Zippity Zamboni !!

Breathes there a fan with a soul so dead that never once sat in a rink and thought:

WOULDN’T IT BE A GAS TO DRIVE THE ZAMBONI?

Of course you have.  Admit it.  Everyone wants to take the icer for a spin, maybe slip-sliding around the corners and steaming designs into the surface.

Well, thanks to the good folks at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, you can learn to do just that.

Yes, one of the premier indoor skating facilities in the state is offering Driver’s Ed for aspiring Zamboni-ites.  And the next class is registering now.

Ice House has a fleet of  four to keep their rinks in top shape.  But don’t think this means bumper cars or drag racing on ice.  These vehicles cost about $80,000 each, so you won’t be joy riding in them.

For the last several years, Ice House has hosted Zamboni driving schools around the holidays. Actually,  Zamboni classes are given frequently, but this time of year makes a lesson a particularly nice gift for those who have everything.

In addition to learning how to operate the Zamboni, students will also be given a history lesson about the innovative machines and the family who built them by hand shortly after World War II using the frames of old army jeeps.

The engineering principles of the ice cutter and melter will be explained, and after you know all the mechanics of the machine, you’ll be allowed to take it for a spin.

Proceeds from the class tuition will go towards maintaining the stable of Zambonis and also supporting the Ice House’s youth hockey program and elite travel squad.

Opened in 1996, the Gardens Ice House is home to the Potomac Curling Club and the University of Maryland hockey team, among others.   They have three sheets of ice – two NHL size, and one Olympic rink. During the summer, two of the rinks are used for roller hockey while the third is maintained for ice skating.

Ice House has spectator seating, a cafe, and pro shop.  You can rent skates (figure and hockey), and take lessons.  There are also party rooms, a fitness center, and meeting or conference facilities.
All that, and Zamboni Ed, too.

Curling on Cue

I grew up in Laurel and worked summers as a lifeguard at Gunpowder Golf Club.  I hadn’t been there in many, many years, so it came as quite a surprise when I learned (via Sports Marketing) that the complex, now part of Fairland Recreational Park, includes the Gardens Ice House.  The Ice House is a skating center, home of the University of Maryland’s ice hockey team, several youth hockey leagues and a number of aspiring figure skaters and ice dancers.

The Gardens Ice House is also the home of the National Capital Curling Center, where the Potomac Curling Club competes and trains.

This weekend, the Potomac Curling Club is hosting an open house, where they will teach visitors the art of curling.   Anyone watching the Winter Olympics (and isn’t that all of us?) is mystified by curling — a quirky sport that requires the strategy and gamesmanship of chess with the cutthroat ruthlessness of shuffleboard and hand-eye coordination of bowling or horseshoes.

As if those talents didn’t rule out my participation, it also takes place on a sheet of ice, which I’ve experienced enough walking to work these past few days.  I don’t do ice, unless there is a spritzer involved.

Therefore, Tweety is covering the Curling Club, and hopefully will take a shot with a stone or at least wield a broom (which looks too much like housekeeping to interest me.)

Terry and I were watching some Olympic curling competitions yesterday and wondered if the curlers (is that what they’re called?) were allowed to grease their marbles to make it glide better, or if the sweepers could somehow paste their bristles to create grooves on the ice to steer the stones.  We weren’t sure if this would constitute cheating or not.  We’re hoping Tweety can enlighten us on curling ethics when she returns.

So don’t suffer from curling envy.  You don’t have to venture to Vancouver to appreciate the sport.  You can try it yourself.  Check out the Potomac Curling Club to learn more about this game of strategy and fellowship that is sweeping the nation.  And wait for Tweety’s report to learn more about the curling enthusiasts.