Emerging trend

Despite these challenges and risks, coach He believes that the increase in adult figure skating beginners is not a short-term surge but a long-term trend.

"Public attitudes toward sports consumption are shifting from watching competitions to personal participation, and from short-term weight loss to developing lifelong skills and hobbies," he said. "Figure skating aligns perfectly with this trend."

Mature adult figure skating communities, online forums, and grading and competition systems are taking shape, he added.

Liu, the store manager in Wuhan, said generations born in the 1990s and afterward are more willing to spend money on their hobbies. "Coupled with the national push for winter sports, public enthusiasm for figure skating is set to keep rising," Liu said.

Zhu Zhibin, secretary-general of the Chengdu Figure Skating Association, said that as winter sports continue to gain popularity in southern cities like Chengdu, rising adult participation in the sport is a natural trend.

The city currently has 14 ice rinks, most of which were put into use after 2015. The number of people participating in winter sports in the city has exceeded 2 million, Zhu said.

"It is undeniable that at present, teenagers still make up the majority of figure skating participants in Chengdu. However, it is noteworthy that the sport's increasingly refined training system now offers strong support for adult participation," he said.

Zhu emphasized the need to further promote the sport among adults in communities, enterprises, and social groups. Competitions should also be made more accessible to amateur and adult participants, to encourage more adults to embrace the sport.

Sun Ping, general manager of Sichuan Sino-Canada Sporting Co, said social media could play a vital role in attracting potential skaters.

She noted that in previous years, the ice rink had only about 100 adult learners annually, but the number has doubled this year thanks to promotions on social media.

To draw more adults, she said the rink will keep offering discounted trial classes and public activities with the ice rink open for free at specific times.

Chen Lingyi contributed to this story.