social interest of an ice rink - international ice hockey ... · international ice hockey...

INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION

2.1 Interest of the communityIce sports come particularly close to the

ideal of “Sports for All”, a concept envisaging thepromotion of health, communication and qualityof life through sports. These sports stand for healthand enjoyment while being socially and recre-ationally relevant to both sexes within a wideage bracket. An arena gives opportunities for thecommunity to enjoy a great diversity of ice sports.From skating to figure skating, to ice hockey,standard and short-distance speed skating, therange extends to curling and broomball, whileproviding opportunities for everyone. An ice rinkalways attracts crowds, whether it’s individuals,schools or clubs, single athletes or teams. As longas it is supported by diverse, well-organized utiliza-tion programs and opening hours, an ice rinkencourages many people to identify with skating.Schools and clubs are the entry-level motivatorsgenerating an interest in skating beyond the levelof basic skills. From here, one development willlead to recreational sports as a lifelong athleticpastime, while another may take the enthusiast tocompetitive sports in an ice hockey or skating club.

Ice rinks are attractive sports and recre-ational facilities promoting health and socialactivity as a key element of “quality of life”. Expe-rienced physicians, responsible pedagogues andsocial scientists, forward-looking communal politi-cians, and all stakeholders in the world of sportshave underlined this.

The public interest in ice hockey, figureskating, speed skating, curling and broomball thathas emerged in many countries has led to thesituation that ice sports today are no longer viewedas a special or even exclusive kind of athleticactivity. However, all-weather facilities availableduring 6-9 months of the year are usually in shortsupply. Natural ice surfaces, with their dependenceon climatic conditions, are equally unsuitable forcontinued, wide-scale recreational use as theyare for regular training, exciting competitions, orcharming figure skating events. Artificial ice rinkshave therefore become indispensable in today’sincreasingly sports-related recreational environ-ment, whether to meet older people’s growing in-terest in ice-skating, the steadily growing demandfor competition venues, or quite simply, spectatorrequirements.

During the ice-free remainder of the year,these facilities also become an ideal site for inline

skating, and other indoor sports activities. So-called dry-floor events such as exhibitions, meet-ings, shows, music events and theatre are otherpotential uses.

The possibility of year-round use is a neces-sary and valuable condition, as it were, for con-sidering the construction of such a facility. Highcapacity utilization can warrant the investmentand the recurring annual operational costs.

2.2 Activity programs and services

Ice hockeyOf course, youth and adult hockey programs

will provide the greatest number of users of a facil-ity. It is vital to the success of the rink to program asmany hours of usage as possible. Scheduling youthprograms to utilize as many early evening, andweekend hours, as possible will leave late nighttimes to be filled with adult hockey programs.

A typical youth hockey program will occupyweeknight ice from 5 PM to 10 PM, the majorityof Saturday ice from the early morning to theevening, and most of the day and evening also onSunday. Depending upon the country or the timeof the year, youth hockey players may also be ableto skate during a weekday or on holidays.

As previously mentioned, rinks need tomaximize their ice usage. Adult hockey shouldbe scheduled to fill late night hours throughoutthe week. It is not uncommon for adult hockeyleagues to begin at 9 PM, and have games endingas late at 1AM. Sunday evenings, depending onavailability, are also common times for adult hockey.

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Social interestof an ice rinkChapter 2

Ice rinks are also attractive recreational facilities pro-moting health and social activity in the community.

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Another program that has gained promi-nence is recreational or open hockey. Ice time isreserved and players register individually for eachsession. Sessions are typically either one hour or90 minutes in length. Scheduled times can varydepending upon the community, but late Fridayand Saturday nights, weekday early morning or”lunch time“ sessions and also Sunday morningshave been found to be successful. It is also possibleto rent ice time to adult hockey groups, who mayfill odd hours at the facility. In any event, the pick-up sessions should be scheduled to fill the lessdesirable, or ”quiet hours“ in a facility.

Learn to Skate & Learn to Play Hockey programsThe Learn to Skate and Learn to Play

Hockey programs are the foundation of a success-ful facility. In these programs, casual participantscan be turned into more serious customers thatreturn to the facility three to four times a week. Ifchildren can demonstrate a minimum proficiencyon the ice, it becomes more enjoyable to return tothe rink and develop as athletes.

These types of program are very importantto keep skaters coming back to the rink. The Learnto Skate and Play programs, targeting the 5 to12 year old children, will constantly provide newskaters for your more advanced programs.

