What makes good skating ice, and why rinks resurface between periods
How indoor rink ice is built and kept, why hockey and figure skating like different ice, and why games stop to resurface.
Published
Skaters talk about ice the way golfers talk about greens. Some days it is fast and hard, some days soft and grabby, and once in a while it is perfect, the kind of sheet people call glass. A lot of work goes into getting it there.
How an indoor rink's ice is built
Indoor ice usually sits on a concrete floor with a network of pipes running through it. A refrigeration plant pumps a very cold liquid, typically a brine or a glycol mixture, through those pipes, which keeps the slab below freezing.
The ice itself is not poured in one go. Crews build it up from many thin layers of water, sprayed or flooded on and allowed to freeze one at a time, because thin layers freeze faster, harder and more evenly than a thick pour. Partway through, the ice is painted white so it looks bright and the puck shows up well. Hockey lines, circles and logos are painted next, then sealed under more layers of clear ice. When it is finished, indoor ice is often only around an inch thick, give or take. Thicker ice takes more energy to keep cold and is harder to keep at an even temperature.
What good ice feels like
Good skating ice has a few qualities in common:
- Smooth: no ruts, chips or bumps to catch a blade or bounce a puck.
- Level: the same thickness across the whole sheet, so it skates the same everywhere.
- The right hardness: firm enough to be fast, but not so hard and brittle that it chips easily.
- Clean: free of loose snow, which acts like sand under a blade and slows everything down.
A fresh resurface takes care of smoothness and cleanliness. Hardness and levelness depend on the rink's refrigeration, the building and how carefully the ice has been maintained over weeks and months.
Hockey ice and figure skating ice are different
Different sports want different ice. Hockey is generally played on colder, harder ice, which is faster for skating and lets the puck glide quickly. Figure skaters usually prefer the ice a little warmer and softer. Softer ice gives their blades more grip for edges and turns, and is a bit more forgiving on landings.
Rinks that host both have to compromise or adjust the temperature between events. Exact settings vary from building to building, but the difference is often only a few degrees, which shows how sensitive ice is.
The building matters too
Ice reacts to the air above it. Warm, humid air makes the surface soft and can even cause fog to form over the rink. Big crowds add warmth, and so do lights. Many rinks run dehumidifiers and carefully control the air for exactly this reason. Outdoor rinks have it harder still: sun, wind, rain and snow can ruin a sheet in an afternoon.
Why games stop to resurface
Every stride a skater takes leaves a mark. In a hockey game, where players stop hard, turn sharply and crowd into the corners, the ice degrades fast. By the end of a period it is usually covered in ruts and a layer of loose snow. That has real effects on play:
- The puck slows down as it pushes through snow, and passes die short.
- The puck bounces over ruts and chips instead of sliding flat, making it harder to handle.
- Skaters lose speed and can catch an edge in a deep groove.
So professional hockey resurfaces the ice before the game and during each intermission, which is a big part of why intermissions are as long as they are. The machine needs time to make its passes, and the new water needs a few minutes to freeze before players step back on. Figure skating competitions also resurface regularly between groups of skaters, so that later competitors are not stuck with ice chewed up by earlier ones.
A word about natural ice
Ponds and lakes are where skating began, and skating outdoors on natural ice can be wonderful. It is also nothing like a rink. Natural ice can vary in thickness from one spot to the next, and currents, springs and changing weather can weaken it without much warning. Only skate on natural ice that has been checked and approved for skating by people who know the local conditions, and follow local safety advice.
Good ice in Fresh Ice
Fresh Ice turns all of this into a race against the clock. The skaters, flurries and popcorn that scuff your sheet are a playful version of what happens in a real game, and the puck-drop clock stands in for the intermission. When you beat it, the game calls the result exactly what skaters would: glass. To learn the machine itself, read how ice resurfacing works, then see if you can make some glass yourself.