The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

“Skating was the vessel into which I could pour my heart and soul”, said American former figure skater, 1968 Olympic Champion, and three-time World Champion, Peggy Fleming. Everyone should have an opportunity to experience such a memorable feeling, don’t you agree? That’s why we were thrilled to hear that, last weekend, Egypt held its first ever national figure skating championship!

On the 6th of July, at Sun City Mall, Egyptian and foreign skaters battled it out on the skating rink under the eyes of judges from the International Skating Union. According to Egyptian Streets, head of the Egyptian National Council for Sport, Emad Al-Banany, revealed that Egypt is trying to promote the sport and is planning to organise a national tournament in the near future, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Egyptian Olympic Committee, in the hope that participants can qualify for future editions of the Winter Olympics.

This is not Egypt’s first association with the elegant sport of toe loops, flips, and the Axel. In 2014, Egypt Today had shared a piece about 14-year old, UAE-born, Egyptian-Russian skater, Amira Abdul Moati, who, at the time, was training for the 2018 Olympics Winter Games in Korea. She has competed in national figure skating competitions since she was 5, and international tournaments since she was 10! She stated, “I am very proud to be Egyptian. There were no Egyptian athletes in the Winter Olympics, as such, and I want to make history. I want to give Egypt the glory and fame it deserves.” You can read more about her the article, entitled, “Amira Abdul Moati: Figure Skater and Olympic Hopeful”.

You can check Ice Skate Egypt’s official Facebook page for coverage of Egypt’s First National Figure Skating Championship by Alghad TV, as well as other live videos and pictures. For those who don’t know, Ice Skate Egypt (ISE) was founded in December 2017 and is the governing body in charge of regulating and promoting the sport of figure skating in Egypt.

Let’s conclude with the enchanting words of ISE, “Hearts shall dance once again when [the]  canvas of ice is painted with the brush of skates.”