Classes can also be offered to very youngchildren, ages 3 to 5 years old. These classes canbe offered during weekday mornings when theolder children are in school. Again, this providesthe rink another program to fill those ”quiet hours“when the rink is under-utilised. These Learn toSkate classes will also provide a feeder programto your classes for the older children. Similar pro-grams may be offered during the “quiet hours”that target the adult or senior community.

An advantage of the Learn to Skate and Playprograms is that during each session, as many as8 different classes, with approximately 10 children

in each class, can be put on the ice at the sametime. Each class may be 30 to 45 minutes inlength. This scheduling will allow the facility toschedule 3 to 4 class sessions during a 2 hour timeperiod. The financial benefits of maximizing yourice utilization can be substantial for the rink.

For these programs, one weekday afternoonsession and a Saturday morning or afternoon sessionshould be offered as a minimum. The weekday ses-sion will serve as an after school activity, and couldbe operated from 4 to 6 PM. Depending on thecommunity, this time frame could be very popular.

Saturday sessions provide the opportunityfor all family members to participate. Parents, andeven Grandparents, may have a better chance ofattending weekend sessions. This session shouldbe offered immediately before or after a publicskating session so that your customers may spendmore time at the facility.

Once a skater progresses through the Learnto Skate and Learn to Play programs, they willchoose the sport that they will concentrate on,either figure skating or hockey. It is important forrinks to have a balance of both programs in orderto maximize the ice usage, and community partic-ipation, at the facility. In a single sheet facility, it isdifficult to accommodate the needs of all the usergroups, but it is important to create an environ-ment where all can participate.

Public skating In many areas, especially those regions

where hockey is not part of the culture, publicskating sessions are important in operating a suc-cessful ice facility. A public skating session is whenice time is set aside so that any individual may, fora fee, skate at the rink. A public skating session isusually an inexpensive means to introducing cus-tomers to your facility.

Public skating also allows the rink manage-ment to introduce customers to other, structured

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The rink is virtually never closed. Young hockey players arrive forpractise.

Practise makes perfect.


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programs that are offered at the facility. Use theconsumer’s general interest in skating to enticethem into more visits to the rink. Public skatingwill allow your entire community to enter yourfacility, and give you an audience to market to.

Most public skating sessions average twohours in length. In many communities, weekendevening sessions on Friday or Saturday nights havebecome traditional. Starting at 7 PM or 8 PM andlasting until 10 PM or 11 PM, both youth and adultscan skate and socialize. As an added feature, a“theme night” program might be instituted. Rockor Popular music Fridays may attract a crowd.

Weekend afternoon sessions are popularwith families. Parents are able to skate with theirchildren, or group outings and events can becomepart of the facilities programming options. Manyfacilities now offer Birthday party programs thatare connected to afternoon public skating sessions.It is best to start weekend afternoon sessions at12 pm or 1 PM and finish at 3 PM or 4 PM.

These are the suggested minimum publicskating times. Every area has a different need andthis should be evaluated continuously. There areother public sessions that work quite well in someregions, including:

✔ Early Sunday evenings. This session, from 6 PMto 8 PM, could become a family, or ”end of theweekend“ event.

✔ Weekday mornings. Make these sessions avail-able for school groups, adult or senior citizengroups.

✔ Weekday afternoons. An after school skate,from 3 PM to 5 PM with music that caters tothe 10 to 14-year-old crowd.

✔ A weeknight session. This session, 7 PM to9 PM, will work around your learn to skateclasses, and may help bring more adults to thefacility.

Figure skatingIn a typical rink, figure skating programs fill

ice time that hockey programs cannot, or will not,utilize. Early morning, mid- and late afternoonhours have become standard for most figureskaters. As an individual sport, it is easier to fillthese odd hours with 10 to 15 individuals, asopposed to a team of 15 to 20 hockey players.

As figure skaters develop and becomemore advanced, they spend more time on the ice.It is common for advanced skaters to practicetwice per day, 5 or 6 times each week.

A new figure skating activity, synchronizedteam skating, is gaining prominence around theworld. This program should be received with openarms by the rink industry. A synchronized skatingteam can put 15 to 20 skaters on the ice for apractice session, incorporating more skaters into aprogram.

Figure skating clubs operate to take care ofthe skaters coming out of the Learn to Skate pro-gram. They can also take care of marketing andpromotion of figure skating programs and eventsfor the facility.

The serious skaters will not hesitate toskate on weekday mornings before school, from6 AM to 9 AM. If the demand is there, somemornings can go longer or begin even earlier. Therinks that can successfully fill these odd hourswith skating programs have a better chance forsuccess.

