2.21.2014

Fun Friday: Ice Skating at SM Megamall

Third Friday of the month:  Leisure and Recreation / Hobby / Sport


Have you been to the new ice skating rink at SM Megamall? It's bigger (I think) and better than before! I brought my girl yesterday since she was curious and fascinated with ice skating for quite some time now.  She clearly had a blast with her classmates that she's now bugging me to schedule a few hours on the ice again.

First time I tried ice skating was in the early 90s when the mall opened the very first ice skating rink in the country.  It was awesome! I still remember my when college friends and I trooped to the lower ground floor of Megamall and patiently queued on opening week just to try skating on ice for the first time in our lives! =)  Eventually, the interest from the public waned and they closed it down.  This time around, it was my turn to bring my girl to experience the thrill of ice skating.  The boy will come along on our next visit.

Last weekend, we got the chance to drop by the new wing - Mega Fashion Hall. I showed her the newly opened ice skating rink so she'll have an idea. She was in awe, just like how I felt the first time I saw the rink. I just wished it opened a few weeks earlier during her birthday week - it would have been a perfect "Frozen"-themed birthday celebration for her, don't you think? =)

So yesterday, we spent over an hour trying really hard to ice skate.  It was two decades ago, since I last skated, and I wasn't very good.  At least I was able to find my rhythm and balanced without holding on the side rails for the whole stretch of the rink at some point.  That was then.  It was back to square one for me and I am learning again with my girl.

Here are the fees if you plan to skate:  P300 / P390 unlimited time, same rate for kids and adults.


Companions can wait outside the rink, by the benches.  There is another waiting area on the other side of the rink, where you can get a closer look at the skaters.

Once you enter, you can go to the Shoe Rental counter and ask for your size.  You can also claim the locker key if you paid for one.  There is a specialty store beside it if you need socks, gloves, even costumes, and other accessories.


Read the House Rules so you know what to expect and prepare when you decide to go skating:

If you get a locker, just remember, the locker is for one-time use only - meaning, once you put in your stuff and locked it, you can't go back taking out some items and putting it back again coz it will not close anymore.  I was clueless with the locker since it uses a coin and a key to operate, high-tech, heehee... so ask the guard or attendant for assistance. =)

Tip:
Wear sports socks, comfortable clothes with jacket, apply lip balm and sip water before goin in. It's very cold and dry on the ice.  Mittens/gloves would help protect your hands especially if you fall, but is quite difficult to grab on the dasher board.

We're both laced up ready to go.  It took a lot of energy just to wear the skates, hahahaha! The kiddie skates have two designs, and the girl chose this newer model.  Check out the red skates on her friends behind her.

Once we stepped on the ice, she grabbed on to me and be both slipped!!! I landed hard on my butt, ouch! :)

The girl and her classmates were cruising on the side of the rink, holding on so tightly on the dasher board and were a bit scared to fall.  That's expected.  I did too! LOL! =)  Actually, almost everyone were doing that and only very few were really good skaters.

Luckily, it was a weekday and the rink was not crowded.  There was some "traffic" on the dasher board with people holding and "crawling", heehehehe...

Our rounds were cut short for the regular ice resurfacing.  Here, the girl and some figure skaters patiently wait for the Zamboni machine to finish.

"A Zamboni ice resurfacing machine is used to smooth and clean the ice surface at ice skating rinks, developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949." - figureskating.about.com

The ice is smooth and clean again and we went back for a few more rounds.  The girl gain some confidence gliding on the side, still grabbing by the dasher board, but skating much faster! 

Watch her 7-second video as she cruised along the side of the rink. =)

It was exhilarating and tiring, but super fun overall.  My bum and calves are still sore, but I promised the kids we'll be going back very soon!

SM Ice Skating Rink
5/F Mega Fashion Hall
Megamall, Ortigas Center

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