Moonlight skates and purchasing mistakes: Getting involved in Prince George’s enviable Ice Skating scene

It began on a walk with Bally, our retired racing greyhound, who has very dodgy legs and so he doesn’t join us on our long hikes. Instead we walk the streets of our local neighborhood with him and this resulted in the discovery of a local gem recently: a free ice rink, five minutes walk from our house.

Our typical evening walk takes us past a kid’s play park and a small basketball court. On one such walk in early December we passed by the basket ball court to see, to our amazement, a father and son practicing ice hockey. I assumed they were taking advantage of an ice rink that the climate had created by accident. We watched them for a while, transfixed by their fluency on the ice. Amazed that they played hockey on ice skates with as much agility as they would on their feet.

The following evening a group of teenagers were there. We once again marveled at their skill as they glided at speed shooting the puck into the air with great force. By the third evening it became clear that this was more than just an accidental ice rink. On this occasion there were three teenage boys playing hockey at one end and, at the other, a toddler learning to skate with the support of a small chair and the encouragement of her parents. The teens were swooping around at a crazy speed. Several times I panicked when one of them appeared to be on a collision course with the toddler. But then suddenly, at the last second, he would rotate his upper body, turn both feet sideways and dig in his back foot to perform a high-speed, dramatic stop, inches from the small child. All the while her parents, who had complete confidence in the boy’s skills, didn’t flinch. 

Amazingly, this ice rink is just one of 23 that are spread across Prince George. Each one is free, open 24/7 and maintained by a group of local volunteers who are led by a qualified ‘Ice Captain’. Anyone can become an ‘Ice Captain’ by attending the Ice Making workshop which is provided for free by the city to train these volunteers how in flooding techniques for making safe ice. 

One trip to the gigantic thrift store later I had a pair of figure skates for $15 (about £9) and was ready to hit the Ice! Unfortunately, Value Village didn’t come up trumps for men’s skates and so Jacob would have to wait for a trip to Canadian Tire to get a pair of new ones.

I was chuffed that I had been able to get some skates that fitted me so cheaply. But I should have heeded the words of our Swedish friend (people from cold countries always know best when it comes to these things) who said he’d always fallen over on figure skates because of the toe picks. These are jagged teeth at the very front of the blade, which figure skaters use to perform jumps and spins.

We had to wait all evening to get on the ice for my first skate but eventually the Rink Rats (a term for kids who hog the ice to play hockey) went home. We switched on the flood lights and I tentatively got on the ice. Having never skated on natural, imperfect ice, which has had heavy use by hockey players, I had to get used to avoiding the thinner bits, slashes and holes. Even still, I spent most of that first skate in awe of having a moonlit ice rink all to myself.

The next morning, back pacing the pavements with Bally, we noticed one of the volunteers at the rink shoveling yesterday’s snow fall and repairing holes. He told us all about how they make the ice, when the temperature is around -6.C or colder for three consecutive days, by freezing water repeatedly in layers. They then add new layers of ice throughout the season by flooding the rink again and letting it freeze overnight. He was busy filling in some of the holes created by the ice hockey players. He showed us a technique he was trying out that he had seen officials (referees) use mid-way through hockey games: mix up some snow and water into a slushie, put it in the holes and leave it to freeze.

Over the next week Jacob bought ice skates and, after the Rink Rats had vacated, we had the rink all to ourselves in the moonlight several times. Being alone meant we could get faster and test out new skills at our own pace. One evening, when I was starting to get confident, I showed Jacob a technique for stopping I was having a go at. He tried it out, but his blades didn’t move over the ice properly. His leg and knee twisted but his boot stayed still. The result was a swollen knee and the need to work out what was wrong with his brand-new ice skates. 20 minutes on google told him that he should not be using his new skates and that they could even be dangerous, as they had not been sharpened! 

Presumably, the people at the shop didn’t think we needed warning about sharpening the blades because this knowledge is so ingrained in the Canadian psyche that they can’t imagine anyone not knowing these things! Sharpening is important because it creates a hollow between the two edges of the blade. As you skate forwards, the ice in this hollow melts which creates a smooth glide. Most people also get their new ice skates baked, this molds them to your feet and creates a better fit.

Amazingly, Prince George’s outdoor ice rink facilities don’t end with the 23, free, community-maintained rinks. There is also The Oval, a 400-metre track made from natural ice and, again, maintained by a team of dedicated volunteers.

On our first trip to The Oval the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the ice was perfect. One side of The Oval is lined with Evergreen trees and the outlines of them shone in the afternoon sun which was setting behind them.

We had been worried that we would be to slow for the pace, but there were lots of people there who were learning and so we were far from the worst. Still, you must watch out for the little kids whose style of skating is to sprint as fast as they can, fall down, get back up and then wizz off again. A distinctive clicking comes from the people wearing the long-blade speed skates who whoosh by, not going as fast as you know they can, but, still leaving you in their wake. The obvious hockey players weave along backwards talking to friends. But my favorite was the sight of one couple who obviously couldn’t decide who should go on the ice and who should look after their baby, and so they brought the pram onto the ice and skated along pushing it. 

Jacob and I were taking a lap together talking about how beautiful The Oval was and what an awesome thing it was to have a five minute drive from our house when the toe pick on my boot caught in the ice and I came to a sudden, crashing stop. My wrist, shoulder and head all smacked the ice at speed. I’d been warned that the toe pick might be a problem for a learner and now I been forced, with a very sore head, to concede to that fact!

We’ve learned a lot about the creation and maintenance of natural ice rinks, skating culture and how to – or how not to – buy ice skating boots! We’ve also both had our first nasty accidents, Jacob discovered the importance of boot sharpening and I’m going to buy a new pair of skates that are NOT for figure skating! Prince George has the most incredible ice skating facilities and once Jacob’s knee and my shoulder recover, we’ll be back on the ice. After all, we have yet to try the ultimate Canadian ice skating experience that Prince George has to offer…