SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Weibel Avenue Ice Rink is celebrating two and a half decades of successful business with a community celebration and free public skating on Sunday, January 27.
Twenty-Five years ago, the Excelsior Avenue open structured ice rink closed, and the city broke ground on what we know today as the Weibel Avenue Ice rink; a bigger, all-weather operating ice-skating facility.
The city-owned club facilitates ice sports for all ages, including speed skating, figure skating, and ice hockey. Local schools such as Saratoga Springs High School and Skidmore College are not the only prominent users of the two Olympic size Weibel Avenue ice rinks. Adult hockey leagues, Girl Scouts and the Saratoga Gliding Stars, are a few of the community organizations that frequent the ice rink.
“Skating has always been extremely popular in Saratoga,” said John Hirliman, Administrative Director of the recreation department. “So, when they decided to make the switch over there (Weibel Ave) they also built an Olympic-size rink so it can house the indoor short track speed skating as well.”
Surprisingly, the ice rink is not only a place for ice sports. Since conception, the ice rink has housed the Saratoga boxing club for their practices and events.
“That’s a really unique thing,” said Hirliman.
The Saratoga youth boxing club used to practice and host events out of city hall’s third floor ‘music room.’ When the Weibel Ave Ice rink was built, the boxing club relocated to that athletic center as well. Many of the ice athletes also partake in classes with the boxing club as an alternative form of ice fitness training.
The Jan. 27 event will not only be filled with festivities, but it will also honor the dignitaries who played a prominent role in the rink’s initial establishment. Then former Mayor AC Riley, the inaugural recreation director Linda Terricola, instrumental community members William Dake and John Boyd will all be recognized.
The community guest can expect to enjoy food, drinks and on-ice demonstrations performed by the Saratoga Winter Club (speed skating), youth hockey, Saratoga Figure Skaters Club, intro to ice skating program, and boxing demonstrations by the Saratoga Boxing Club. Afterword’s, all are invited to partake in free public skating until 5:30 p.m.
Event coordinator Jill Ramos hopes the community enjoys and reflects on joys the rink has provided the community. “Just the fact that we have this facility here, and how fortunate we are because there’s not a lot of communities that have that,” said Ramos.
