Looking Forward….The Next Year Highlights at ISCC

As Summer wraps up and the leafs start to change to Fall colors the International Skating Center of Connecticut media team thought it would be a good idea to look forward at the upcoming events for the next year! So get your calendars out, and your permanent markers cause, you are not going to want to miss these events!  

Wolfpack Pre-season Game

The International Skating Center of Connecticut will be hosting a Pre-Season American Hockey League game for the Hartford Wolfpack and visiting Springfield Falcons. The game will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday, September 29^th. The cost will be $5.00, with all proceeds going to youth hockey programs in the state of Connecticut. This is a great opportunity to see future stars of the National Hockey League right here in your back yard in Simsbury! Come check it out, we promise you will not be disappointed!

Thanksgiving Avon Youth Hockey Tournament

So if you’re like the ISCC media team, you love your food and your hockey. So what better way to get a fixing of both all in the same weekend! Starting Friday the 29th after Thanksgiving and through the whole weekend (30^th and 1^st) the International Skating Center of Connecticut is co-hosting, along with Avon Old Farms Prep School the Avon Youth Hockey Thanksgiving Tournament. Though this is a small tournament, usually twenty to thirty teams, the hockey is great! After you’re all full from your big meal come check it out! It’s free admission too!

Winter Learn-to-Skate Show

Right before Christmas and school vacation the International Skating Center of Connecticut hosts a Winter Learn-to-Skate show. Now, the show is very similar to your kids ballet recitals or plays in school! However, we also put in a few amateur figure skaters that love to perform for a pack crowd. Kids taking our Learn-to-Skate have the opportunity to perform right at center ice in  a group or individual performance. We assure you, this is entertaining and really a great time to bring the family out to! The cost is only $5.00 a person (kids two and under are free)but all the admissions profits go back to our Learn-to-Skate program for future shows and improvement to the program!

Simsbury Holiday Hockey Tournament

Much like the Avon Youth Hockey Thanksgiving Tournament this is the Simsbury Youth Hockey Tournament which is hosted at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, Westminster Prep School and Simsbury farms. The tournament is similar sized to the Thanksgiving one and features many of the same teams. So if you miss that tournament come check this one out! This event is also free to public and we promise it is extremely entertaining. This Tournament is scheduled for the 26^th-29^th of December.

Winter Fantasy on Ice Figure Skating Show

This is the real deal! You are not going to want to miss this show! Olympians and World Champions come and do a show right here in Simsbury, Connecticut! Not just once, but twice! The dates are set for New Years Eve Day and New Years Day. Not only do Olympian and World Champions take the International Skating Center of Connecticut’s ice but our terrific amateur performers skate right alongside of them! Wait, wait! It gets better! There is on ice seating for these events, that’s right you can sit on the ice and be like at Sea World in the “Splash Zone.” Based on last years ticket prices this even costs $20.00 for general seating and $30.00 for on ice seating (well worth it and highly recommended). Last years stars were Ekaterina Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik.

USA Hockey Tier III National Championship

Lastly, we are going to wrap up this posting with the big news! The International Skating Center of Connecticut is proud to host the 2013-14 USA Hockey Tier III National Championship. Not only will this be held at I.S.C.C. this coming year but also in 2014-15! These athletes will be attending Division I and III schools and could make it into the N.H.L. one day! I.S.C.C. beat out New York City, Chicago, Dallas and Rochester, Minnesota in bidding for this championship. Though prices are not set, the date is in late April so make sure your calendars are open because this is going to be an exciting time in the Hartford, Connecticut area!

Hockey, Figure Skating and More!

The International Skating Center of Connecticut is known primarily for our figure skating excellence with past skaters winning medals in the Olympics and past World Championships. However, there are many other exciting things that the skating rink can offer you if you so choose!

