Inspiration part 24 - Ice Rinks

Welcome back,

While looking through my old files, I found more unused photos from my urban explorations. Given that winter is just around the corner, I thought it was the opportune moment to showcase these photos I had taken of an ice rink back in 2015.

An ice skating rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. There are two types of rinks in prevalent use today: natural (where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures) and artificial (where freezing the water surface is achieved mechanically or with chemical/coolants). There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics.

In this case, my pictures are about an indoor ice rink. The following pictures give an idea of how the location looks like from a spectators point of view.

Besides recreational ice skating, ice rinks can be used for other sports, such as ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating, and curling. It can also be used for activities like exhibitions, contests, concerts and ice shows. Below we can see a few images of a junior ice hockey league game in progress.

    Besides the rink itself, this location has other aspects to it. Below you can see a small section of the spectator seats, which are set up in different layers and sections. I also took a picture of the scoreboard, which keeps track of important information during a hockey game. Not seen in these photos are the many service corridors leading to locker rooms for the players, or loading docks for the vendors. These locations are not usually open t the general public, so I couldn’t take pictures of them.

    Something else we are accustomed to see in a hockey arena, is a ice-resurfacer, more commonly referred to as a Zamboni machine. The ice resurfacer was the brainchild of Frank J. Zamboni, who was originally in the refrigeration business. Zamboni created a plant for making ice blocks that could be used in refrigeration techniques. As the demand for ice blocks waned, he looked for another way to capitalize on his expertise with ice. In 1939, Zamboni created the Iceland Skating Rink in Paramount, California. From 1942 to 1947, he tried, fruitlessly, to develop a vehicle that could cut down on ice resurfacing time, until 1947, when he created a machine that would shave, wash and squeegee the ice. This machine was mounted on an army surplus vehicle chassis. (for more info, visit wikipedia).

As you can see, a trip to the local rink can be beneficial for any writer. Maybe you are searching for references on the setting of a ice rink for a story about an up and coming hockey player. Maybe it will be the location for a particular fight scene in an action story. Or perhaps the rink is simply for one scene in a romantic Christmas story, where the protagonist and the love interest character share a tender moment. Good examples of movies/stories that have ice rinks, are Mighty Ducks, Slap Shot, Elf and Sudden Death.

I hope you enjoyed this month's inspiration post and that I encouraged you to go out there and experience it for yourself.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne