First laps on the ice · Tips
First laps on the ice in University City: things worth doing differently
The things nobody tells you until you have done it twice.
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
Before you leave the house
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
When you arrive
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
While you are there
A first lap is mostly about the wall. Children hold it, let go of it, grab it again, and somewhere in the third lap they forget it is there.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
On the way home
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Questions parents ask
What age can a child start skating?
Children start at very different ages. What matters more is whether they are willing to hold a rail and shuffle.
How long should a first session be?
Short. Twenty minutes of trying beats an hour of being cold and frustrated.
What should they wear?
Layers, long sleeves, gloves. Gloves are the item most often forgotten and most missed.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in University City
Coming in from University City with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
Families around University City who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.