It’s Christmas holidays and what could be more fun than tying on your skates and hitting the ice rink? But in many places you can no longer call that real ice fun these days. This year, many municipalities are skating on fake ice rinks. Like in Heeswijk-Dinther where they slide over plastic plates while skating. And fall. “It takes some getting used to,” says a boy who is just about to fall.
The plastic skating rink in Heeswijk-Dinther has been open since Thursday afternoon. The track was laid quickly. Within a few hours it is possible to skate. But the biggest advantage is that it is a lot cheaper. “Then you are really talking about thousands of euros,” says Marco Arts, who rents out the plastic skating rink.
The track in Heeswijk-Dinther does not require ice that has to be cooled all the time, which saves a lot of electricity. “They are a kind of plastic plates, but there is something incorporated in them that makes it very slippery when you go over it with a skate,” Arts explains.
“Skating is of course more fun on real ice, that remains.”
Quickly constructed, cheap and better for the environment. But does it also skate just as well? It’s easier to slip here than on real ice,” says Janus after he has already fallen a few times. “I already have ten bruises,” Lotte adds. And Wouter responds: “It’s very slippery and that’s why it doesn’t work yet, but that’s just a matter of getting used to it, I hope.”
According to Marco Arts, the rink is 98 percent the same as a real ice rink. But it is important that your skates are properly sharpened. “Skating is of course more fun on real ice, that remains,” says Jos Verkuijlen. He organizes the event at Plein 1969 every year. “If nothing else, a fake ice rink like this is a really nice alternative.”
And Izzy thinks so too, who has already skated a few laps around the track. “Better than nothing.”
