SARATOGA SPRINGS — For the first time ever, the Weibel Ice Rink will be open throughout the spring.
“We are so excited that the City will be keeping the ice available for our skaters,” said Bart Bergbom, president of the Saratoga Springs Figure Skating Club.
Each spring the Saratoga Figure Skating Club travels in search of good ice to master their skills, traveling as far as Scotia and Albany during rush hour. The constant change of venue creates an inconsistency with their practice schedules.
“There’s only a couple other ice rinks in the area in the capital region and they’re overcrowded at this point because of the limited ice, which makes it difficult for our skaters to practice when they want to,” said Bergbom. “It kind of becomes unsafe just with literally overcrowding on the ice.”
Due to this need, the Saratoga Springs Recreation Department partnered with the Department of Public Works in order to make the Weibel Ice Rink available for the months of April through June. However, keeping the ice rink open as the temperature rises is not a simple task.
"As the weather warms up, it becomes harder and harder to produce good ice,” said Skip Scirocco, the commissioner of Public Works. “We’re gonna keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can maintain a good quality of ice out there."
The equipment used to keep the ice running is ten years old, and as of right now, there isn’t a back-up plan in place, in the rare instance the equipment fails. “Right now we’re at the mercy of our equipment. That’s not without issues. I think overall we’re gonna have a good run this year,” said Scirocco.
To learn about the spring offerings from the Figure Skating Club visit .ssfsc.wordpress.com.
