Image courtesy of the City of Bloomington
NORMAL, Ill.- The Bloomington Ice Center held its annual Return to the Rink event on Saturday.
The event featured a free skate, club demonstrations, and interactive games. Throughout the year, the ice arena offers classes for all ages and skill levels and also hosts ISU men’s and women’s hockey games.
“This time of year, even though the temperatures dropped a little bit in the last few days, people are still kind of in summer mode,” said Bloomington Ice Center manager Michael Hernbrott. “This is a good chance to get everybody out and remind them winter sports are coming.”
After being closed for the summer, the Bloomington Ice Center has reopened its doors to the community. Fresh ice requires time to settle, as it often cracks and must be broken in by skaters before the season begins.
“It was started just to get people to come out, skate on the ice, and break the ice in for us, per se, and it just moved into this Return to the Rink event,” Hernbrott said.
To prepare for Return to the Rink, Hernbrott and his team at the Bloomington Ice Center resurfaced the rink and coordinated behind-the-scenes details with clubs, instructors and guests.
“It’s a fun event, it’s a little unique to the community. We’re the only community ice rink in the Bloomington-Normal area,” Hernbrott said. “It’s an opportunity for people to come out and see what we have to offer here.”
The ice center provides the community with the chance to explore ice activity interests through classes, hockey leagues and more.