compete across the world and meet some of my best friends, giving me 4 Gold British medals and allowing me to compete 3 times at the world championships. These were the best experiences of my life! I also competed in singles skating, practising hard for various competitions across the country. My favourite thing in skating is jumps so had a lot of bumps and bruises but I have some proud moments landing some of my favourite jumps!

In 2014 the last Christmas show at Ryde Arena was Mary Poppins. I was very proud to play Bert and with my best friend Isabelle Coeshott playing Mary it was the best time of my life. I enjoyed every single show. I am proud to have performed in what is at the moment the last Christmas show at Ryde, but I'll be there watching when the rink hopefully opens again!

In 2015 when I was 19 my ultimate dream came true and I got into a professional ice skating show in Amsterdam with Ice Glitz Productions. Also I was involved in opening Christmas ice rinks in 2016 such as the Tower of London and children's birthday parties giving me the opportunity to be Disney princesses!

Now, at 21 moving to uni in London these experiences have set me up for life!

Ryde Arena gave me an amazing childhood and made my teenage years unique, meeting the best people and making friends for life! I would give anything to do it all over again and I hope the rink opens again to allow current children on the Island to have the opportunities that I had because they were the best that I could ever ask for. I would not be the person I am today without the ice rink and I thank Ryde Arena eternally for that! ❤