The Sunday Mail
Tendai Mbirimi—
While ice skating has always been associated with icy weather patterns in countries such as Canada, Island, Iceland, Netherlands, Zimbabweans can now also enjoy it locally.
The 263 Chilled Ice Skating Rink is situated at the Westgate complex, a few kilometres to the west of Harare’s central business district.
This is the perfect place to have some festive fun with friends and family.
The 263 Chilled Ice Rink, which is indoor, is open from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and from 9am till 11pm during weekends and there is no need to book if you’re visiting with a group of less than 10 people, just turn up and pay on the day.
Ice skating price are pegged at $8 per person for an hour and this includes skating shoes’ hire and complementary skating lessons.
According to online sources, ice skating is the act of moving on ice by using ice skates.
It can be done for a variety of reasons, including exercise, leisure, traveling, and various sports.
Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared ice surfaces (arenas, tracks, parks), both indoors and outdoors, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water such as ponds, lakes and rivers.
Reminiscent of Iceland life, it is very rare to see the rink personnel at Westgate without cladding a warm jacket, bearing testimony that the rink has a weather paten atypical of Zimbabwe’s weather conditions.
The ice rink provides entertainment for the whole family in a family oriented environment.
The facility appeals to all age groups in an alcohol free environment and the venue has quickly become popular for birthday parties, team building sessions and even hosting Christmas parties for companies.
Other events and activities such as product launches and music video shoots can be hosted too.
Zimbabwe’s only ice rink also offers exciting private lessons.
Ladies can expect to get training separately as there are lessons for just them. Classes are also run separately for figure skating.
The 263 Chilled Ice Skating Rink also offers special programs for school children to learn to skate on real ice in Zimbabwe.
Ice skating is a sporting and recreational discipline that most children would only have the chance to experience if they travelled outside the country.
The Learn to Skate program has since been introduced and is specifically designed for schools aiming to enhance motor skills development in students and even expose them to ice sports such as figure skating and mini ice hockey through teaching skating and providing an opportunity to compete.
The outlook for Zimbabwe’s
skating enthusiasts is exciting as the rink seeks to promote competitions in ice disciplines such as mini ice hockey and figure skating.
Whether novice or professional skaters, the rink embraces all and seeks to provide fun entertainment for the Zimbabwean community.
