ALISO VIEJO ICE PALACE

Technical Score: Level 2 +2 GOE for very level ice and a mid-session cut
Presentation Score: Level 3 +1 GOE for coned-off area for figure skaters

Aliso Viejo Ice Palace is south Orange County's only ice rink. More specifically, it is the only ice rink south of the Orange Crush (that would be the 22/5/57 freeway convergence for those of you not from OC). There used to be a rink in Costa Mesa and another in Irvine, but those closed. The Costa Mesa rink was a casualty of overzealous commercial development, and the Irvine rink became a synagogue, leaving Aliso Viejo as the only option for south county skaters and hockey players who didn't want to drive to Anaheim.

One Friday night, I decided to check it out.

At two hours long, Aliso's Friday night public session is short compared to those of other rinks in the area. Unlike other rinks, who bring in DJs and club-style lighting for their Friday night publics, Aliso's session is your standard public session -- all lights on, music from a PA system. This was a nice alternative.

Considering that this was a Friday night public session, I expected a mob. I was happy to find that, while the session was well attended, the ice wasn't packed to the point of being unable to do much of anything. I was impressed that the Aliso staff coned off the center of the ice so that figure skaters could practice. This is the first rink I've skated at that has done this, and apparently, they put out cones for every public.

The crowd was a bit uppity. The birthday parties and groups of college friends were fine, but there were a few couples that stopped wherever they felt like it, without warning, to play hockey of the tonsil variety. Worse, there was a herd of neanderthals who thought it was great fun to run, fall on purpose, and slide around the ice like walruses or skate at breakneck speeds and purposely crash headfirst into the plexiglass. Totally not safe, not to mention stupid.

The ice itself was very level for the most part -- no bowl effect -- and despite a few bumps here and there, the cut was decent. However, the ice was also very hard, which is great for hockey but not so great for figure skating. I don't know if Aliso's ice is usually like this or if this was a one-night situation.

Aliso has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it pro shop tucked in a back corner of the rink. I was impressed with the shop's stock -- the same variety of accessories that you'd find at USA Skates, if not the quantity, plus a few items I hadn't seen before (a Zuca bag you can write on, toe protectors).

One drawback for me is that the rink has a rather odd location. Aliso Viejo, in general, is not easily accessible from major freeways -- you have to exit the 5 south of the rink and then drive back north a fair distance. Taking the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road lets you exit much closer to the rink, but the tolls can be hefty, and you could end up spending nearly as much to drive to and from the rink as you would pay for your ice time.

My skating experience at Aliso Viejo was disappointing, but I'm not quite ready to write off the place. I'd like to go back during a midweek session to see if the ice conditions are different.

Back to the Protocols