Did you know that we offer full facility rentals? That’s right! You could have the ice all to yourself or even have a private party! Full facility rentals can include having one or both ice rinks at your disposal, rental skates and even have the Sk8ter’s Café  cater your party or and outside vender. If you want to book your private party there is just a few steps you need to follow:

1.)   Pick a day

2.)   Pick a time

3.)   Call 860-651-5400 and ask for the rink manager

4.)   Book your time and put down a deposit

That’s right just four easy steps! We have even had people book parties for broom hockey and corporate events!

Maybe the ice is not your thing though? You have always seen the workout facility that overlooks both ice rinks on the second floor! They have some great classes that they can offer you such as Tumbling, Gymnastics and more! You can rent that space as well by contacting the PlayStrong Group at 860-651-5000 or even at their email: playstrong@comcast.net.

Well what if your kids want to have a birthday party at the rink but you don’t want to rent out the full facility? Guess what! We have that option. In fact, for just fifteen dollars a head you can get skating and food in the Sk8ter’s Café! The skate time is during any one of our public skate times which consist of an hour and fifteen minutes of skating and you have an unlimited time in the café for post skating celebration! These packages include: skate admission, rentals, pizza or hotdogs, chips, soda, ice cream, balloons and private tables. In order for you to book one of these events all you need to do is follow these four steps:

1.)   Pick a day

2.)   Find the corresponding public skate time

3.)   Call 860-651-5400 ex. 21

4.)   Book your time and put down a deposit

We hope that this has helped to show you that we are more than just a figure skating and hockey rink but we can host your parties of any and all sizes! Please respond with any questions and we will answer your right away! You can also inquire by following us on Facebook and/or on Twitter at: @ISCCSKateCT!

Connecticut Hockey Academy - Summber Camp

This week the International Skating Center of Connecticut is hosting the first ever, Connecticut Hockey Academy Summer camp. The dates are August 19^th – the 22^nd and feature a terrific coaching staff that really cannot be rivaled in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Through the connections of Bob Crawford, owner and general manager of I.S.C.C., we have established a four person staff that will provide their expertise on and off the ice this week. The purpose of this week’s blog entry is to make you more informed about who will be coaching your children this week if attending one day or the whole week of camp.

First, from right here in Simsbury, Connecticut, Tim Joncas, Westminster Prep School head coach. Tim has been serving as Westminster Prep Schools head hockey coach for seven years and has produced N.H.L. caliber talent. Coach Joncas, trained Tommy Cross, Simsbury born and raised, for three seasons before he signed with Boston College and now plays for the Providence, Rhode Island Bruins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Boston Bruins. In addition, Joncas coached 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Ben Smith of the Chicago Blackhawks. In his playing days, Tim Joncas compiled 75 points: 22 goals and 53 assists for Wesleyan University and later Trinity College.

Second is, Pat Boller, the active assistant coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Rangers. Coach Boller has served in the New York Rangers organization for now nine years as both an assistant coach and Director of Operations. Boller played for SUNY Potsdam where he served as an assistant captain for the team. Upon graduating Boller joined the coaching staff of Manhattanville College where the Division III team won the E.C.A.C. Championship three years straight.

The third coach is, Ken Gernander, the active head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Gernander played in 14 A.H.L. seasons and the final eleven with the New York Rangers affiliated team in Hartford, Connecticut. Gernander served as captain for the Wolf Pack for ten years and won the Calder Cup, as the A.H.L. best team in 2000. Gernander amassed 347 points for the Wolf Pack and owns the franchise record for most games played and most playoff games played. Finally, Ken Gernader was originally drafted to the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round of the 1987 N.H.L. entry draft.  

Lastly, Kevin Maxwell will be the fourth coach this week at the Connecticut Hockey Academies Summer Hockey Camp. Ken is the Director of Professional Scouting for the New York Rangers of the N.H.L. Maxwell, has been a scout for the following National Hockey League teams: Dallas Stars, New York Islander and the home town Hartford Whalers for the 1994-1995 season. Kevin Maxwell knows firsthand what it takes to make it from a youth hockey player through the ranks and to skate on the world’s most famous arena ice, Madison Square Garden.

