First skate at Kallang Ice World

I went to Kallang Ice World on Thursday. Just wanted to check it out - I wasn't even sure if I'd feel like skating, though I did bring my skates along. When I got there, I realised that they had this whole system going, and I had to get one of the free tickets to even go in. Heck, I had taken a ticket already, I might as well skate!

The rink looked cheerful. It was brightly lit, and there was purple panelling on the walls around. The panelling is yet to be completed, though, so after these two days, the rink won't be opening until a week later.

On the first look at the ice, I saw the piping, and thought it was really thin. I later realised it was really thick enough, but just transparent! The time I got there wasn't the best time, as the ice had been pretty cut-up by previous sessions. Still, it was nice and level, but I found it sort of hard.

Compared to Fuji, the Kallang rink does feel wider, but I must say it is definitely not longer. In fact, just by doing forward stroking from one end to the other, I felt that it was shorter. Perhaps its because the ice is faster?

It has been a long time since I last skated. Ok, I've been coaching, but haven't skated since June... although DH claims that as long as I put on my boots and get on the ice, I can't say I'm not skating. Anyway, so what do you do when you can't do anything?

I did some power pulls, turns, twizzles, choctaws. It was rather funny trying the Blues choctaw... after the turn, it seemed like I wasn't leaning back enough, even though I still got a nice good edge out of it. I soon saw that it must be because my baby bump was still sticking out in front of me! Oh, and I can still do backspins... and opposite spins!

[Update 16 Nov: Kallang Ice World is now open to general public!!]