Hundreds enjoy ice skating in Biloxi

BILOXI -- Sisters London and Althea Rickert said they thought about what professional ice skaters might look like and then picked out their outfits to go ice skating for the first time Sunday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

London Rickert, 4, decided on a light blue polar bear hat coupled with a blue and white dress and decorative gloves; her sister grabbed a sweater hat, a purple tutu and cape with the letter "A" for Althea on the back.

They joined more than 200 others who took to the ice Sunday at the Biloxi coliseum, many for the first time. The girls relied on their mother, Natalie Rickert, to show them the ropes on the ice.

After several rounds around the rink, the girls felt good about their accomplishments.

"I like that I can go by myself," Althea said, and her sister, London, echoed the sentiment.

"I would tell them (my friends) that it's fun," London said. Both girls said they wanted to ice skate again.

"I wasn't sure if they were going to like it," their mother said. "But we had a lot of fun. They caught on pretty quick."

Parents from all over the area and many from out of state stopped by the Colise

um to take advantage of the one of the last weekends to ice skate this month. The last day to skate this season is Jan. 10.

The event brought young children, teens and even young adults out to have some fun.

Kisha Davis, 21, joined friends Blaire Sumrall, 26, and Presley Havard, 18, all of Lucedale. It was also their first time to ice skate.

"We may end up in the emergency room," Davis joked.

But after taking several rounds around the rink, Davis and Sumrall said they had managed to stay on their feet.

"We just haven't gotten this twirling thing down yet," Davis said. Havard said she still had to hang on to the side of the wall to skate.

Cathy Havard praised efforts to offer ice skating for families in South Mississippi.

"It's great," Havard said. "New York City ain't got nothing on us."

Though a large number of skaters Sunday enjoyed their first attempts at ice skating, others knew what they were doing and enjoyed holding hands with loved ones as they took to the ice.

River Young, 17, of Picayune, is a hockey player and friends described him as a champion skater. He was hanging out with his girlfriend Sunday.

Trainers also attended to help out skaters, and a medic kept an eye out in case anyone complained of injuries. There were none reported Sunday.

Skaters also could enjoy a nice selection of food to eat between rounds, including pizza, hot dogs and lots of snacks.

Jada Seymour, 12, of Long Beach, said she didn't do that great at skating Sunday, but wasn't giving up.

"I'll keep trying," she said.

This story was originally published January 3, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Hundreds enjoy ice skating in Biloxi ."