If you missed the first day of camp, no worries! Come out tomorrow morning starting at 9:00am and you can pay day-by-day! There are two ice sessions, one off-ice session and lunch every day! So strap on your skates and come get coached by some of the best coaches around!

The Amazing Facts of U.S. Figure Skating

So just the other week, our Learn-to-Skate Director here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut sent me a link to the U.S. Figure Skating fact sheet. At first I didn’t think anything of it, and honestly was not sure what to use it for. However, I said what better way to boil down eight thick pages then to write a blog post about it?

Well here you go!

Did you know that U.S. Figure Skating started 1921 with just seven clubs? Well believe it! In fact today there are more than 690 clubs spread all across the United States of America. One of these clubs has produced the youngest member of the 2013-14 U.S. Team, Vincent Zhou is just 12 years old. In the 690 clubs there are more than 165,000 athletes. Right here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut we have, the Charter Oak Figure Skating Club which is certified through U.S. Figure Skating and our Learn-to-Skate program is in fact also registered with each coach having to pass a test in order to qualify as a U.S. Figure Skating Credentialed coach. Our Learn-to-Skate program is one of 900 Basic Skills programs registered through U.S. Figure Skating.

Did you know that at least one U.S. figure skater has won a figure skating medal in the Olympics for 17 consecutive Winter Olympic Games? Well believe it! The streak all started in 1948 when Dick Button took home gold for the United States. Since, 1948 U.S. figure skating has excelled and the International Skating Center of Connecticut has been home to some of those great skaters in the past!

 So you don’t like to pay your dues to U.S. Figure Skating? Well maybe you do not know what all the money goes to! Your yearly dues amassed to 10.6 million dollars last year and goes directly into athlete funding for assistance, international competitions, program design at all levels, synchronized skating and performance bonuses for the U.S. Skating Team. Last year $52,000 was given to U.S. Skating Teams performers for bonuses.

Skating has been around for many years, but during the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada the viewership was unprecedented. On the Networks of NBC there were 190 million viewers. To put that into comparison that is nearly two thirds of all Americans tuned into watch U.S. Figure Skating Members in the Olympic Games!

I hope that his post was interesting and you learned more about what a great nationwide skating program we offer here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut. If you want to learn even more head to the below link! There is tons more information right at your finger tips!

www.usfigureskating.org/content/factsheet.pdf

The National Hockey League Taking the Game back to its Origins….Outdoors

I know it is still awfully hot outside still, so with this week’s post I want to try and make you cold. So grab your sweatshirt, sweat pants and mittens and get ready to get cold!

The National Hockey League has recently announced that they are going to take the game of hockey back to its origins through the use of stadiums across the country to host outdoor regular season games. Why talk about this? The International Skating Center of Connecticut has been involved in the past few years with Whalers Sports and Entertainment, “Whale Bowl” an outdoor ice rink in Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut.  Though the “Whale Bowl” is not the National Hockey League it is fairly similar so we thought we would share some details because many of the area N.H.L. teams are set to play outdoors this coming season.

This year the N.H.L. will kick off the outdoor hockey season with its main event, the Winter Classic. This will be held on New Year’s Day, 2014 when the Detroit Red Wings will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the “Big House,” Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor Michigan. After a few week lapse in outdoor hockey the N.H.L. will be set to start their newest event, the Coors Light Stadium Series.

What better way for the N.H.L. to make a bang than to bring outdoor hockey to California. Yes, you read that correctly! The Anaheim Ducks will take on the Los Angeles Kings at prestigious Dodgers Stadium on January 25^th, 2014.  

Second, and just one day later, the popular brand new, Yankee Stadium in New York, New York will host an outdoor game. Arch rivals will battle it out at center field of one of the most famous franchises in all of sports. The New Jersey Devils will play the New York Rangers on January 26^th, 2014.   

