The Ice Rink Retraction

I amend what I said about the ice rink in the Triangle Sportsplex, though not what I said about open skate time.

My final verdict: pay the extra dollar to have the place to yourself.

That's right. It was $9 to rent skates and spend a few hours trying not to tackle toddlers. It was $10 each to rent the place with my church group and have a blast playing broomball at 1 a.m., when the rink was empty.

What is broomball, you ask?

As my friend Logan puts it, "Broomball is like ice hokey, except you wear tennis shoes, and there's no puck or hockey sticks. But besides that it's the same."

That always gets a laugh because it makes it sound really different, but it's true: Broomball is ice hockey for people who can't ice-skate but want to play on the ice. People like me.

You get wooden sticks with a stub on the end. You run around trying to whack the rubber ball into the goal. And you fall.


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My friend Kei and I only fell once each, but I lost count of Logan's tumble tally. The thing was though, he didn't seem to be in pain.

For me falling didn't hurt like when you're ice-skating. You just pick yourself up and keep on playing.

We stayed up for hours afterwards talking about highlights of the game and how much more fun we had than expected.

It felt like playing around on Hooker Fields, minus the grass.

Is it worth $10 to play on an ice version of Hooker Fields?

After my first encouter with the place, there's no question. Sportsplex after midnight gets the thumbs up.