What is the name of the iceless, ice skating rinks?

Question

You know you sometimes see them on TV, the DIY shows and I even saw it on trading spaces boys vs. girls it just a rink but the texture is very slidy so you could just put on the ice skates and skate on them.

Answer 1

You might be talking about synthetic ice. its not as good to slide on and is like a chalky plastic material, but you still use your skates. It's used for training purposes and works well if youre training by yourself or in a small group. I'm a goalie and used to train on it on a weekly basis

Answer 2

This is nothing new. The plastic used is called SHDPE (super high density polyethylene) it is very hard, but has properties that give it a bit of flexibility, this allows the skate blade to "dig in" without slicing into it. I have worked at a training facility in the Dallas area that had a small rink, and 3 goalie shooting lanes. The stuff is amazingly close to the performance of ice. And yes, some of the things they say about it are basically true as well. You do have shavings, and it is a bit more resistive to gliding, it's hotter to play at a rink that has this, but it isn't ice! There should be some trade offs, since melting ice as the blades move over it is one of the slickest things known to man. That having been said, it is a very viable training aid, as the increased resistance builds up muscle that when yopu step onto ice, it will feel much like a baseball player swinging a weighted bat prior to stepping up to the plate with a lighter bat. You will be quicker, and have a bit more stamina. I was amazed that I didn't really have to alter the way I skated that much.I did notice it takes a bit longer to stop, and there is a bit of slippage when trying to start rapidly. You still have to "resurface" it from time to time. The only thing is, you are using a giant blade to remove the cut marks, and even out the surface again. Then you vacuum it. Then you need to apply a layer of wax, or we used a silcone based spray after scraping it. While I don't see synthetic ice replacing standard ice rinks, I do see the possibility of more training facilities utilizing this technology.

Answer 3

I know what you are talking about. It is plastic, like the guy above said. I rem they used to set it up during the summer exhibition when I was younger, and people could go skating for a fee. It looked awkward the way people skated, as opposed to ice.

Answer 4

Called teflon rinks. They have been using them for years on TV shows where the lighting is too hot for real ice.