Three days after the Devils and Rangers battle at Yankee Stadium, the New York Islanders will have a crack at the New York Rangers. Again, arch rivals square off in the house that Babe Ruth played at. This game will be held on January 29^th, 2014.

The Coors Light Stadium Series will wrap up on March 1^st, 2014 when the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. These two teams feature some of the N.H.L.’s best offensive talent in a single game, and best of all outside! The game will be held at Soldier Field in Chicago.

One more game? Sure, why not! The N.H.L. will hold one last outdoor game that will feature a all Canadian match up, which is known as the N.H.L. Heritage Classic. The 2014 Heritage Classic will be held on March 2^nd, 2014 when the Vancouver Canucks play host to the capital cities, Ottawa Senators. This game will be held at B.C. Place just outside of the city of Vancouver, in Canada.

With the N.H.L. going “all-out” outside, it is still yet to be determined if the city of Hartford will put forth the funding to once again host a “Whale Bowl.” The outdoor ice rink at Bushnell Park will happen regardless and sponsored by the International Skating Center of Connecticut and our sister rinks, the Bolton Ice Palace and Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, Connecticut. With thousands of people showing up to these events yearly it sure would be another spectacle for a casual to hardcore hockey fan or even a recreational skater to see. So who is with us? Who wants to see outdoor hockey return to the Hartford Area and see the Hartford Wolf Pack again play outdoors?

Sources:

www.NHL.com

www.TheAHL.com

http://articles.courant.com/2011-02-19/sports/hc-a1-whale-bowl-0220-20110219_1_whalers-hockey-fest-outdoor-hockey-whalers-sports  

 

                                                               

How Ice is Made Even in the Summer Heat

Have you ever wondered how ice rink ice is made?

How about how thick the ice actually is?

And how all those lines are added?

Don’t worry that is why I am here to answer all these questions. An ice rinks ice is called a sheet and is very similarly constructed to a “sheet cake,” as it layered from the ground up.  So let me start the discussion by looking at the ground and working our way up.

Some ice rinks have a cement floor which house cooling pipes that help to keep the layers of ice cold even in this brutally hot summer we have had in New England. Other ice rinks, like the International Skating Center of Connecticut have a sand floor to which the ice is then layered on top of. Sand floors are usually the better option to be working with incase one or any of your cooling pipes have an issue. As for the cement floors, major construction is necessary when a problem arises with a cooling pipe and could cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix and replace the cement floor. In fact this had to be done in New Jersey, when the Prudential Center in Newark was built. After final construction it was found that the cooling pipes were not functioning properly and the whole cement floor was subsequently removed, pipes fixed and the cement floor replaced.

Now that we have the floor situated its time to add some ice to this equation. Well not very much, a typical ice crew will lay down 1/30 of an inch of ice and let that freeze, next a second layer is added. These layers are the first of what in total will add up to between 12,000 and 15,000 gallons of water used to fill an ice rink per HowStuffWorks.com.

Now the fun begins! Painting now can start first with the layer of white on top of the now 1/16 of an inch thick sheet of ice. Once the white layer of paint is dried and there are no places where the sand can be seen the ice crew then will add a second 1/16 of an inch of ice over the white paint. Once completely frozen, which does not take long due to the cooling pipes still just below, the ice crew then can paint all the lines, circles and dots that are found on our typical ice hockey rink.

The final stage of the ice making process consists of adding the remaining roughly 10,000 gallons of water to the ice rink. This is done in 500-600 gallon increments and can take 15-20 hours of continuous work until the ice is built up enough for figure skaters, hockey games or speed skating. This process is done with the Zamboni or ice machine, which both adds and removes ice with a simple flip of a switch. At the end of the process an average ice rink will be 3/4 of an inch thick. From melting a sheet of ice to replacing it to its original 3/4  of an inch think, the full process can take as much as one week to complete, depending on the number of hours put in daily.

