evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2012 Is it normal for the ice to slant DOWN next to the boards? The level of the ice at my rink slants down an inch inch or two as it nears the boards, causing the puck to stay against the boards to where you almost have to dig it out if it isn't moving. I've skated at other rinks but I've never noticed it before, probably because I've never played ice hockey anywhere else.Sorry if this is a noob question... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ktang 34 Report post Posted October 13, 2012 Yes, that's the trough. It's quite common. But 1" is a bit much.The zamboni / olympia auger can't really get to the trough, so as the rest of the ice is built up during the season the trough remains. There is a wheeled brush on zambonis / olympias that is used to even out the trough, but it's not always used. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2012 Ok that makes sense. Probably built up over a long period of time, I doubt my rink re-does the ice very often. Lines are dull and blurry too. For $600/player per season ($700 for youth), you'd think they would have the most dialed-in rink around. Not the case apparently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salibandy 21 Report post Posted October 13, 2012 The trough at my rink is so deep, and the ice there is uneven. It's not level at all, if you wrap the puck round the end boards, it will skip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doodman 0 Report post Posted October 14, 2012 Before they redid the ice this summer the rink by my place had spaces against the boards where you could see sand, the ice is gone up to a 1/2". The trough was so deep if a puck was against the boards you couldn't see it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jds 20 Report post Posted October 14, 2012 For $600/player per season ($700 for youth), Holy crap! Where is this rink, in the Hamptons? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 14, 2012 Suburban Greater Los Angeles area. Nice facility, but seems like it could be better taken care of. There's one spot on one of the rinks where the bottom of the board sticks out in one of the lower corners. If you try to wrap the puck around the boards behind the net, the puck will kick out to the face off circle on the other side. Also, there are large-ish gouges in the ice surface that the zamboni never quite fills in.They have like 25 adult teams in 4 divisions, who knows how many youth teams, travel club, college hockey, classes and clinics, figure skating, stick time ($15/hr), pickup ($25), plus public skates ($11 plus rental), skate sharpening is $10 which from what I understand is about twice what it should be, and a slightly overpriced pro shop. Should have plenty of money. Either they hoard it or can't manage it..I'm sure it costs a lot to keep a place like that running, but for the money we all pay, the ice should be immaculate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troy 12 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Ok that makes sense. Probably built up over a long period of time, I doubt my rink re-does the ice very often. Lines are dull and blurry too. For $600/player per season ($700 for youth), you'd think they would have the most dialed-in rink around. Not the case apparently.Holy crap! Where is this rink, in the Hamptons?That's a lot? I can't ever remember youth hockey costing less than $1200. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Seems like a lot to me, especially since there are so many kids playing. I played roller hockey as a kid, and I think it was something like $200. At $1,200 per season, 2 seasons per year, plus gear and incidentals, it would be upwards of $3,000 per year for a kid to play. That seems like a HELL of a lot of money to me, especially compared to other sports like youth football, AYSO soccer, little league baseball, even golf.Not many families I know could afford that, even in my semi-affluent suburban community. Two kids? Forget about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troy 12 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 I played HS and travel as a youth and it was at least $3000 a year combined, and that is without any incidentals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Damn. Hope you thanked your parents lol. I'd like to put my kids in hockey someday if I can afford it. Hopefully the league's around here stay somewhat reasonable.Thanks for the perspective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gummer12 134 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 No, that's Not common... it should be flush with the kickplate. They need to edge the ice, and do some severe ice maintenance. Could also be a big draft with the dehumidifier causing it to eat away at the ice there on the edges... but definitely needs to be maintained better. Major injury hazard there and could result in lawsuit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2082 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Sounds like one of the rinks down here in san diego. Bare concrete at times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evh5150 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 No, that's Not common... it should be flush with the kickplate. They need to edge the ice, and do some severe ice maintenance. Could also be a big draft with the dehumidifier causing it to eat away at the ice there on the edges... but definitely needs to be maintained better. Major injury hazard there and could result in lawsuit.How do we as paying customers, essentially, convince them to amp up their maintenance program? I'd hate for it to take a gnarly injury for that to happen. I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this stuff. Come to think of it, in the waiver we sign it basically says its our responsibility to inspect the facility for safety issues. What can we do if the management refuses to address the issues? I have a feeling I will get stonewalled with a "Well you don't have to skate here" kind of attitude. