NORWALK ICE ARENA

Technical Score: Level 2 +1 GOE for no ruts
Presentation Score: Level 2 +3 GOE for being a film location in Grease 2

If Norwalk Ice looks familiar, it may be because the rink was the location for the exterior Bowl-A-Rama scenes in Grease 2. That's a great movie, by the way...

I went to Norwalk's Saturday night public session one September night. I was thankful for my layers when I got inside, because the rink was cold, even by ice rink standards. Once I got on the ice, I warmed up, but it was still pretty chilly.

The rink has quite a bit of seating on one side, is against the wall on the other, and has the box office/skate rental at one end and an enclosed lounge area with a fireplace (unlit this evening) and vending machines at the other.

The ice surface seemed to be smaller than an NHL rink. It was slightly uneven in places, especially around the perimeter, and the ice dipped quite a bit near the Zamboni gate (which is typical). There were no ruts though, and I was thankful for that.

The Saturday night session was relatively uncrowded, which enabled me to have some especially productive practice time. There were a few teenagers standing around on the ice, taking pictures, but most of the people there were freestylers running through programs.

Musicwise, Norwalk showed early promise. When I arrived, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 was blaring over the sound system, and I got excited, because if you hear U2 at a rink, that's not normally one of the songs you hear. But shortly after that, some kid switched the music over to a radio station -- I think it was Power 106. LA locals will understand what kind of hell that was.

Norwalk is home to the Golden State Figure Skating Club, and I have to give them major respect for establishing a real presence at the rink. The club maintains a very large, informative bulletin board, and test applications and other USFSA forms are easily accessible in a neat wall-mounted file.

Overall, my experience at Norwalk Ice wasn't bad. It wasn't terrific, but it wasn't bad. I don't see myself becoming a rink regular, but if no other options are available at a given time, Norwalk is a good fall-back.

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