The cooling pipes are constantly working to keep the ice roughly twenty-eight degrees at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, due to our large figure skating population. In addition, we allow the building to remain around 45 degrees throughout the year. This is an increasing challenge with the recent heat wave, which is why our building has dehumidifiers. Dehumidifiers must work constantly as well to make the indoor humidity level around thirty percent. The last time this process was done at the International Skating Center of Connecticut was during the summer of 2012 for the Olympic rink and the summer of 2011 for the NHL rink.

Sources: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/ice-rink6.htm

                Chuck Fultcher – I.S.C.C. Rink Manager 

History....On Ice

This week we thought it would be appropriate to do a little history lesson! Let us take a look back over the years of some of the amazing talent that have called the International Skating Center of Connecticut home previously in their illustrious skating careers.

First up we have Shizuka Arakawa. So what does her name translate to? We have the answer! Shizuka translates to Prince while Arakawa translates to Hotels. Shizuka last skated at the International Skating Center of Connecticut three years ago where she skated just prior to competing in Turin, Italy at the Winter Olympic Games. Shizuka became the first female in Asia to win a gold medal when she skated a nearly flawless short and free-skating program. Shizuka skated under Nikolai Morozov when she practiced at I.S.C.C. who is a world renowned figure skating coach that has had the privilege of training many other Olympic and World Champion skaters. In addition, to becoming an Olympic Champion, Shizuka is the first Japanese skater to win both the World Championship and become an Olympic Champion.

www.shizuka-arakawa.com/english/profile/index.html

Second, the well known Scott Davis skated at the International Skating Center of Connecticut during the best time of his career, 1993 and 1994. Davis really helped to make a name for the rink that we all call “home” today and paved the way for many other skaters to aspire to what he completed in the figure skating world. Scott Davis is the 1993 and 1994 U.S. Men’s Figure Skating National Champion and placed 8^th in the Winter Olympics of 1994. While training at I.S.C.C. Scott was coached by Galina Zmievskaya. Currently, Scott Davis is the Director of Skating at the Calalta Figure Skating Club.

www.davissportsenterprises.com/content/dse-skating/skating-instructors  

 

Third we have a pairs team: Ilia Kulik and Ekaterina Gordeeva. Okay, so ladies first right? Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva is a two time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion. In addition Ekaterina is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Ilia Kulik is the 1988 Olympic Champion, 1995 European Champion, 1997-1998 Grand Prix Final Champion and the 1995 World Junior Champion. Together the married couple skate as a pairs team and tour on such shows as: Stars on Ice. Regarding I.S.C.C., the pair has come and starred in our Winter Fantasy on Ice, New Years figure skating show and put on clinics throughout the year to pass on their skills to up and coming figure skaters. Ilia and Ekaterina have passed skating tips, tricks and guidance to many of our young skaters for years in the past and currently at our Summer of Gold, figure skating camp.

http://www.kuliksskating.com/index.php

The International Skating Center of Connecticut truly lives up to our name: “The Worlds Home Ice” as we have demonstrated through having professional figure skaters utilize our facility from three different countries on their way to winning medals in the Olympics, World Championships and other distinct nominations/awards.

 

 

Off Season....Off Ice....

The International Skating Center of Connecticut is committed to training on and off the ice. With our full gym on the second floor of our facility we feel that it is important to stay fit at all times. Our Ben Smith Hockey Camp is kicking-off next week which features a daily session of off-ice training. Hockey season has been over for a few months now, and will be beginning within the next two months. It is important to workout on a regular basis when you cannot get practice time on the ice. This week we will be reviewing a few ways to stay fit during the hockey off season to help you prepare the hockey season right around the corner and perhaps preview what you might find if you’re attending Ben Smith’s Hockey Camp.

