Having an outdoor skating rink is a wonderful way to enjoy family time during the winter season. With a few days of work, materials and enough patience, you can put together a small rink that is easy to maintain near your home.
However, for people who have never built a skating rink,, it can be difficult to know where to start or what things need to be taken into account. For that reason, here are our tips that will help you know how to make a skating rink.
1- Choose your ice rink location
To choose a suitable location, you need to take into account some details: The first one is to look for a totally flat space to place your outdoor rink and that it is not over a drainage. Secondly, the place must have lighting. Lastly, the ice rink needs to have an outdoor water fountain nearby.
2- Think about the dimensions of the outdoor skating rink.
When we talk about dimensions, we mean thinking about the appropriate size that yourskating rinkwill have. Of course, make sure that the size fits the garden or place you have selected, but it should also fit your budget, since the bigger it is, the higher the investment will be. Whether you want to practice field hockey outdoors or skate, you don't need an extremely large space.
3- Prepare the ground well
Although the ground of the site may appear to be flat, it is best to perform an inspection to avoid any even surface. To do this, you must first check if there is excess snow, if so, remove it with a shovel to form the future edges of the rink. Once there is the right amount of snow, flatten it to get a flat surface and water the ice until it freezes properly to have a good base.
4- Choose a tarpaulin for your outdoor ice rink
Although winter lends itself to making your ice rink with only snow and water, it is not the best option. The weather often changes and that can cause your makeshift ice rink to be affected with holes or unevenness due to melting ice.
Therefore, an immediate solution is to purchase a tarp for your outdoor skating rink. At Pro Training Liners,we recommend choosing our white polyethylene safety tarpas a backing to minimize the risk of water leaking from the rink and also to protect the tarp from any imperfections in the ground.
Once you have your safety tarp, you can purchase any ofour best tarps, especially for outdoor field hockey. Available in different sizes and ideal to enjoy a skating rink for a long time .
If you want to know the installation guide of our tarpaulins, click here..
5- Create a safety edge for your outdoor skating rink
You can create two types of borders: snow or wood. If you have plenty of time and patience, you can choose a raised wooden border. Make sure that its height is at least 3 inches high. On the other hand, if you don't want to invest a lot of time, then create a border made of snow, but it will probably melt over time.
6- Buy your field hockey equipment and enjoy your ice rink
Last but not least, you can now prepare your field hockey equipment to enjoy your outdoor ice rink. You will no longer have to travel to an arena to practice this magnificent sport, you can even train and have fun with your family from the comfort of your home.
Whichever method you choose, having the best outdoor skating rink in Quebec will be a unique experience for the whole family.