Cancelled Rink Project Creates Opportunity
Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) April 08, 2014 -- Public recreation money is tough to come by for most communities. One solution many communities have considered in an effort to ensure the public have access to and can enjoy winter skating is synthetic ice. Synthetic ice material has literally been around for decades but it has been improved upon and engineered specifically for skating purposes. Even so, it can still be a tough sell in most communities.
There have been a number of "false starts" in various communities. Most recently Schmidt, Doug. "Windsor kills fake ice experiment.", The Windsor Star, Feb. 12, 2014, reported that the City of Windsor Ontario outright rejected a product they purchased after a test skate revealed that it was not good enough to open to the public, and that they were not prepared to wait for "parks and rec and the manufacturer to figure out what the proper friction co-efficient is". Its hard to determine from this unfortunate situation why Windsor did not adequately test the product prior to agreeing to purchase it? Or if they did properly test it beforehand then why the sudden about face? Hopefully that particular situation will get resolved and the client and community will achieve satisfaction.
There are many good stories out there as well for communities wanting to offer skating to the public and are considering synthetic ice. There are products available that are excellent for skating any time of year, regardless of weather conditions. There are products that have joint connection systems that stay together in virtually any kind of weather. The very best synthetic ice material is not only incredibly durable, but also delivers excellent glide performance over a very long term.
There are standard and product specific testing methods that will compare quality and performance. Interestingly however, there is no single accepted material standard which makes it challenging for any community to interpret tests in any meaningful way.
There are companies willing to do community trials along with public opinion surveys about the products. SmartRink started offering community trials several years ago when they recognized this gap in the marketplace. The community of Stellarton, Nova Scotia is the most current example of a small community struggling to deal with the $300,000 annual cost of their 69 year arena. They have gone through a comprehensive review over the past number of years and they are now in the process of considering if the public demo makes sense for their community. This is a responsible and comprehensive approach to ensuring community involvement in the process. It may take longer but it is definitely worth it in the end.
Synthetic ice is an excellent way for communities to offer a long term skating solution for a fraction of the cost of indoor or outdoor mechanically refrigerated solutions. It offers low cost access to skating regardless of the weather conditions, and it can be offered year around. This is great exercise, its fun, and keeps people of all ages active. Do the research, ask the tough product questions and challenge the industry to prove their product is good enough. If a community takes this approach they will enjoy many years of community skating - for a fraction of the price.
Tim Oldfield is owner of SmartRink synthetic ice company based in Halifax Nova Scotia. SmartRink sells residential and commercial synthetic ice products around the world. For more information on SmartRink please visit http://www.smartrink.ca
Tim Oldfield, SmartRink, http://www.smartrink.ca, +1 (902) 461-0880, [email protected]
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