Dancing
on ice

For many of us, playing sports was an essential part of our childhood and teen years, bringing together fun, friendships, healthy competition, and physical fitness. Sports ignite passion, and for the residents in our home, watching games, discussing sports, or participating in exercise activities is a true highlight.

In light of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, Cumberland View Aged Care resident, Ann Taylor, shares with us her passion for ice skating and how she came to be a life-long skater.

Ann worked as a dressmaker on City Road, South Melbourne which overlooked the Melbourne Glaciarium ice skating rink where she had a strong curiosity for ice skating. ‘Curiosity got the better of me and I decided I should go in and look,’ Ann says. ‘I was 15 and after my first time on the ice, I purchased my own skates and took ice dancing lessons.’

 

Ann tells us that she loved to spend time ice skating at St Moritz skating rink in St Kilda, where she met her lifelong friend, Olive. ‘Olive and I would skate any chance we could get,’ says Ann. ‘We made a great group of friends and would often all go to Luna Park afterwards. It was always amazing coming out of the ice to the sunshine and beach. It was the best of both worlds.’ When asked what she loved most about ice skating, Ann replies, ‘I loved the music, and the magical feeling of soaring on the ice.’

Ann tells us that she grew up in the same street as her now husband. They were friends for many years, but one day, something ‘just clicked’, and they became more than friends. Ann laughed when she said, ‘[My husband] came with me skating but would end up on the floor in an icy puddle.’

‘My passion for ice skating quickly changed to my love of my husband and then family, with one daughter and three sons,’ she says. ‘All my sons played ice hockey at the Olympic ice rink on Centre Road in Oakleigh South so ice was in their blood too.’

Now at the age of 94 and living at Cumberland View, Ann chooses to relax and loves watching figure skating championships and the winter Olympics in the comfort of her home. ‘I hold my breath as the competitors try more and more difficult tricks to wonderful choreography and music,’ she says.

When asked about a special memory from her ice-skating days, Ann says, ‘An ice-skating highlight for me was meeting my lifelong friend Olive as well as watching Torvill and Dean’s Olympic gold winning ice dance.’