The rink, housed in the Gore Multisports Complex off Robertson St, is usually closed down every two years to reset the ice, a process that has taken months, and this time around, after three years, the Ice Sports Southland volunteers started on March 11.
Curling executive and volunteer Grant Scott said resurfacing happened as the rink weathered down with use.
‘‘It starts to freeze underneath the ice surface and starts to push . . . up, so you end up getting bumps, so we’re just trying [to] avoid that happening [by resurfacing].’’
There are three layers hidden below the ice’s sheen — from the ground up there is a gravel base then a layer of polythene, or plastic, then about 10cm of sandy, finely crushed rocks or crusher dust laid on top.
Inside the polythene layer, pipes run the length of the rink which uses the alcohol glycol to freeze the water, which in stages, is sprayed on top, Mr Scott said.
‘‘You’ve just got to soak that sand surface until the water starts coming up, and then you just put another layer of water on top, and it freezes, and then you put another layer of water on top, and that’s how you do it.
‘‘You’ve got to spray it on until the sand starts to freeze, and then you can put more water on, so it doesn’t leak through . . .’’
The rink uses demineralised water — with impurities removed — from Fonterra, which ices up faster. It is brought to the rink thanks to trucks from Caldwell Contracting.
‘‘We’ve used 36,000 litres of demineralised water so far,’’ Mr Scott said.
Once the surface hardens, it is brightened up with a special white paint from North America, which is applied to the Olympic-sized 60m by 30m rink, by hand.
It had turned out to be a bit of a niggly job, Mr Scott said.
‘‘The moment you use the paintbrush, it freezes instantly . . . you’ve got to be quick.’’
Lines and circles are also marked out and painted blue and red for curling and ice hockey.
Figure skating and ice hockey coach Hayley Beardsworth, who had taught all ages for eight months after coming over from the UK, said the sport was appealing, with plenty of opportunities, but remained largely unknown to the community.
Ms Beardsworth said balancing on the blades can seem scary at first, but there was plenty of padding, helmets, and other equipment that provided a safety net.
‘‘The oldest man I’ve taught is 85 years old [and] my youngest one is 2. So they can go from any age.
‘‘We’ve had camps, we’ve had competitions, and we’ve also had a massive ice skating show . . . at the end of the year, which was Christmas, where we did Mary Poppins on ice.’’
It was a shame that these events were not well known because the rink was off the beaten path, she said, but there was a big drawcard coming up.
‘‘We’re hosting nationals this year here for ice skating in October, which will be a massive thing because obviously we haven’t hosted that for a long time.’’
The rink will reopen on Saturday and will be open daily from 2pm-4pm until April 19, the last Sunday of the school holidays.
