Ice Skating at The Rink

We have had a really FULL December holiday. I don't know how it happened -- and sometimes I don't know why I do it to myself -- but it did. So full that I never got round to writing about it.

Well, on Friday, Noey came home from school and told me that they were all asked to share what they did during the school holidays with the class, and that he told everyone about going ice-skating with his friend D. Since it made such an impact, I think it's a bit of a pity if I didn't record it for posterity.

I've wanted to check out The Rink with the kids for a while now, but never got round to it. But it was on my list of things to do during the school holidays so when NerdyMum asked us out on a playdate, we decided to take our kids out on the ice.

Of course, I conveniently forgot about the fact that I really don't skate very well when I made this clever decision to bring both my kids to ice skate. It only occurred to me the night before that it might be more than a bit difficult to manage two children struggling on the ice when I would also be struggling. Gulp. I consulted NerdyMum on a change of plan but we decided we'd just stick with it and hope for the best.

Learning to balance and walk around on blades!

I'm glad we went in the end as we all ended up having a good time -- and getting quite a workout! We rented the kids the Penguin Skating Aid (available for kids 10 and under who are below 1.2m in height) and it more or less kept them on their feet. The penguin is rather heavy though so it wasn't that easy to use if you're tiny and don't know how to move on the ice. But once you get going, it does it's job of helping you skate along quite nicely.

All with their penguin companions before we got on the ice!

On hindsight, it was probably not the best decision to have brought Meips along. The smallest boot size they had was still considerably too big for her, and the penguin was too heavy,  but since she was there, I thought I'd give her a go anyway. Thankfully NerdyMum, who is a much better skater than I am, was able to guide the two boys along, leaving me to try to help Meips. It certainly wasn't easy to help her get going when I could barely move myself! It was cold on the ice but I got hot and sweaty very quickly. Eventually I decided to upgrade Meips' penguin to the adult Seal Skating Aid for me. The seal allows for a child to sit on it too, so I was able to give Meips rides around the rink. She definitely enjoyed that better! Even Noey enjoyed a few goes on it.

Getting Aunty D to take him for a spin - a much faster one than Mummy! 

The two boys with our skating aids. Lil' D was pretty good with the penguin. At the end of the session they both wanted to shed their supports but we thought it would be better to wait till next time.

Meips taking a break. She even made a friend in the process: that girl next to her came to sit beside her and later volunteered to take her on a spin on the seal.

We called it a day shortly before the end of our two-hour session, and I told the kids that the next time, we are definitely going to rope in their Yiyi, who is a way better skater than I am! 

It was a good experience though it's not something we can do too regularly I think because it sure was an expensive outing. These were the rates for our 2-hour session:

Adult admission: $14 per person
Child admission: $12 per person
Skate rental: $3.50 per pair
Penguin skating aid: $10 each
Seal skating aid: $15 each

(You can find the full list of rates here.)

For the three of us, I forked out over $70 for two hours. Yikes. I probably have to save up before we can go again. But I'm looking forward to it.

If you're thinking of skating at The Rink, do remember check out the Public Skating Sessions Schedule before heading down. The Rink is closed to the public at certain times for training and events, and it would be a waste to travel there, only to be unable to get on the ice. Tickets are sold for specific 2-hour blocks too, so check the timings too, to maximise your ice time.

Maybe we'll see you on the ice next time! 

We survived!

The Rink
2 Jurong East Central 1
JCube, Level 3
Singapore 609731
Tel: 6684 2374/5
Web: www.therink.sg
Opening Hours: Mon -- 10am-9.30pm | Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun -- 10am-9.30pm | Fri, Sat, eve of PH & PH -- 10am-11.45pm