Since early 1913, skating began to appear in Limassol, when Michalis Fournaris creatied a special skating area in his coffee shop. Influenced by the English people, who considered this sport a beneficial and entertaining activity, skating entered the life of Limassolians and began to establish as a favorite occupation. Thus, in the first half of the 20th century, several spaces were built, named "Skating" and "Neon Skating", which were even announced with great excitement in the press of that time.
The area of the Heroes Square was occasionally hosting many fans of this entertaining sport. That was the area where Yiannos, known as Pelloyiannos (Crazy John), who reserved the "Romance" as a family center, decided to create a track for skating, and other means of entertainment for the young people of that time. In Limassol, from 1913 to 1963, several large skating centers operated, such as the one by Michalis Fournari (1913), Panagiotis Georgiadis (1938), the one at the Oasis venue, by Chourridis (1940), the one by Antonakis Pissourios (located where Kennedy’s street is today, near the Enaerios area).
Generally, in the premises of Skating the Limassolians entertained themselves with various other activities such as hockey games, like the one between English and Greek teams, but also between teams from different towns. As pointed out by Mimis Sofokleous, Scientific Director of the Limassol Historical Archives, skating as an entertainment where girls were allowed to appear, was an important development, since in the 1940s society, women were generally restricted.
Information: Mimis Sofokleous, Scientific Director of the Limassol Historical Archive
* NOTE: The tributes of the Project "History of Limassol" present information that has emerged from historical research thus far. Any new data is embedded into the tributes, once it has been confirmed.
