Singapore : Synthetic ice rink to open

**Mid** · 07-02-2010, 01:37 PM

Synthetic ice rink to open
Sumita Sreedharan
Feb 7, 2010

Costing $65,000 to build, the outdoor rink in Lorong Chuan is made of white plastic

Students from the Stamford American International School and Singapore national ice hockey players trying out the new synthetic ice rink.
ST PHOTO: RAJ NADARAJAN

SINGAPORE'S largest synthetic ice rink will be opened to the public on Chinese New Year's eve - but the 'ice' is not really ice.

The 'ice' is actually interlocking squares of white plastic sprayed with a mixture of silicone and water.

Ice skaters are able to slide across the surface, as if they are on machine-made ice.

It is built and managed by the Singapore Ice Hockey Association (Siha).

The outdoor rink, which is 20m by 10m, is at the Stamford American International School (SAIS) in Lorong Chuan. An Olympic-sized rink is 60m by 30m.

Built at a cost of $65,000, the rink is only one-fifth the cost of regular indoor rinks. Maintenance is easier too.

straitstimes.com

**Thetyim** · 07-02-2010, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Mid

The 'ice' is actually interlocking squares of white plastic sprayed with a mixture of silicone and water.

Sounds like the 'glass spray' from another thread

**ItsRobsLife** · 07-02-2010, 07:24 PM

Haha beat me too it...

**blackgang** · 07-02-2010, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by Thetyim

Sounds like the 'glass spray' from another thread

Does sound like it, But I wonder what is used for skate blades.
Some folks might not realize that a skate blade needs to be sharpened every so often, and that will leave cuts in the plastic or you will have no control over where you are going or any propulshion to get there.
Dull blades make for fucked up skating IMHO.

So if the blade does cut into the surface, how is it kept smooth, or if not then how do you control yourself if the blades do not cut into the surface?

**Aguda** · 07-02-2010, 09:21 PM

[quote=blackgang;1316324 Does sound like it, But I wonder what is used for skate blades.

So if the blade does cut into the surface, how is it kept smooth, or if not then how do you control yourself if the blades do not cut into the surface?[/quote]

I had the same thought, the skates in the photo appear to be normal, steel bladed skates. I wonder if skate blades made from the same plastic would work?
The original post said the plastic was sprayed with silicone and water, not the liquid glass spray so the plastic surface is not protected, just slippery. no need for the Zamboni ice smoothing machine I used to see on the ice skatting rinks in my younger days.

**dirtydog** · 07-02-2010, 11:06 PM

Must be a lot of theft in Singapore, obviously too scared to leave their crash helmets on their motorbikes.

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