How an Ice Rink Is Made
Every year thousands of people around the world celebrate the winter months by enjoying time out on an ice skating rink. Kids play hockey, some learn figure skating, and others just head out for some enjoyment and a little exercise. Whatever the reason they’re out there, one thing people rarely do while skating is to think about just how that ice rink is made, and what it takes to keep it maintained.
Originally ice skating was not a means of entertainment or something to do to just have fun. Initially, skating was a practical activity for people to find their way across frozen ponds in the winter time. It wasn’t until a couple of Canadian brothers decided to start a hockey league in the early 1900’s that skating became amusement and rinks were needed year round. It was then Joe and Lester Patrick began constructing and making ice rinks throughout Canada and the northwestern United States.
Being that it is simply frozen water, there is a misconceived notion that all someone has to do to create a rink is to pour a bunch of water out in a boxed in area and it will freeze. True ice rink engineering is really much more complicated. The ice has to be frozen in a layered system by first using a paint spraying truck to lay the first thin layer, after it is frozen the process is repeated and so on and so on. The thickness of the ice is particular as well because if it is too thin it will be unstable for the skaters and their skate blades would cut right through the ice to the hard surface below. If it is too thick then there is too much energy and power needed to maintain the rink, because on average a typical ice rink will use around 1,300,000 kWh of power a year just for regular maintenance.
When building an ice rink there are actually many layers besides the ice that is needed. The bottom layer will actually be the ground where there will be some sort of water drain. Above that is a thick layer of sand and gravel, as you move upwards there would next be heated concrete, a medium layer of insulation and a chilled concrete slab that the ice sites on. Within the cool layer of concrete there is a system of pipes that run chilled brine water, a special mixture that allows for the refrigeration affect without the water actually freezing. Information on these complex systems can be found through specialized companies like Recco USA or other large American manufacturers.
Ice rinks really are a marvel of modern technology. Though they may not be extremely complicated, their amazing engineering and construction give us tons of fun through sports and fun ice activities. And thanks to the inventiveness of the Patrick brothers these activities can be done year round in comfortable, temperature controlled arenas.
(Thanks for the guest post Sam Peters)
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Originally ice skating was not a means of entertainment or something to do to just have fun. Initially, skating was a practical activity for people to find their way across frozen ponds in the winter time. It wasn’t until a couple of Canadian brothers decided to start a hockey league in the early 1900’s that skating became amusement and rinks were needed year round. It was then Joe and Lester Patrick began constructing and making ice rinks throughout Canada and the northwestern United States.
Being that it is simply frozen water, there is a misconceived notion that all someone has to do to create a rink is to pour a bunch of water out in a boxed in area and it will freeze. True ice rink engineering is really much more complicated. The ice has to be frozen in a layered system by first using a paint spraying truck to lay the first thin layer, after it is frozen the process is repeated and so on and so on. The thickness of the ice is particular as well because if it is too thin it will be unstable for the skaters and their skate blades would cut right through the ice to the hard surface below. If it is too thick then there is too much energy and power needed to maintain the rink, because on average a typical ice rink will use around 1,300,000 kWh of power a year just for regular maintenance.
When building an ice rink there are actually many layers besides the ice that is needed. The bottom layer will actually be the ground where there will be some sort of water drain. Above that is a thick layer of sand and gravel, as you move upwards there would next be heated concrete, a medium layer of insulation and a chilled concrete slab that the ice sites on. Within the cool layer of concrete there is a system of pipes that run chilled brine water, a special mixture that allows for the refrigeration affect without the water actually freezing. Information on these complex systems can be found through specialized companies like Recco USA or other large American manufacturers.
Ice rinks really are a marvel of modern technology. Though they may not be extremely complicated, their amazing engineering and construction give us tons of fun through sports and fun ice activities. And thanks to the inventiveness of the Patrick brothers these activities can be done year round in comfortable, temperature controlled arenas.
(Thanks for the guest post Sam Peters)
