It had been more than 10 years since I’ve been ice skating. And boy did I feel it when I recently visited Germain Arena’s public ice skating recreational rink ($5).
As soon as I stepped on the ice, I knew that this was going to be a bit more challenging than what I remembered back when I was a teen. I still remember those nights I spent ice skating with my friends on the weekends. By no means was I a pro or a serious competitive figure skater, but at least I managed to glide somewhat respectfully back then.
This time, I went prepared to fall on my face, but I’m happy to report that I didn’t.
When it comes to skating, I couldn’t think of any better person to glide around the rink than with my husband, a former inline speed skater. I invited Francisco to come along with me for some coaching and basic skating techniques on the rink.
He made sure to lace up my skates pretty tight to provide a more secure fit for ankle support before heading to the 200-foot by 85-foot rink. I ski so I’m used to snug boots.
He told me that the trick to ice skating was bending your knees slightly forward to gain a little more balance. I made sure to keep that in mind when pushing slightly outward to skate forward — even at times when I had balance checks.
In the beginning, I have to admit that I was pretty nervous.
I held my husband’s hand tightly for support, while he kept telling me to relax. This was hard to do as I watched skaters fall nearby, thinking that another skater may not be able to avoid me and push me down on the ice.
I held on to my husband’s hand the entire time. I knew that holding onto his hand could prevent me from falling (so I rarely let go).
During each lap around the rink, my husband kept on motivating me by saying that I was skating better as a gained some speed.
As I grew accustomed to feeling the skate blades on the ice, I began to skate with a tad more confidence while listening to the weekly top 20 tunes.
After about 20 minutes of skating several loops around the rink, I quickly started to pick up my pace and we even started passing skaters when we could and dodging kids.
However, I did take several breaks, holding on the side wall, as my husband kept skating around the rink, gaining a much faster speed without me.
I watched a teenage girl swirling around the rink, practicing jumps and spins (I wished I could do that) and another group of teenagers skating almost flawlessly. I’ll have to admit that I was a tad jealous.
My husband reminded me that we are not teenagers and haven’t ice skated since we were teens. However, that might change after our last visit, since the price is extremely cheap and it’s a fun exercise, too.
When our one-hour-and-a-half of skating time ended, I wanted to stay a little longer, since I had gotten the hang of it.
For this spot, if you aren’t wearing a closed shoe that requires socks, make sure you take a pair to keep your feet warm.
Ice skating is ideal for youngsters, teenagers, families and couples.
The Galbraith family agreed that the ice skating recreational rink at Germain Arena is a hidden gem in Southwest Florida.
“It’s nice that we have it right here,” said Lissa Galbraith, 35, of North Naples. “We just thought we could start the summer skating.”
And that’s exactly what they did recently.
Galbraith, along with her children, aged 14, 11, 10 and 7, visited the rink, as her husband and their baby, who is less than 3 months old, cheered them on from afar.
“It’s good to get out of the sun,” said Galbraith’s son, Cameron Galbraith, 14, who has visited the rink in the past.
Another group of teenagers echoed the Galbraith family.
“It’s a fun place to meet new people,” said Zack Milligan, 19, of North Naples, who visits the rink frequently.
Milligan, who also plays ice hockey, said he doesn’t mind driving from Naples to Fort Myers to spend some time in the rink with friends.
The recreational rink, which is open year-round, has public skating prices ranging from $5 to $10.
Kandis Eckloffs, figure skating director at Germain Arena, said many locals discover the skating rink every day.
“We have so many people that come here for concerts and the Everblades, but once they discover that they can come for public skating or learn to ice skate, many keep coming,” said Eckloffs.
She said that even though the building gets a lot of traffic, many people just see one side of the building and don’t realize that there are two other rinks open to the public.
Public open skating normally draws a crowd of about 200 people Friday and Saturday nights and about 150 people on Sundays, which vary during the summer time.
The recreational rinks offer a learn-to-skate program for both figure skating and hockey, which on average has 300 students every week. One recreational rink is used for open skate. The other rink is used for recreational figure skating and hockey.
If you go for the first time, don’t worry if your muscles ache afterward. I exercise regularly, yet the day after ice skating, I was sore in muscles I didn’t even know I had.
My husband and I definitely plan on visiting the rink again. Perhaps next time I’ll let go of his hand.
Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, in Estero, offers learn-to-skate programs, advance figure skating and hockey leagues for both children and adults.
The recreational rinks will be closed from July 7 to July 30 for the North American Roller Hockey Championships. Information, 948-7825, ext. 1360.