Ice rink

1
Ice rink
Rockefeller Center ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water where people can skate or play
winter sports. Some of its uses include playing ice hockey, figure
skating exhibitions and contests, and ice shows. There are two types of
rinks in prevalent use today, natural, where freezing occurs due to cold
temperatures and artificial or mechanically-frozen where a coolant
produces cold in the surface below the water of the rink, causing it to
freeze. In lesser use is synthetic ice where skating surfaces are made
out of plastics.
Name origins
Rink, a Scottish word meaning 'course', was used as the name of a place where another game, curling, was played.
The name has been retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports and uses.
[1]
Natural ice rink
A portion of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada
the world's largest ice-skating rink
Many ice rinks consist of, or are found on, open bodies of water such
as lakes, ponds, canals, and sometimes rivers; these can only be used in
the winter in climates where the surface would freeze thickly enough to
support human weight. Rinks can also be made in cold climates by
enclosing a level area of ground, filling it with water, and letting it
freeze. Snow may even be packed to use as a containment material.
A famous example of this type of rink is the Rideau Canal Skateway in
Ottawa, Canada, estimated at 1764000square feet (163900 m
2
) and
7.8kilometres (4.8 mi) long,
[2]
which claims to be the "world's largest
ice skating rink."
[3]
The rink is prepared by lowering the canal's water
level, letting the canal water freeze due to the low winter temperatures.
The rink is then resurfaced nightly by cleaning the ice of snow and flooding it with water from below the ice. The
rink is recognized as the "world's largest naturally frozen ice surface" by the Guinness Book of World Records.
[4]
Another famous rink is the annual River Trail rink cleared on the Red River at Winnipeg, Canada, which claims to
be the "world's longest ice skating rink."
[4]
The Trail is cleared by volunteers with snow shovels and is
8.5kilometres (5.3 mi) long.
[4]
Ice rink
2
Artificial ice rink
A typical mobile ice skating rink near the Spanish
Costa Brava
In any climate, an arena ice surface can be installed in a properly built
space. This consists of a bed of sand, or occasionally a slab of
concrete, through (or on top of) which pipes run. The pipes carry a
chilled fluid (usually either a salt brine or water with antifreeze) which
can lower the temperature of the slab so that water placed atop it will
freeze. Such rinks were developed in the late nineteenth century, the
first being the Glaciarium in London.
[5]
This methodology is known as
'artificial ice' to differentiate from ice rinks made by simply freezing
water in a cold climate, indoors or outdoors, although both types are of
frozen water. A more proper technical term is 'mechanically frozen'
ice.
A famous example of this type of rink is the Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval, a 100000square feet (9300 m
2
)
rink in Roseville, Minnesota, United States. It is claimed to be the "largest artificial outdoor skating surface" in
North America. Another example is the outdoor rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. In 2008, an artificial rink of
338000square feet (31400 m
2
) was constructed in the Zocalo public square of Mexico city, claiming to be the
"world's largest."
[6]
Construction
Simple drawing of the main components of an ice
skating rink
Modern rinks have a specific procedure for preparing the surface:
With the pipes cold, a thin layer of water is sprayed on the sand or
concrete to seal and level it (or in the case of concrete, to keep it
from being marked).
This thin layer is painted white or pale blue, for better contrast;
markings necessary for hockey or curling are also placed, along
with logos or other decorations.
Another thin layer of water is sprayed on top of this.
The ice is built up to a thickness of 23 centimeters (around one
inch) by repeated flows of water onto the surface.
Synthetic rink
Synthetic rinks are constructed from a solid polymer material designed for skating using normal metal-bladed ice
skates. High density polyethelene (HDPE) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW) are the only
materials that offer reasonable skating characteristics, with UHMW synthetic rinks offering the most ice-like skating,
but also being the most expensive. A typical synthetic rink will consist of many panels (usually in typical building
material sheet sizes) of thin surface material assembled on top of a sturdy, level and smooth sub-floor (anything from
concrete to wood or even dirt or grass) to create a large skating area.
Ice rink
3
Operation
Periodically after the ice has been used, it is resurfaced using a machine called an ice resurfacer. For curling, the
surface is 'pebbled' by allowing loose drops of cold water to fall onto the ice and freeze into rounded peaks.
Between events, especially if the arena is being used without need for the ice surface, it is either covered with a
heavily insulated floor, or melted by heating the fluid in the pipes.
A highly specialized form of rink is used for speed skating; this is a large oval (or ring) much like an athletic track.
Due to their limited use, speed skating ovals are found in much fewer numbers than is true of the more common
hockey or curling rinks.
Those skilled at preparing arena ice are often in demand for major events where ice quality is critical. The level of
the sport of hockey in Canada has led its icemakers to be particularly sought-after. One such team of professionals
was responsible for placing a loonie coin under center ice at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah; as
both Canadian teams (men's and women's) won their respective hockey gold medals, the coin was christened "lucky"
and is now in the possession of the Hockey Hall of Fame,
[7]
after having been retrieved from beneath the ice.
