Recently, our school has gotten a new addition to GZAAT sports: ice skating. These lessons became possible with the recent renovation of Arena 1, where one of the first standard-size skating rinks in Tbilisi was built. The teacher for these lessons will be none other than the Georgian figure skating champion (1997-8), Nini Manjavidze, a winner of the international cup and the aerobics teacher at our school.
Ms. Nini found her passion for figure skating at a very young age and became a trainer for kids and amateurs at 18. She trained in Moscow, a very cold city where ice skating was a common sport. She later explained her disappointment that figure skating wasn’t popular at all in her home country of Georgia. Nini had been trying to help others learn about the beauty of the sport, but the lack of a proper skating rink wouldn’t allow her to. So she was thrilled to hear about the reconstruction of Arena 1.
Ms. Nini explained that many people get scared away from figure skating because they think they won’t be able to excel in the sport unless they’ve learned it since they were little, but that is not the case. Ice skating is an exciting sport people of all ages can participate in and enjoy. Nini also mentioned how thrilled she is to participate and even organize competitions if the sessions succeed and the students wish to compete.
The lessons are available for people of all skill levels, with half of the rink being rented for the purpose. They’ll be conducted for 45 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Good luck to the future figure skaters who signed up, and if you didn’t get a chance to do so, hopefully, you will next year.
Edited By Giselle Rein-Hagen