Ice Skating Now in Santo Domingo

[jenmar237]

How much lifetime skating skill development could a Dominican possibly have?

I rode a bicycle without a helmet for my entire childhood. I had one bad fall and smacked my head. I saw stars for a good 10 minutes. Definitely had a concision. Shrugged it off when the dizziness passed. Only happened once. My understanding, is it only takes on good whack to the head to cause permanent damage. I can't see many Dominicans skating in this country with more than an hour or two of experience - The risks of a bad fall are highest when learning to control yourself on ice and maintaining your balance.

Your fleshy butt should be fine, but elbows and heads... Risk vs reward is up to the individual to figure out.

Ice skating or skating, period? Rollerblading/Rollerskating aren't novelties in the DR, for example. I recall as a youngster many years ago, when the Mirador Norte park first opened, I was in SD on summer vacation and had brought along a pair of rollerblades from the States, to my (pleasant) surprise, I came across many other kids at the park also rollerblading, much faster and much more skilled than I was. One of the earlier lessons I had in learning not to underestimate things in DR *shrugs*

 

[wuarhat]

I saw this at the La Sirena on Churchill in 2008. Very funny to watch. Nobody could skate, but they were sure having fun.

 

[Celt202]

I saw this at the La Sirena on Churchill in 2008. Very funny to watch. Nobody could skate, but they were sure having fun.

Was it real ice?

 

[wuarhat]

Was it real ice?

I didn't touch it, but I didn't think it was. It was slippery enough, but it just didn't look, sound, or feel right.

 

[mobrouser]

So one day left before the rink closes. Have any of our intrepid DR1 SD residents gone for a skate?

 

[mxcutie]

We saw one of these "ice rinks" at a mall in SD last winter. They aren't actually ice, just sheets of plastic. As a former competitive figure skater, I skated on these plastic sheets once. It is extremely hard to skate on them. Basically, most are just walking around with the skates on.

 

[Dominicana_soy]

It is one tough sport. My daughter is I know a competitive figure skater that would love to represent the Dominican Republic in the Olympics on day. Unfortunately, Dominican Republic doesn't have a Figure skating Federation like Mexico does.
That "ice" looks synthetic but still a great experience for those who try to skate.

 

[Mcinbrass]

If you thought ice skating in the outdoors was something you will never see in the DR, think again!

Until Jan 18, 2019 (closed on Dec 31) ice skating is possible at Plaza de España (the square in front of the Palace of Columbus -Alcázar de Colón-) in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone.

Yes, this is real.

No, this is not photoshop. lol

Nice place to take the kids and spend a memorable time (the memory could be of amazing skating under the palm trees OR of a lifetime memory of countless behinds hitting that ice like never before in the Dominican tropics, lol.



Grown up Dominican taking chances like a kid. I wanted to see how that ended. Doesn’t look too promising for him. lol

Smart Dominican kid. The polar bear is your friend. lol

Ice skating, next thing they'll be learning to swim.

 

[slowmo]

Being Canadian, I am an expert on ice. First of all, those photos were cringe worthy due to the lack of helmets. Secondly, making ice isn't that complicated if you have the equipment, so there is no reason that a city the size of Santo Domingo wouldn't have a dedicated ice surface. Finally, if you plan to be an Olympic figure skater, you will have to spend most of your life on the road for training.