WESTMINSTER ICE ARENA

Technical Score: Level 4 -3 GOE for omnipresent hockey kids
Presentation Score: Level 3 +3 GOE for awesome music

I'd seen this rink off the freeway for years, but their session times never meshed well with my schedule. Today took me to the vicinity, and a session was going on, so I went.

What a pleasant surprise!

The rink doesn't look like anything special from the outside, but when you go inside and get on the ice, the experience is a great one. The NHL-sized ice is great! Perfectly level (even by the Zamboni gate!) and rutless. Even with a load of kids practicing their hockey moves and a bunch of freestylers working out, the ice was in excellent condition, even at the end of the session. I was won over immediately.

The one issue I had involved the hockey kids. They were everywhere at once, not paying any attention to freestylers who were doing run-throughs and coming frighteningly close to many. One audacious kid even circled me very quickly when I was in the middle of a pattern. I'm very thankful that we did not collide. I'm amazed that we didn't. What amazed me even more was that his hockey instructor was right there, fully aware that this kid was in my space, and he said nothing.

Large windows on the east end of the building fill the arena with natural light. The air inside the rink is kept at a very comfortable temperature. There is plenty of seating for skaters lacing up, and the restrooms are immaculately clean (and smell good!). Honestly, Westminster's restroom is probably the nicest rink restroom I've been in. The music for this particular session was beyond awesome -- wall-to-wall 80s! Mad props on that!

I had a great session at Westminster and plan to be a repeat visitor.

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