Not since the halcyon days of the early 1980s when Robin Cousins was winning Olympic and world titles and Torvill and Dean were Bolero-ing into the nation’s hearts has figure skating in this country had as big an opportunity for growth.

And Cousins is at the heart of it again. The 1980 Olympic men’s gold medallist is now championing his sport from the position of President of British Ice Skating, helping drive the successful bids that will see two major global figure skating events taking place in Sheffield over the new Olympic cycle.

The first is next week’s ISU World Grand Prix event from Thursday to Sunday, the first of its kind to be held in the United Kingdom. The second is the European Championships in 2026, to be held in the weeks leading up to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

"It’s great to be able to have this level of skating championships back in the UK,” Cousins told The Yorkshire Post.

Britain's Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby, right, of Sheffield perform during the pairs's short program of the European Figure Skating Championship 2022 on January 12, 2022 in Tallinn. (Picture: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

“The European Championships in Sheffield in 2026 will be a huge event because it’s the last one before the Olympics.

"And the World Grand Prix next, you’ve got skaters coming out of the 2022 Olympic season with so much hunger. It’s in these Grands Prix where you want to show your mettle.”

Sheffield stages the fourth of six events on the global grand prix circuit. It should have been held in Russia, but due to their invasion of Ukraine they were stripped of hosting rights and British Ice Skating raised their hand.

"It’s a thrill for the ISU to allow us to be one of the two new hosts of the Grand Prix series,” said Cousins.

Robin Cousins (Picture: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“There’s nothing like visibility to spawn new recruits, the type of visibility that the Grand Prix event will give our sport.”

So why choose iceSheffield in Attercliffe as the venue?

"Sheffield City have been so great to us in the past with the facilities there, iceSheffield, the EIS over the road where our offices are based and the proximity to the arena,” he said. “Sheffield were very quick to be very helpful and they’ve been instrumental alongside our sponsor hosts John Wilson, the blade company. We’ve hosted a European Championships in Sheffield before, the ice rink is available, it’s a known entity for us as a national body.

"They are facilities that generate sporting enthusiasm, and it’s a great part of the country to access – right in the middle.“

Robin Cousins of Great Britain watches the raising of the Union Jack flag with second placed silver medallist Jan Hoffman (r) and bronze medallist Charles Tickner after winning the gold medal in the mens singles figure skating competition at the XII Olympic Winter Games on 21st February 1980 at the Olympic Center Arena in Lake Placid, New York, United States. (Picture: Getty Images)

Next week’s Grand Prix offers a unique opportunity for the seven British skaters set to take the ice, something Cousins rarely experienced himself in a glittering career.

"For our young Brits to have that opportunity in front of a home crowd, I only did one if not two during my whole career because we didn’t have that many, certainly not at this level,” he said. “So it’s a great coup for British ice skating and I hope our youngsters feel that vibe.

"Our young skaters will see up close the best in the world and they will see how close they are to them.

"Anytime people say it’s different for you, I would always say ‘no, it doesn’t matter if you’re a primary-level skater, an intermediate, or an Olympian, the intensity with which you step on the ice to perform your program will be the same’.”

But as he knows only too well, nothing worth winning is easily earned.

British ice skating may have emerged from the pandemic in good health, with a thriving recreational scene coming up to Christmas and two major events now coming to the country, but there is still very little money in it for the athletes.

Four decades ago Cousins had to work in a department store in London to pay his way. Only recently, Sheffield’s own PJ Hallam - a British champion and world championship competitor in 2020 - retired from a sport he had to fit around earning money to fund.

"That doesn’t change for a lot of people in a lot of countries,” observed Cousins. “There’s a lot of people who are workhorses first and athletes second.

"You have two choices, you can say ‘this is what I’ve got, this is it and I’ll do what I can with it’. Or you say ‘no this is as good as I’m going to get, we’ll take it from there’. That’s just unfortunately how it is.

"But you never forget why you put your skates on, that love of the sport comes first, competing either against others or yourself. How badly do you want it? How far are you willing to go?”

Does Cousins have a message for anyone, young or old, who watches the action in Sheffield next week and feels compelled to have a go? “If the skates don’t fit, go back and keep trying them until they do,” he laughed. “They’re not supposed to hurt.”

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Great Britain will be represented by seven skaters at next week’s ISU World Grand Prix, including a young man from Sheffield.

Luke Digby is the British pairs champion with Anastasia Vaipan-Law and is familiar with iceSheffield as it is his home rink.

Also in action for the host country are Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson who are currently ranked number one in the ISU World Ice Dance standings, Ed Appleby and Graham Newberry in the men’s singles and Natasha McKay in the women’s singles.

Practice day is Thursday with competition days held Friday to Sunday. Sessions run from 10am to 10pm.

For tickets, visit https://www.grandprix2022sheffield.com/

Robin Cousins interview: World Grand Prix coming to Sheffield a huge opportunity for British Ice Skating