synthetic Ice rink article

[Deerok 3]

Read this on my way to work; thought it would be of interest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/sports/hockey/13ice.html

[dayroc 0]

Good read, i wonder how it holds up, i was looking to syn ice a buddy's basement, but it was pretty pricey.

[fatwabbit 93]

Its summer here now, and one of the theme parks was promoting a white christmas, with fake snow and 'ice' skating for the kids. I think they used Syn Ice, and it looked pretty good. Just wished some of the freakin adults would let the kids get close to the glass and the cartoon characters, rather than hog the area.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I love synthetic ice. It's too bad the place I went to closed down. I can't imagine skating on a full sized synthetic rink though. I'd be dying ou there lol

[biff44 0]

Had about a quarter of a full rink's worth of synthetic ice in the barn for around 6 years. Got it for my kid. He loved it at first, and really did a lot of skating and stickhandling out there the first year or two. After that, the thrill wore off, and he only used it for slapshots in his sneakers.

It IS expensive, but you can get a that amount for $1000 to $1200 used. Keep checking craigs list and ebay. It is REALLY HEAVY, so if you are shipping it across country, you will spend another $1500 at a freight company. My rink weighed around 1 1/4 tons broken down.

You need a FLAT surface to put it on, and it needs to be protected from dirt/dust (i.e. enclosed) or the sand embeds itself into the plastic and you end up with sandpaper.

Keeping it clean is hard. I would scrub it with a tile cleaning machine (roatating stiff bristle brushes and detergent), and then use a wetvac to hose up the liquid. DO NOT coat it with anything if you want to stickhandle on it. Tried dilute glycerin once, and it stickhandled like I sprayed glue onto the surface.

Also, you need a cheap pair of skates to use on the synthetic ice. you do not want to use your real skates on it, because it rounds over the blade edges a lot, and you grind thru a fresh set of blades halfway thru the season.

[Lee-Bro 1]

How does this stuff hold up? How does it handle hard stops, plow stops, etc?

[hampshirepuck 2]

Played on synthetic ice last week, not to bad once you get used to it, in comparison to real ice it is so much slower and I kept on getting caught up in the seams, but it really makes you bend your knees and gives you a much better work out than being on ice because you can't be lazy and glide on the synthetic surface

[_RH_ 1]

Bumping for anyone else's opinion.

My friend and I have a pipe dream of opening a synthetic rink in hopes that it could a) attract new people to hockey b) give roller players a better option c)give established players more ice time because of the costs, etc. So far online I've seen this used primarily as a training facility (small areas). I wonder if we ever get around to actually making it into a business if we could start with a small rink, attract maybe 3 v 3 leagues and lessons then after making some money expand the rink for 4 v 4 or full size. Thoughts? Who here has started a business?

[hampshirepuck 2]

Bumping for anyone else's opinion.

My friend and I have a pipe dream of opening a synthetic rink in hopes that it could a) attract new people to hockey b) give roller players a better option c)give established players more ice time because of the costs, etc. So far online I've seen this used primarily as a training facility (small areas). I wonder if we ever get around to actually making it into a business if we could start with a small rink, attract maybe 3 v 3 leagues and lessons then after making some money expand the rink for 4 v 4 or full size. Thoughts? Who here has started a business?

The place i skate at in Nova Scotia sounds like the business model you want to to pursue, yes its kind of a training facility, but the rink is pretty sweet and offers a lot of programs that most rinks don't offer and really care about the progression of the player as an individual, which would be nice to find a place like this in the lower 48.

http://www.gamebreakerhockey.com/

[ice365 0]

Played on synthetic ice last week, not to bad once you get used to it, in comparison to real ice it is so much slower and I kept on getting caught up in the seams, but it really makes you bend your knees and gives you a much better work out than being on ice because you can't be lazy and glide on the synthetic surface

Where was this rink you tried where you were getting caught up in the seems?

[hampshirepuck 2]

Where was this rink you tried where you were getting caught up in the seems?

Gamebreakers in dartmouth n.s. it wasn't awful and probably play there again, regardless i still love the place, wish it was a little cheaper.

[ice365 0]

Gamebreakers in dartmouth n.s. it wasn't awful and probably play there again, regardless i still love the place, wish it was a little cheaper.

I am very familiar with the surface at gamebreakers and there is no join or seam issues. Please on your next trip take a picture and let me see this issue you speak of.

[Chadd 916]

I am very familiar with the surface at gamebreakers and there is no join or seam issues.

So you're calling him a liar?

[ice365 0]

So you're calling him a liar?

Wow. When u put it like that I guess it makes me look like that is what I am calling him.

Not my intent but would like to know and see what he means by "getting caught up in the seams".

[Joshison 1]

Sounds to me like you work at that rink

[ice365 0]

Sounds to me like you work at that rink

No, I sell the synthetic ice that is being used at gamebreakers and know of no problems with seams but if there is I would like to know and get it the issue fixed.

[Chadd 916]

I had a feeling this was the case.