Almost Like New

As long time readers may have noted, I switched skating rinks at the end of the summer.  I won't go into the story here, but I will say that all in all I think the right decisions were made.  The new atmosphere has been good, although I will say that the years have not been kind to the floor.  Due to an incident with a leaky roof, a saggy tile, and a broom handle, the wood of the floor had become incredibly warped, cracked, and rough.  Not to mention, the coatings used to cover the wood had, over the years turned the floor color to a very very deep dark brown.

The old wood floor - this is one of the better sections, but still cracked and chipped

However, despite the floor having been pretty much untouched ever since I have started skating, the rink operators are finally able to put the work into the floor that it deserves!  Although the work was supposed to have been completed this past week, it is taking a bit more effort (and sandpaper) than anyone had expected (as these things always do), so the floor is currently in a state of half-completion.  However, despite its unfinished state, it is looking amazing so far:

The corners aren't finished...

Due to lack of sandpaper...

You can see how much of a contrast there is

Between the old and the new

Most of the floor is finished though

And the rink looks beautiful!

The new-old floor looks amazing!  The worst of the damage has been repaired, although the floor isn't totally flat (I can't help it - I am a figure skater I feel all of the hills, bumps, divits, and slopes), it is so much better than it was before.  Since I often go to practice early in the morning, it is often dark outside when I get there.  However, because of the floor's old coloring it was often nearly as dark inside the rink as outside.  It felt like a giant dark cave.  Granted, it was a giant dark cave with figure circles, which made it infinitely better than most other giant dark caves, but still it wasn't the most inspiring place to be at 6am on a Saturday.  Now, however, it is so light and bright inside, one can't help but want to skate on the floor, regardless of the crazy hour of the day.  And, well, even if practice schedules are messy for a few weeks the end result is going to be totally worth it.  I can't wait to see it finished, and I also can't wait for the figure circles to return to the floor!