Our rink reopened this week in a very-limited fashion: kids and teens only, for a few pre-arranged freestyle sessions and private lessons. All payments online, except private lessons fees, which are going to the coaches directly. (Cash, checks or PayPal was my solution.)
Max 20 people on the ice, 5 coaches who are encouraged to stay in the hockey boxes. No group lessons, dance/pairs or synchro with connections. Everyone has to be on the check-in list, presenting a signed liability waiver and have their temp checked with a touchless device. Everyone must wear a mask in the facility - doesn't have to be medical-grade. Skaters are allowed to skate without masks, however. Six-foot distancing everywhere. We use separate doorways for check-in and exit. They encouraged skater drop-off and pick-up, but a maximum of one adult / skater would allowed to stay inside the rink area or the lobby but no going back-and-forth. Non-skating children/teens have to stay outside.
The skating director coordinated the lesson/practice signups for the morning sessions. She's been cleaning with spray sanitizer and clean cloths after each session while the ice is resurfaced. There are hand sanitizer stations and skaters were told to bring their own tissues, sanitizer, gloves, water bottles and masks. All the drinking fountains are turned off but the bathrooms are open. One or two locker rooms, which we don't use for figure skating normally, are in use for skate changing and bags. There's a hockey camp of some sort next week, so we're waiting to see what the freestyle schedule looks like before we book any lessons for that period.
So far, so good. Here's hoping we can streamline this and get skaters ready for tests and future competitions. *crosses fingers*
Gotta say, I was disappointed to see that the rink area looks exactly the same. There's a brand-new two-sheet facility opening in July about 30 m. away. An older rink about 40 m. away cleaned, painted, fixed flooring and laid fresh ice. Two of the rinks about an hour away did a total melt and are about to lay fresh ice. Our rink was exactly as it was when I was there in March. Same dip in the ice where the zam gets on/off, same gaps in the rubber tiles, same puck marks on the walls/glass, same broken door catch. While I appreciate having ice, I'm worried about what will happen when these other rinks reopen. Our facility works really hard to keep everything well-maintained, but it seems like this opportunity to correct things without affecting customers passed them by.
Topic: If rinks possibly open this summer, I've started blogging again (Read 7125 times)