The advanced skater may begin as early as1 PM during a weekday afternoon, dependingupon their school schedule. Otherwise, 3 PM to6 or 7 PM, several days each week should bemade available for the figure skating programs.Some nights go longer and some nights may end

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Public skating is an inexpensive means of introducingcustomers to your facility.

� Figure Skating 23 hrs

� Learn to Skate 8 hrs

� Learn to Play 2 hrs

� Pickup Hockey 4 hrs

� Youth Hockey 30 hrs

� Adult Hockey 18 hrs

� Public Skating 30 hrs

� Private Rental 17 hrs

Percentage of weekly

ice usage

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at 5 PM. It is also important to schedule yourfigure skating afternoons around the Learn toSkate and Learn to Play programs. This way, thebeginner skaters can view the more advancedprograms, and understand the next level ofparticipation at your facility.

Other ice sportsThere are other ice sports that may or may

not fit with a particular facility or community.Speed skating, curling and Broomball are threeactivities that may complement a rink by filling”quiet hours“ in the facility.

Community programsIt is important to bring as many members

of the community to the facility as possible. Withthis in mind, there are several programs which rinkmanagement can use to bring the public to therink.

Sample weekly schedule

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday6 AM Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey7 AM Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey8 AM Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Figure Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey9 AM Private Rental Adult Public Skate Private Rental Adult Public Skate Private Rental Learn to Skate Youth Hockey

10 AM Private Rental Adult Public Skate Learn to Skate Adult Public Skate Private Rental Learn to Skate Figure Skating11 AM Private Rental Adult Public Skate Learn to Skate Adult Public Skate Private Rental Learn to Play Figure Skating12 PM Public Skating Public Skating Pickup Hockey Public Skating Pickup Hockey Public Skating Public Skating

1 PM Public Skating Public Skating Pickup Hockey Public Skating Pickup Hockey Public Skating Public Skating2 PM Private Rental Private Rental Adult Learn to Skate Private Rental Public Skating Public Skating3 PM Private Rental Learn to Skate Private Rental Private Rental Public Skating Public Skating4 PM Figure Skating Learn to Skate Figure Skating Figure Skating Public Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey5 PM Figure Skating Learn to Play Figure Skating Figure Skating Public Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey6 PM Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Learn to Skate Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey7 PM Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Public Skating Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey8 PM Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Public Skating Youth Hockey Public Skating Public Skating Adult Hockey9 PM Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Youth Hockey Public Skating Public Skating Adult Hockey

10 PM Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Public Skating Public Skating Adult Hockey11 PM Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey12 AM Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Adult Hockey Private Rental Private Rental

1 AM Private Rental Private Rental

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School field trips can be very popular. Therink may create relationships where schools maybring large groups to the facility during the facili-ties “quiet hours” throughout the school day. Therink is selling ice time that it may normally not beused, and it provides the rink with an opportunityto market their programs to potential participants.

In a similar manner to school groups, com-panies and other community organisations suchas youth organisations and church groups mayalso be interested in skating at the rink. It is impor-tant for the rink management to seek out as manyof these opportunities as possible. Private birthdayparties, as explained in the public skating section,are becoming more popular events as well.


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2.3 Ice rinks throughout the world

Australia.......................... 20

Austria ............................ 24

Belarus ............................ 10

Belgium........................... 12

Bulgaria............................. 3

Canada ....................... 2703

China .............................. 15

Chinese Taipei ................... 1

Croatia .............................. 2

Czech Republic .............. 112

Denmark ......................... 17

DPR Korea......................... 2

Estonia .............................. 3

Finland .......................... 202

France ........................... 128

Germany ....................... 149

Great Britain.................... 58

Greece .............................. 2

Hong Kong ....................... 3

Hungary ............................ 4

Iceland .............................. 2

Israel ................................. 4

Italy................................. 49

Japan .............................. 57

Kazakstan.......................... 5

Korea .............................. 15

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Latvia ................................ 4

Lithuania ........................... 2

Luxembourg...................... 1

Mexico ............................ 12

Namibia ............................ 2

Netherlands .................... 20

New Zealand..................... 6

Norway ........................... 29

Poland............................. 20

Portugal ............................ 1

Romania............................ 4

Russia ............................ 84*

Slovakia........................... 40

Slovenia ............................ 7

South Africa ...................... 6

Spain................................. 9

Sweden......................... 285

Switzerland ..................... 82

Thailand ............................ 1

Turkey ............................... 5

Ukraine ............................. 7

United Arab Emirates......... 3

USA ............................ 2500

Yugoslavia......................... 2

* Apart from the 84 indoor rinks, Russia also has951 outdoor rinks.

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