"Thrawn" -- a Kilt Skate Video
/
With the 2023 kilt skate season just weeks away, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO) has produced a video highlighting a Canadian tradition that continues to grow and flourish.
Read More
A New Kilt Skate Season
/
Winter is coming and, with it, a new kilt skate season. New Hampshire Scot, (NHSCOT) which draws its membership from across New England and beyond, told a Zoom meeting of kilt skate organizers that their second annual Great Kilt Skate will be help on Sunday, February 5, 2023, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Read MoreThe 2022 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada
/
Well, wasn’t 2022 a curious kilt skate season! On the one hand, the kilt skate family is bigger than ever: this year it grew to 14 Canadian and 2 American cities. On the other hand, the rise of the Omicron Covid virus forced the cancellation of community kilt skates in 10 of those cities. But individuals and families carried on, holding their own socially-distanced “Home Edition” kilt skates.
Read MoreIt's a Wrap for the 2022 Kilt Skate Season
/
The 2022 kilt skate season wrapped up in the first-ever community kilt skate held in one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces — on a day when winter wrapped Prince Edward Island in a last cold embrace.
Read MoreSouth Glengarry -- A Kilt Skate Carnival
/
The Townships of North and South Glengarry take turns hosting a kilt skate each year. Last year’s was called off because of the pandemic. This year it was South Glengarry’s turn again, and they proved once more that the Glengarries know how to throw a party. The kids couldn’t wait to get back out on the ice.
Read MoreThe Return to Community Kilt Skates
/
It’s 2022 and the Great Canadian Kilt Skate is back in full force for community skating. This marks the eighth year in which the Scottish Society of Ottawa has helped organize kilt skates — not only in Ottawa but across Canada. After last year’s very successful “Home Edition” where skaters took to the ice in their own socially distanced bubbles, this year provided an opportunity at last to get together socially.
Read MoreKilt Skating When It Feels Like Minus-40
/
It takes a certain twisted determination to do something as impractical as skating with bare knees when the thermometer tells you it’s 25-below, but with the wind chill, it feels like 40-below. The Scots have a word for it: THRAWN!
Read MoreCookies and Hot Chocolate in Saskatoon
/
Each winter since 2015, the Saskatoon Highland Dancing Association has hosted a community kilt skate. This year, like others before, the photos from the event feature young children at the beginning of their dancing career and the beginning of what we hope will be a lifelong love of skating.
Read MoreDancers on Ice in Manhattan
/
For the fourth year, Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan has hosted the Tartan Kilt Skate NYC. This year, once again, skaters gathered in their kilts and tartans to celebrate Scottish heritage.
Read MoreNo kilt? Ok. No skates? That's ok too!
/
On a sunny but cold afternoon, Scots and Scots-at-heart from near and far gathered at the skating pond at White Park in Concord, NH. The event was organized and hosted by the New Hampshire Scots, who were pleased with the turnout and impressed that some skaters had driven more than an hour to take part in the first-ever kilt skate in their state — the first-ever in New England..
Read MoreWeek 5: Two More Cities Announce Community Events
/
For the second year in a row, the Home Edition of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate is proving very popular. It was initiated in response to the Covid social distancing protocols, but in recent weeks, as public health officials relax some of the measures, two cities that had originally cancelled their community events in favour of Home Edition have announced new dates for their community events.
Read MoreHalf Way Through the Kilt Skate Season: Who's in the Lead?
/
There have been many elements that have led to a particular community being named the Kilt Skate Capital. But since the pandemic began, one of the most important has been the number of photos and video submission to the SSO’s gallery. It doesn’t matter whether your community’s event has been cancelled due to COVID. It doesn’t even matter whether your community has had plans for a kilt skate at all. Send us your pictures and videos!
Read MoreComing to a Rink Near You!
/
A heavy dump of snow and a severe cold front has hit most of Canada. But that hasn’t stopped people from donning their kilts and strapping on the skates. Note that the Scots are a pragmatic people, innovative and adaptable. Don’t let the threat of frostbite interfere with winter fun: dress accordingly! If you need to, wear your longjohns or your leggings under your kilt.
Read MoreKilt Skate Season 2022 Begins!
/
But as Rabbie Burns might have said, the best laid plans of mice and kilt skaters gang aft agley. The rise of the Omicron virus has forced many organizations to reconsider whether to bring people together. Some organizers have opted to promote the “Home Edition” of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate. It was launched last year in response to the pandemic, but it’s now one of those pandemic innovations that was such a good idea that now it’s here to stay.
Read MoreTartan Up! Kilt skate season is coming.
/
This winter, a record 12 cities across Canada have expressed their intention to host a community kilt skate this winter. The newest additions to the national kilt skate family include Halifax NS, Moncton NB, and Midland ON. And the Home Edition? It proved so popular that it will remain a feature of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate for years to come. Skaters are encouraged to send their photos to: #ottscot #kiltskate2022OTT #ScotlandIsNow and #TartanUp
Read MoreSurvey Confirms Home Edition Success
/
Photos from kilt skaters across the country were posted on the Gallery at ottscot.ca. And for the first time, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (SSO), which organizes the Great Canadian Kilt Skate nationally, undertook a survey of kilt skate participants.
Read MoreManitoba Salutes Kilt Skate Triumph
/
“This week, a signal honour was bestowed upon the City of Winnipeg that embodies so much of what is great about our capital city: volunteerism, pride in cultural heritage and rivers to skate away on. On Monday, March 21, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was declared the Kilt Skate Capital of Canada by the Scottish Society of Ottawa, beating out Moncton, New Brunswick; Mauricie, Quebec; Regina, Saskatchewan; Almonte, Portland; Victoria Harbour and Lake Dalrymple, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta…”
Read MoreThe 2021 Kilt Skate Capital of Canada
/
To sum up: many former kilt skate capitals and many new communities responded to the challenge of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate — Home Edition. But there was one city that was a standout this year. For one thing, it sent us more pictures than any other community.
Read MoreWeek 8: A Party Wraps Up the Season
/
Born out of necessity when the pandemic prevented community events, the Home Edition of the Great Canadian Kilt Skate has proved to be a tremendous success — one that will likely carry on into future kilt skate seasons. By encouraging people to skate on their own whenever and wherever they safely could, we .saw many come out to kilt skate for the first time — including Jim Hunter. Not only is Jim our first kilt skater from Regina, SK, he likely holds this year’s and perhaps the all-time record for the most senior kilt skater.
Read MoreNYC: Skate it there, Skate it anywhere
/
Kilt skating is taking off in New York City — even during the pandemic. After all, this year’s kilt skate motto is: “our faces may be masked, but our knees will be bare!” The third annual Tartan Kilt Skate NYC was held once again in the heart of Manhattan, presented by American Scottish Foundation in association with Bryant Park.
Read More
