Free Skate Night!

Last Saturday was Free Skate Night hosted by the Programming Board (a student organization that plans social and cultural events). With Halloween coming up, it was classic fall-time fun at the Thompson Arena (a multi-sports center that houses the skating rink). Fresh apple cider, Halloween themed cupcakes and cookies were provided along with the free skate rentals, and my friends and I were ready to hit the ice.

My only skating experiences were a few lessons I took in elementary school, so I was pretty wobbly at first. I held on to my friend who had figure-skated until middle school, and I took careful slow strides. After a few laps, however, I was good on my own and towards the end of the night I was speed skating and passing by the novices. Some of the skaters were really good, and they skated backwards or did jumps. I wasn’t up to that level, but I was content on joining the random skating tango lines.

A DJ was there to play fun music – mostly oldies or ‘80s classics, and people danced around to the music as they skated (and some fell flat after attempting to do so). A lot of people came to skate in Halloween costumes, so it was a colorful night to say the least. The festive atmosphere put everybody in a good mood, and everybody were trying creative crazy skating moves, falling and laughing hard. Free Skate Night went on from 9PM till midnight, and although I had planned on only staying an hour, my friends and I were addicted and we skated for almost three hours straight!