Goodbye Lee Valley!
Lee Valley has been operating almost daily for the last 40 years and has finally reached the end of its functional life. Plans have been agreed to demolish the venue and in its place erect a twin padded arena (two whole Olympic sized ice pads), plus gym, exercise/dance studios, and some community spaces including a cafe. There is an estimated completion date of October 2022.
Opened in 1984 by Torvill & Dean, Lee Valley has been the home to many Figure Skaters, Ice Dancers, Pair Skaters, Synchro Teams and Ice Hockey Teams over the last 4 decades. It has hosted many matches, competitions, shows, galas, and has even featured in a few music videos such as ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ by The Lightening Seeds, and ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Florence + The Machine.
Lee Valley was the original home to the London Racers, the last Elite Ice Hockey league team to hail from London. It is currently home to the Lee Valley Lions, who were founded in 1984 and dominated the league in the mid 80s.
Lee Valley was also home to the first ever British Precision Skating team (now known worldwide as Synchro) championed by Jenni Mudge and named ‘The Ice Jems’. This very first Precision Skating team of Great Britain was formed in 1990 and went on to win a gold medal at their first competition in Helsinki in 1991.
Lee Valley also went on to win the first ever British Precision Championships held in 1992 (yes a very young me is pictured here but thankfully hidden behind another head).
Lee Valley has hosted many shows and galas over the years but it’s skaters have also travelled the length and breadth of Europe taking part in these events in the name of Lee Valley Club. I’m sure none of the ex Valley skaters will easily forget any of the performances done on plastic ice in London and France, nor at the Centenary of Maldon’s Promenade Park where a skater had to dive into the lake at the conclusion of the performance!
Lee Valley club skaters also performed around Xmas time every year for ZDF TV in Germany, which was always live. It was also outdoors, and sometimes we would be ice side in our little costumes in minus temperatures. But nobody would have changed a thing about it.
Most notable of performances was being asked to perform at the last military tattoo in Berlin to mark the withdrawal of troops after the wall dividing East and West Berlin finally came down. It was a honour for all involved.
The little small blue tin hut sitting at the back of Lea Bridge Road doesn’t look like much from the outside at all. In fact I’m sure many people pass it every day without ever noticing it is there. But inside it has been a place where many special events have happened over the years. There is an exhaustive list of wonderful moments and funny stories that I’m sure could fill an entire book.
It was a place where people celebrated sporting achievements and commiserated losses. It was a place where great memories were made and even greater fears conquered. It was a place where everybody could believe in what they were doing and take huge pride in it. It was a place where lifelong friendships have been formed and are still going strong many years later.
Thank you Lee Valley for the medals, the memories, and the friendships.
I hope you enjoy the gallery and please add your favourite Lee Valley moments in the comments section below!
