With March rolling around this weekend and a brutally cold winter still nipping, most of us are probably looking ahead to spring. The promise of a return to fair weather seems increasingly tantalizing now that the sun is once again shining past 6 p.m.
Yet this might just be the the best time of the season to enjoy a classic, exhilarating cold-weather activity: ice skating.
The city-owned, few-frills Ralph Walker Skating Rink stays open until the end of March, offering public skating sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 to 1:30 pm, as well as Friday evening sessions from 8 to 9:20 p.m. Weekend public skates run from 12 to 1:20 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m.
You won’t pay much for a spin—and hopefully not too many falls—on the ice. New Haven adults only pay $4, and it’s $3 for under-18ers; for non-residents, prices jump just a buck higher. There’s also a universal senior fee of $3, and skate rentals are $4. Hockey enthusiasts can join regularly scheduled “stick time” and pick-up hockey games at $10 a session (usually in the evening; check the website for details).
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Linda Chicoine, who’s managed the rink, confirms that March is a great time to visit. Traffic tends to dwindle as folks move from a winter- to spring-sport mindset, leaving hockey pucks and sticks behind in favor of soccer balls and tennis rackets. As the season comes to a close, there’s more room to glide.
And to breathe, too. Although it has a roof to protect from rain or snow, the Ralph Walker Rink is technically open-air. (A compressor keeps the ice floor solid despite rising temperatures outside.) The fresh air isn’t the only invigorating factor; music plays during public skate sessions.
Still, chances are very good that the next four and a half weeks have plenty of chills left to deliver, and the indoor facility adjacent to the rink is a great place to warm up. Every day, the Zamboni driver on duty is responsible for building the fire that roars during open hours; nearby wooden benches and picnic tables are a great spot for sipping a hot chocolate (vending machines provide that, as well as other drinks, snacks and ice cream) and warming your toes.
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“We try to be a community place where people can come and do a winter activity. It’s a very family-oriented atmosphere,” says Chris Bartlett. While the city owns the rink, which has been open since the late 1960s, it’s run by Rink Management Solutions, which Bartlett co-owns.
Bartlett and Chicoine have known each other since the sixth grade, when they both lived in North Haven, and have been close since. Chicoine says she’s an enthusiastic skater, though Bartlett may be the more serious skater of the two. He competed in Olympic-eligible men’s figure skating, was a Disney on Ice performer for five years and has coached skating students for over a quarter-century. He’s continued to coach (including for Chicoine’s daughter) in addition to running the business; Chicoine, for her part, double-jumps as a biology professor at Quinnipiac.
Even this late in the season, you might catch some advanced skaters practicing their double Axels at the skating rink, as well as plenty of beginners gathered around the sides before shakily making their way around the ice.
Smooth or wobbly, a good skate is a good goodbye to a long winter.
Ralph Walker Skating Rink
1080 State St, New Haven (map)
(203) 946-8007
www.cityofnewhaven.com/…
Written and photographed by Cara McDonough. This updated story was originally published on March 12, 2013.
