Now that you have your NiceRink all set up, we thought we’d share some suggestions for some fun and games you can enjoy. Since it’s a lot healthier to be spending time outdoors rather than indoors these days, why not kick it up a notch and use that new rink for a lot more than some backyard hockey?
Racing
There is nothing groundbreaking here, but racing can be a lot of fun and spur some healthy competition. Whether it is family members taking on each other or you have friends by for some extra participants, a good race or two will get the energy up and allow you the opportunity for good exercise. Make it even more competitive and come up with some prizes for the winners.
Obstacle Courses
If plain old racing doesn’t get the blood flowing enough, how about mixing it up and building an obstacle course on the ice? There are lots of things you could use like tires or traffic cones to set up in some patterns that vary in difficulty. Determine the route and see who can complete the course the fastest or with the best style and least errors. A good thing about this is that objects are easily moved around so you can reconfigure your course over and over again.
Children’s Games
Most any game can be made more challenging or exciting if you move it off the grass and onto the rink. Two good examples would be Tag and Red Light, Green Light. If the participants are good enough on skates, Tag can make for a fast, fun game. Red Light, Green Light might be a bit slower, but have somebody at the end of the rink calling signals to the skaters and see who makes it to the other end first.
Ice Basketball
Now, this is challenging and probably best for your more skilled skaters, but if you are lucky enough to have a portable, free-standing basketball hoop, why not give it a try? Position your hoop at one end of the rink and see how you do. If anything, you will probably get some good laughs out of it.
Skating Parties
We’ve already given you some ideas about how to make things look nice around your rink but another idea is to get some good music going to amp up the energy. Now that you can have Bluetooth speakers in just about any size or shape – some made specifically for outdoor use – how about setting some up outside and getting some musical accompaniment to you’re skating activities? Set up a table with snacks and hot chocolate available and you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.
Turf Prep is happy to come to help you get that backyard rink up and running in time for some good winter fun. We’ll also be ready to come back and help you out at the end of the season as well. If you live in the greater Boston area and would like to discuss your options, Turf Prep can be reached at 1 877-774-TURF or by filling out our online contact form.