An average hockey player plays roughly 15-20 minutes of a 60-minute hockey game per HockeyMonkey.com which means it is most important to do cardiovascular training. Cardiovascular training is a great exercise for anybody; however it is especially good for a hockey player because it builds stamina which is needed during a fast paced shift during a hockey game (usually less than one minute per shift). According to BodyForLife.com cardiovascular training can be done in a multitude of different ways, such as: jogging, running, biking, swimming, elliptical, stairs and even a jump rope. I recommend doing a cardiovascular workout four to five times a week for roughly twenty minutes as this is the amount of time you will be playing in a given hockey game.

The second recommendation for an off season type of workout would be to do a strength training exercise. Warning! This is not a weight bearing exercise. So then what is strength training? Strength training is: “using his/her body weight to provide the resistance” states HockeyMonkey.com. So if you can’t use weights, what should you do to become strong? Well  there is a ton of options. If you have ever seen the Biggest Loser, then you will know a lot of these. Examples of strength training consist of: wall sits, squats, lunges, push-ups and sit-ups. Again, I recommend that you do twenty minutes of this type of workout between four and five times a weeks. I guarantee that you will feel these exercises the next day so be sure to stretch out before and after each session. After your strength training is done you could also do a twenty minutes session of lifting weights. Do not go crazy though, most off season injuries are due to weight bearing exercise that is done too much and too quickly. The key here is to limit yourself and take it easy.

While we are talking about stretching, I am going to wrap up this weeks posts talking about how flexibility will help you in your hockey career. A hockey player lives and dies on his or her range of motion, so what should you do? The answer is to stretch your muscles prior to doing any workout and after every work out. According to USA Hockey Magazine, flexibility is achieved in two ways, “static stretching (after workout) is your resting range of motion while dynamic (before workout) stretching is your active range of motion.”

Sources:

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2008-09/four-weeks-better-player

http://www.hockeymonkey.com/article-staying-fit-in-the-off-season.html

http://bodyforlife.com/library/exercise/cardio

Figure Skaters….What do you eat?

So now we all know that figure skater can do some amazing things on ice: Loops, Axels and Solchows. In fact that was Ilya Kulik and Katerina Goreava, who have made the International Skating Center home in the past and present. But the real question is what do figure skaters eat to be so fit to be able to do such amazing tricks? Well that is why I am here. I am going to answer that with a comprehensive look at what typical figure skaters daily meal plan looks like!

Let us start with that most important meal of the day, breakfast. Breakfast also happens to be my favorite meal too but we will not get into that! It is recommended that if you want to be a serious figure skater that you need to have fiber in your meal plan throughout the day. So what better way to have fiber in the morning than with fruit? Fruit is packed with fiber and comes in a ton of varieties including juices. What if you’re not really a fruit kind of person though? Well that is okay because many types of cereal also has fiber in it. Calcium is also important in the morning, so grab your cereal and poor it into a nice bowl of milk.

Here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut our competitive figure skaters tend to skate at least one morning session of our Open Freestyle sessions. After a good hard morning skate it is essential to keep those energy levels high and again have a piece of fruit or some bread to serve as a snack between breakfast and lunch.

So now that the clock has finally struck 12:00 and my stomach is growling it must be time for lunch! So let us ditch the fruit idea for a little while here and try making a sandwich. Of course start with your two pieces of bread (pick your favorite kind) and then put on your usual lettuce and tomato to get some vegetables in your body. Now here is the important part, the meat on the sandwich is recommended to be turkey because it gives the skater added energy and protein. The added energy from the turkey is needed to once again skate another thirty minutes to one hour session on ice in the early afternoon.

After that mid-afternoon Free Style session is over it is once again time to have a snack. You can copy the same procedure as the morning snack or even substitute a yogurt with fruit in it for a little variety in your day.

So now that you’re home and ready for dinner it is important to take care of your body. The best way to do that is to have a lean protein, such as chicken, fish or steak and many recommend a potato. First, the meat will allow you to repair all your muscles that you worked throughout the whole day and give your body another boost of protein. Second, potatoes are recommended to help store energy for the following day. Since, most of our regular customers skate multiple times a day, usually a morning, early afternoon and late afternoon session it is important to continually replenish energy levels throughout the day.

