No need for Zamboni for this synthetic ice rink: it will be open all year round and you can even skate there in a swimsuit between two dips in the swimming pool on a heatwave.

In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mostly on the run, his desk in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.

Skating on a surface other than ice requires adaptation. It's disconcerting at the time, sliding on the high-density polymer of this new synthetic outdoor ice rink that can be used in winter and summer.

The reception desk at the Ruby Foo's hotel, located opposite the giant Orange Julep on the other side of the Décarie highway, in Côte-des-Neiges, seems perfectly normal.

Nothing suggests that the first room behind is an “ice library” of around thirty pairs of skates for rent of all sizes, like in a hut on the edge of an ice rink.

Not all of these ice skates, oddly enough, will be used on ice.

An ultra-resistant soft plastic skating rink measuring 60 by 20 feet, made up of interlocking tiles like puzzle pieces, occupies a former parking lot.

At night, colored lighting illuminates the reflective surface… and it's beautiful!

Minimal maintenance

Hockey player Sydney Crosby has an identical synthetic rink in his backyard, and figure skater Elvis Stojko also has one to practice his skating indoors, according to the manufacturer Can-Ice's website.

“It cost $200,000, it will be used for 10 years and it is completely recyclable,” enthuses the general manager of the hotel Josée Lelièvre.

“It doesn’t take water and it doesn’t consume electricity, so it’s much more ecological than a traditional refrigerated rink,” adds the woman who has been simmering the purchase of such an “eco-responsible” rink for five years. .

A scraper (or squeeze) giant allows you to remove excess water in the event of rain.

A thin opening under the strip allows flow to a drain below the surface.

Like on a real ice rink, you will have to shovel or sweep the snow.

Due to the proximity of the highway, the main material that will need to be swept up will likely be dust.

No hockey

To prevent a possible hotel guest on skates from shooting a slap shot into the tender face of another guest, there will be no hockey allowed.

Allow around ten minutes for adaptation when you start using this rink for the first time.

“I've been skating for 15 years, and it's both very similar and very different on a synthetic surface… You have to propel yourself more using the top of the skate blade,” explains Younes Maurice, the supervisor. from the reception counter.

This hockey defender will serve as a skating teacher to his colleagues at Ruby Foo's who will be entitled to lessons and skating sessions during their working hours.

As someone who normally skates once a year at Carré D'Youville in Quebec City during the Christmas holidays, I am not a great expert.

You have to bend your legs and stand lower while skating on the synthetic material.

Before taking the turn, I fall on my behind.

It's as painful as on real ice, I can see, but more comfortable: less cold.