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee-Bro 1 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 How do we as paying customers, essentially, convince them to amp up their maintenance program? I'd hate for it to take a gnarly injury for that to happen. I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this stuff. Come to think of it, in the waiver we sign it basically says its our responsibility to inspect the facility for safety issues. What can we do if the management refuses to address the issues? I have a feeling I will get stonewalled with a "Well you don't have to skate here" kind of attitude.If you have another rink, you have options. If not, then it would take nearly all the paying customers walking out/boycotting until management changes their approach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chk hrd 164 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 No, that's Not common... it should be flush with the kickplate. They need to edge the ice, and do some severe ice maintenance. Could also be a big draft with the dehumidifier causing it to eat away at the ice there on the edges... but definitely needs to be maintained better. Major injury hazard there and could result in lawsuit.I think edging will make it worse since they would only be cutting ice off the 18-20 inches next to the boards. Is the ice the right thickness at the boards and high in the main part or is the ice thin at the edges? You see low spots alot at the Zam doors or in the corners on rinks that don't work on the ice alot. They need to check the temperatures to make sure the ice is keeping a consistant temperature. It could have some hot spots from bad pipes.The best fix is to thaw the ice, make sure everything works and start a new sheet. Then edge the ice at least 2 or 3 times a week before the last cut and flood of the night. Our rink edges almost every night and we never have issues with high/low spots. Unfortunately alot of rinks can't afford to due that because of loss of revenue and pissing people off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyskull 21 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 Glad to know it's not just shitty English rinks with this problem! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gummer12 134 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 I think edging will make it worse since they would only be cutting ice off the 18-20 inches next to the boards. Is the ice the right thickness at the boards and high in the main part or is the ice thin at the edges? You see low spots alot at the Zam doors or in the corners on rinks that don't work on the ice alot. They need to check the temperatures to make sure the ice is keeping a consistant temperature. It could have some hot spots from bad pipes.The best fix is to thaw the ice, make sure everything works and start a new sheet. Then edge the ice at least 2 or 3 times a week before the last cut and flood of the night. Our rink edges almost every night and we never have issues with high/low spots. Unfortunately alot of rinks can't afford to due that because of loss of revenue and pissing people off.If done properly... you don't just edge and leave it... you zam it flush to what you've edged, and not just the outside pass... you have to make your depth measurements all across the sheet, and cut/flood where needed. The outside pass and corners/endzones tend to be the thickest, because that's where bad drivers usually drive slower, ergo laying more water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2082 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 laying more water.Oh, you're supposed to lay down water? Maybe somebody should let the zamboni guy at my rink know that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MC6694 2 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 Hell I skated at a rink in LA one time where the sides slopped in towards the center and it looked as if there were big cracks in the ice on the ends of the rink. It was so ghetto. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chippa13 1844 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 Oh, you're supposed to lay down water? Maybe somebody should let the zamboni guy at my rink know that! Guy at the rink we're usually at knows, only too well. You need fins and a snorkel to play there in the summer or even early during games in the winter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IniNew 51 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 I seem to recall that having the cooling system under the rink end at the edge can be a problem. It needs to exceed the edges of the boards by a bit to make sure residual heat doesn't melt the edges. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirJW 207 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 This is an issue @ o e of the rinks I play at and when they flood the edges it leaks out to the other side. I've seen them add snow to fill it I late night but the problem seems to persist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goblue9280 33 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 Yep, common problems at our rink in Houston, TX. Ice is terrible, but we have no other options within an hour drive. On top of that, all the ice our association buys and we pay $400 per hour... because again, we have no options. It's really hard to get kids into the sport when it costs just under a grand for a mite season... and that's playing cross-ice hockey with two games (4 teams) on one sheet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LoneStar77 25 Report post Posted October 18, 2012 Yep, common problems at our rink in Houston, TX. Ice is terrible, but we have no other options within an hour drive. On top of that, all the ice our association buys and we pay $400 per hour... because again, we have no options. It's really hard to get kids into the sport when it costs just under a grand for a mite season... and that's playing cross-ice hockey with two games (4 teams) on one sheet.If you are referring to the rink in College Station, its probably worse (I figure that's about an hour away from some parts of Houston). I played one season there & the ice rounds up at the boards because I never saw them use an edger after our games & they had holes in the ice for a few games (removed the cones that were out for public skate & we just tried to avoid the areas). I'm thankful that I can drive about the same amount time as it took me to get to CS & play at a Star Center in the Dallas area. Their ice is solid, the worst part is they don't give enough time after resurfacing before the games start so the area behind the nets is just water for most of the first period. However, the edge every night after our games as well as take thickness measurements & do some other general maintenance things that keep the ice decent even in the heat of a Texas summer. Of course it helps that there are other rinks in the area so they have to maintain their ice or people would just go elsewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
