Some skaters fall on the ice, others are hanging on to the sides while the confident ones are showing off their skills.
There’s some skating backwards, others go for more complex moves. Others hit the deck. Again.
The public session at Dundee Ice Arena is in full flow with recreational skaters spending an enjoyable afternoon (for those able to keep their balance anyway) on ice.
A couple of them head for the exit, passing someone coming in.
They’d be forgiven for thinking this was just another skater, coming in for a bit of practice.
But this is Natasha McKay, the top female British figure skater for the past five years. A six-time national champion.
This is an Olympian.
No ordinary skater.
She has her costume for the upcoming Christmas show under her arm with practice to come after meeting with Courier Sport.
With an incredible 2022 to look back upon.
Pinnacle
First the 2021 British Championships, delayed by Covid, then the Beijing Winter Olympics in February followed by a home Grand Prix in Sheffield in November.
Then came her sixth straight British title win at the start of December.
“It was a whirlwind of a year,” McKay told the Courier.
“Even before the turn of the year and the qualifying for the Olympic Games was tough during Covid and nobody knew if the games would happen or not.
“But it was just amazing.
“That is the pinnacle of my career, I’ll never top that.
“Now I have ticked off everything I want to do in my skating career.”
Dream
After McKay achieved a 23rd-place finish at the World Championships in 2021, Great Britain had a spot in the 2022 Olympics.
But it was up for grabs.
“There were four girls in the running but it came down to winning the British Championships in the end,” McKay recalled.
“So I didn’t actually know I was going to the Olympics until December.
“Then it sunk in and I was actually going.
“It had been a dream since I started skating here at seven-years-old.
“I remember watching the 2006 Olympics and that’s when I thought ‘that’s what I want to do, I want to go to the Olympics’.
“I had won competitions as a youngster but then as a teenager I didn’t progress as fast as everyone else.
“At that point I was going to quit because there was no point carrying on but (coaches) Debi and Simon (Briggs) convinced me to give it a few months.
“And in those months it just came to together.
“I got the jumps I needed to get and won the British Championships that year, got to Europeans and Worlds and from there I started to think I could get to the Olympics.
“It was a bit early for me to make 2018 so I put everything into making it to 2022.”
Goosebumps
Catching Covid-19 in the month before heading to China would have ended the dream immediately and a close call with a positive case had McKay in tears thinking her chance had gone.
That was after spending a whole month “staying away from everybody, not going to the ice rink, not going to the shops”.
That discipline paid off and allowed McKay the moment she’d waited all her life for.
“As a team stepping into the arena at the opening ceremony was like goosebumps, it was amazing,” she said.
“I had done it, I was there.
“And then getting announced onto the ice, I remember thinking ‘oh my god, this is it, I’m at the Olympics’.
“All I had dreamed about at that point was getting there.”
THAT fall
Quickly came the nightmare fall, however.
And with it any hopes of getting through the first stage of the competition.
“It’s ice and anything can happen,” she added.
“I fell on the very first jump and I thought ‘oh no’, I just didn’t want to carry on.
“After that fall everything was perfect. It was so annoying.
“It’s skating and that can happen.
“I was pleased to get it back after that point. As soon as I fell I knew it wouldn’t be enough to qualify.
“So I knew I had to pick myself up and just enjoy that time out on the ice.”
Time to retire?
Natasha will be enjoying her time on the ice this coming Saturday at the Ice Arena as all the skaters in Dundee put on their Christmas show.
Tickets are still available to see McKay and all her clubmates tackle the likes of Mary Poppins, the Wizard of Oz, Grease and Frozen out on the ice.
Will it be the last time she does so as the reigning British champion, however?
“I was thinking about retiring after the Olympics,” the 27-year-old admitted.
“I wanted six British Championships so I stayed on to get that sixth.
“I said six but I’m now toying with the idea of going for another year.
“I’m not sure, I’m playing it by ear at the minute.
“I’m planning to do the Tayside Trophy here (in the autumn) and then I’ll play it by ear from there.
“By the time I get there I’ll be thinking ‘I really want to do the British again, I want another title!’
“So I may keep going.”
