22 December 2009

The twenty thousandth visitor to Sure Skate took to the ice yesterday afternoon (Monday 21 December).

In just four weeks 20,000 people – more than a quarter of the island’s population – have visited the winter attraction. To mark the milestone, the twenty thousandth person, 19 year old Alison Corkill from Ballasalla, was presented with a Sure goodie bag and four free skate passes. In addition, due to the overwhelming response to the rink, in agreement with the DTL the Ice rink will be open until 17th January.

Mike Stanton, Sure’s Country Manager, said: “We knew that Sure Skate would be popular, but to have so many people support it is amazing. I am delighted that Sure, once again have given something back to the community and especially to our customers who have supported us since launching on the Island. We would like to thank the Department of Tourism and Leisure (DTL) who facilitated a two week extension of Sure Skate in the Villa Marina Gardens.”

Hon Martyn Quayle, Minister for Tourism and Leisure said: “The ice rink has been a fantastic amount of fun for many thousands of people and I am pleased that we have been able to facilitate an extension for the ice rink being in the Villa Marina Gardens for another fortnight.”

Building on its popularity Islanders will be glad to know that the Sure Skate ice rink will be on the Isle of Man for an extended period of two weeks. So instead of closing on the 3rd January it will now be closing on the 17th January.