Standard rink sizes
Speedskating
In speedskating, the official Olympic rink size is 30 x 60 meters for short track, and 400 meters for long track.
Bandy
In bandy, the rink size is 90110 m (300360 ft) x 4565 m (148213 ft).
Ice Hockey
There are basically two rink sizes in use (as below), although there is a great deal of variations in the dimensions of
actual ice rinks. Historically, earlier ice rinks were smaller than today.
National Hockey League (NHL) - Canada & USA
Official NHL rinks size at 85200ft (2661m). The dimensions originate from the size of the Victoria Skating
Rink in Montreal, Canada.
International/Olympic Ice Hockey
Official Olympic/International rinks have dimensions of 3061m (98200ft). The 2010 Olympic Winter Games
in Vancouver, however, were played on an NHL sized 85' x 200' ice sheet as GM Place -renamed 'Canada Hockey
Place' for the games- is an NHL venue for the Vancouver Canucks.
See also
Ice hockey rink
Speed skating rink
Synthetic ice
Ice rink
4
Gallery
Typical ice box with rolled
up ice floor and main headers
Supervisor
[8]
rolling out the ice
floor
The ice floor completely rolled
out
The chiller and the buffertank
connected to the ice rink
Filling up the buffertank with
cooling mixture
The main
headers of an
ice rink
The small headers at the end of
the ice rink
Installation of the dasherboard of
a mobile ice rink
Supervisor spraying water and
making ice
The frozen main headers of an
ice rink
Leisure skating in open aire in
city center
Typical out door ice skating rink
in city center
A big ice rink in Kharkov
Ice rink
5
References
[1] Redmond, Gerald (1982). The sporting Scots of nineteenth-century Canada. Toronto, Ontario: Associated University Presses Inc.. p.271.
ISBN0838630693.
[2] "Guinness World Records has confirmed it! Ottawa, Canada offers the Largest Skating Rink in the World" (http:/ / www. canadacool. com/
COOLFACTS/ ONTARIO/ OttawaSkate.html). canadacool.com. . Retrieved June 24, 2010.
[3] "Rideau Canal Skateway" (http:/ / www.canadascapital. gc. ca/ bins/ ncc_web_content_page. asp?cid=16297-16299-10080& lang=1).
National Capital Commission. . Retrieved June 24, 2010.
[4] "World's longest skating rink" (http:/ / www.canada. com/ saskatoonstarphoenix/ news/ story.
html?id=82e36af4-c290-41c0-97e1-17db86842375). canada.com. . Retrieved June 24, 2010.
[5] Martin C. Harris, Homes of British Ice Hockey
[6] "Largest Outdoor Skating Rink-world record set by Mexico City" (http:/ / www. worldrecordsacademy. org/ biggest/
largest_outdoor_Skating_Rink-world_record_set_by_Mexico_City_80440. htm). www.worldrecordsacademy.org. .
[7] http:/ / www. hhof.com/ html/ olypress.shtml
[8] (http:/ / www.weloveice. com) Advanced Ice Technology by WWIP
External links
Comprehensive list of ice skating rinks (http:/ / www. rinktime. com/ ice-skating-rinks/ national/
ice-skating-rinks) in the U.S. and Canada
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Ice rink Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=386873687 Contributors: Ahuskay, Alaney2k, Anetode, Anne Hoekstra, ArglebargleIV, Bornintheguz, Broomballcory,
Cadmasteradam, Ceccomaat, Choalbaton, Chochopk, Choster, Clindberg, Crossmr, Deor, Discospinster, Djmckee1, Dr. Sunglasses, Dr.frog, Ebarrett, Everyking, Excirial, Footwarrior, Fritz
Saalfeld, Geoff Wing, Gerhardt1, Great2b1, Grey-Fox, Guusbosman, Happyme22, Islanders27, J.delanoy, JD554, Japheth the Warlock, Jim.henderson, Jkirker, Joris Gillis, Jpgordon, KFP,
Kazubon, KelleyCook, Kolindigo, M.nelson, McSly, Miguel Andrade, Mike Storm, Nightmote, Oz tangles, QUEIMRPASA, Radagast, RadioFan, Sabra99, Saihtam, Schmloof, Shinpah1,
Skopelos-slim, Smsaudio, Snowolf, Soquette, SpLoT, SpNeo, Syrthiss, Tbyrnestl, Thumperward, Unyoyega, Vegaswikian, Warofdreams, White Shadows, Wikislemur, Wwipp, XLerate,
Xiaoyanggu, Yrithinnd, Zaez, 95 anonymous edits
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Image:Rockefeller-ice.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rockefeller-ice.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Contributors: FlickrLickr, FlickreviewR,
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Image:Rideau Canal in winter.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rideau_Canal_in_winter.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Jkelly,
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