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If you live in an area with long, cold winters,
consider setting up a backyard ice rink as
an alternative to paying for time on the
ice at a public rink. With your own ice rink,
your kids or you can have extra time to practice
skating or hockey skills, at your own convenience.
The basic requirements for a
rink are:
- A large, flat outdoor area.
- Nighttime temperatures under freezing for
an extended period.
- Daytime temperatures not far above freezing
during this time.
A backyard ice rink kit creates
a shallow
(no more than a few inches deep),
watertight
pool that you fill with water
(typically
from a garden hose) that then
freezes naturally
in the cold air. The ice will
get uneven
with use, so you must spread
more water on
it periodically, to create a
new, smooth
surface.
A regulation-sized rink is 200
X 85 feet,
or 17,000 square feet. It is
unrealistic
for all but a few people to set
up and maintain
anything close to that size in
their yards.
On the other hand, if your backyard
rink
is too small, it will be useless.
How do
you determine what size is appropriate?
- First, consider how many people are likely
to be on it simultaneously. The more people,
the more space is needed.
- Second, consider what activities will take
place on it. A lone player practicing shots
will need minimal space. Groups of people
skating will need more space. Any sort of
hockey game will require yet more, depending
on the number of people on each side.
- Third, consider how much ice surface you
are prepared to maintain.
For a rule of thumb on size, consider that
the distance from the blue line to the closest
end boards on a standard rink is about 72
feet. At 85 feet wide, this zone of the ice
includes 6,120 square feet. If play is confined
to that end of the ice, each of the 10 players
skating around (counting both sides, but
not the goalies) will cover 612 square feet
on average. So, an average of 600 square
feet per person would be acceptable. Half
that, or 300 square feet per person, would
be the bare minimum to consider.. |
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