Freshmen Take on the Tsai Ice Rink!

This past Saturday, II Formers enjoyed an evening of skating at the Second Form Skate in the new Tsai Field House Rink. The brand new skating rink is wonderful, to say the least. To highlight a few things, the new locker rooms are “very nice,” said Natalie Tang ’26, and it's incredibly bright and airy, evoking lots of emotion of joy and “invigorating to the players,” according to Emma Walling ’26. The rink is also located at a much more accessible location than Loucks Ice Arena was, and it has more seats for an increased number of spectators. 

At the skate, students of all levels of experience took to the (brand-new!) ice, and they all had fun while doing so. In particular, Niki Das ’26, who was a first-time skater, commented, “I’m really scared, I don’t know how to do this!” However, after the skate, she was feeling as if she had greatly improved, saying, “I felt like I learned how to skate easily, and it was so much fun, it wasn’t as scary as I thought before! We should do more events like that in future.” Kallista Rivera ’26 similarly said, “I have skated before, and I really enjoy it.” 

On the other end of the spectrum, Lily Lanzetta ’26, who has been skating for eight years, was flying across the ice. When asked about how she enjoyed the event, she remarked, “I love the freshman skate, and I love the new rink.” Madison Sylvan ’26 similarly said that she is “looking forward to this event, [as] skating is [her] second favorite thing to do.” Dawes House Prefect Caroline Park ’23 also took to the ice during the Skate. “The new rink is really inviting and vibrant for both spectators and players. I’m excited for the flags and banners to be put up,” she said. Park has also had a long journey in skating, and describes the ice as her home. She and Marina Keller ’24 started the Lawrenceville Figure Skating Club to “bring skating to the broader School.” In the future, Park says that the club may even have some online competitions. Jack Rustum ’26, an ice hockey player, was also happy to be back on the ice. Reflecting on his experience on the ice, he said, “I haven’t played in a while and didn’t in the summer, so it’s good to be back, and it's fun to be skating with friends.” 

Throughout the whole night, experienced skaters helped new skaters, and despite a few falls, everyone enjoyed themselves. This type of community interaction and peer leadership was encouraged through this event. In the future, students would greatly benefit from more events like these. Be sure to check out the new Tsai Ice Rink and relax during future open skates!