Blame the changing demographic of downtown Victoria for the demise of the Victoria Figure Skating Club.

The 86-year-old institution boasted 750 members in 1966, the econd largest in Canada at the time. But now it has folded for good following its AGM on March 26.

The club was right up there with the cityB次元官网网址檚 other historic sporting organizations in terms of longest running organization.

B次元官网网址�(The end) has been coming a long time due to a gradual decline in numbers,B次元官网网址� said president Sharon Jarymy. B次元官网网址淎s your numbers go down, so does funding and savings. We knew we didnB次元官网网址檛 have enough money to continue next year.B次元官网网址�

The majority of the clubB次元官网网址檚 remaining skaters will likely move into the Saanich Figure Skating Club based out of Pearkes rec centre behind Tillicum Mall, Jarymy said.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e worked closely over the years with Saanich. TheyB次元官网网址檝e shared ice with us, weB次元官网网址檝e co-hosted ice shows and we share a coach, so our skaters are familiar with them.B次元官网网址�

Numbers may have fizzled downtown and in Esquimalt, but the other clubs around town are doing just fine. The family-centric suburbs of Saanich, West Shore and Oak Bay are turning out skaters at a more consistent rate.

In her final presidentB次元官网网址檚 report, Jarymy cited the marginal increase in  VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 population and a decline in EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚.

B次元官网网址淰ictoria Skating didnB次元官网网址檛 have so much competition from other clubs many years ago and of course this has now changed,B次元官网网址� said Ted Barton, executive director of Skate CanadaB次元官网网址檚 B.C./Yukon branch.

Aside from the clubB次元官网网址檚 disbandment, figure skating is relatively healthy in Greater Victoria and  B.C., he added.

B次元官网网址淥ur B.C. numbers have maintained the 20,000 member level for the past several years.B次元官网网址�

Oak Bay Figure Skating Club, which started when its rink opened in 1975, has tripled since the clubB次元官网网址檚 current director of skating, Jamie McGrigor, joined eight years ago.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e up over 210 members. The last few years have been banner years for us.B次元官网网址�

Juan de Fuca Figure Skating Club president Janys Langer also reported growth with her club, leading to a general consensus that the demand for youth figure skating is lower in the heart of Victoria and Esquimalt than the neighbouring regions.

B次元官网网址淪ince 2009 we have experienced moderate increases in our numbers, mostly at the (beginner) level and synchro teams,B次元官网网址� Langer said.

Victoria Skating got off the ground in 1926, the first in the area, based out of the Patrick Arena in Oak Bay. It survived fires to the Patrick (1929) and Willows (1944) arenas, before finding a permanent home at Memorial Arena from 1949 to 2003.

Since 2004 it has operated out of Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre and the Archie Browning Sports Centre.

B次元官网网址�(The) arenas arenB次元官网网址檛 recreation centres, so we didnB次元官网网址檛 get the extra walk-by traffic, which didnB次元官网网址檛 help our publicity level,B次元官网网址� Jarymy said.