AROUND 200 people packed the indoor ice skating rink at the Bournemouth International Centre at the weekend for a special reunion event.
The skate night was organised for all the people who used to skate at Ice Trax, Tower Park, Poole; Westover Road Ice Rink in Bournemouth, and other rinks in Southampton.
Organiser Michele Dring said: "I started this back in 2013 and we've been going every year since then.
"It has been a huge success every time. It used to be mainly a reunion for the Westover, but this year we added on Ice Trax and others.
"We are desperate for an ice rink to come back into town, whether it is Poole, Bournemouth or Christchurch, as it is so far for kids to travel for their nearest rink in Gosport or Basingstoke."
The indoor rink at the BIC is only temporary, being in place from December until the February half term.
Michele, from Poole, said: "We are mainly in our late 40s and 50s, although we did have quite a few kids attending on Saturday.
"One of our group has had a number of meetings with officials about the possibility of bringing a permanent ice rink back to this area. Hopefully this will happen."
Bournemouth's Westover Road Ice Rink was one of the town's most popular entertainment venues for decades - with Ice Follies shows drawing bumper crowds.
It opened in the 1930s above the Westover Garage. The rink saw appearances from some of the biggest names in skating of all kinds - including John Curry, Robin Cousins and Torvill and Dean.
Despite public protests the rink closed in 1991
Meanwhile, Ice Trax at Tower Park closed in the mid-1990s, a victim of the recession experienced throughout the UK at the start of that decade.
