Winnipeg Considers Synthetic Ice Rinks

A Winnipeg city committee plans to ask staff to look at the possibility of using synthetic ice rinks at some locations in Winnipeg.

If approved, it would be possible for outdoor skating in summer months.

The synthetic ice apparently has an average life-span of about 10 years per side and has low monthly maintenance costs.

Some other Canadian cities, including Halifax, have launched pilot projects using the ice. Some people who use the ice say it feels different than regular ice and makes skaters work a bit harder.

The City of Winnipeg hopes to have a report back in 90 days on whether or not a pilot project should be launched in the city.

Synthetic ice skating surfaces are developed with a scientifically engineered molecular structure that lets skaters glide just as smoothly as on real ice. Ice rinks large or small, public or private, can now install an artificial ice skating surface that meets the highest standards.

Technology behind synthetic ice-skating surfaces far exceeds the limits of older artificial ice compounds invented in late 1960s. Synthetic ice rink manufacturers such as Global Synthetic Ice are now producing synthetic ice using the most modern computer-controlled equipment available, advancing and leading the synthetic ice industry into the future. This extremely low friction surface results in a synthetic ice-skating sensation virtually identical to the feel of water-based ice.

Own your own Synthetic Ice