Now I know it seems like I have gone over only a single day but a lot of items can be substituted day in and day out to add a little variety. An example would be to have a bagel instead of bread at breakfast or to have peanut butter to boost protein and energy levels.

If you have your own recommendations as to what you personally do or perhaps some substitutes for our readers please post them here!

 

http://figureskating.about.com/od/figureskatingparents/qt/diet.htm

http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/nutrition/profile03.html

 

Tips to Purchasing a New Pair of Ice Hockey Skates

It must be that time of year again, did your foot grow? Did you kids feet grow? Well you must be in the market for a new pair of ice hockey skates. Perhaps some tips would help guide you through choosing from the large variety of companies and models.

So let’s start off with you! What is your foot like?

If it is narrow then the majority of pro-shops will recommend a Bauer/Nike ice hockey skate. But what if your foot is well, average? Then you might be recommended to look at Easton skates. Lastly, if you happen to have wider feet then a CCM ice hockey skate might be the way to go for comfort. (www.GrowtheGame.com)

Everyone loves a comfortable skate, but there are a few tips to try an achieve this goal. The first is you have to wear the socks you are planning on wearing to a game or a practice when trying on a skate. If you are wearing regular street socks then you are not providing an accurate mapping of your foot. Second, try not to buy the skates online. Most people will say they can find the same thing online cheaper, however when buying skates this is not the route to go. Skates can be heat molded to your foot by almost any pro-shop, even here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut’s, J.A.M. Pro-Shop. The low heat “oven” takes roughly fifteen minutes to “bake” a skate and then an additional fifteen minutes to mold to your foot. This will slash the break-in time of a new pair of skates by a large margin and increase the likelihood that the skate will feel comfortable.   (www.proicehockey.about.com)

The last recommendation that I have to share with you to identify what the intended use of the skate will be. If you are going to be utilizing the skates primarily for public skates, then a recreational skate might be the best. Recreational skates are usually less expensive models but come with the same name brand that all skaters are familiar with (i.e. Reebok, CCM, Easton, etc.). However, if you are going to be skating a season of forty games or more then it is appropriate to purchase what are known as “competitive hockey skates” (Hockey Giant). Competitive hockey skates are the premier models that one season NHL players and are usually nearly double the cost of the recreational hockey skate. Once again these are the same brand names that every hockey player is used to but the protection, comfort and light weight technology separates these skates from the rest. (www.hockeygiant.com)

I hope these few tips helped you out in purchasing your new hockey skates, and remember right here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut you can buy any model out there through our J.A.M. Pro-Shop. So get out there and look around, then stop in and purchase your next skates right here!

Take a look at this video too – of the Top-10 Hockey Skates for 2013!

Come Beat the Summer HEAT!

Wow it is hot outside these days. Do you want a great place to cool off? Pool and Beaches too crowded?

 

Let’s beat the summer heat! The International Skating Center of Connecticut is open year round and is a great way to beat the muggy weather that we have had this July.

The International Skating Center of Connecticut is a world class, twin rink, training facility located in Simsbury, CT.

The International Skating Center has one Olympic ice rink and one NHL regulation ice rink.

With our dual ice surfaces, weight training/fitness room and ballet/dance studio, our skaters can participate in comprehensive training.

The facility is also home to the J.A.M. Pro-Shop and the Sk8ters Café, a full service restaurant featuring rink-side dining.

Come join us on the ice and see why so many National, International, Olympic and World Champions have made us the “Worlds Home Ice.”

 

 

Please feel free to visit us at:

Our webpage: www.ISCCSkate.com  

Our Twitter page: www.twitter.com/ISCCSkateCT

Our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/International-Skating-Center-of-Connecticut/157561344267327