page_title: Ice rink
section_title: Artificial ice
hierarchical_section_title: Ice rink / Types / Artificial ice
caption_attribution_description: English: SM Ice Skating Rink is located at the 5/F of Mega Fashion Hall in SM Megamall, Ortigas Center, Manila, Philippines
context_page_description: An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, bandy, rink bandy, ringette, broomball, speed skating, figure skating, ice stock sport and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows. There are two types of rinks in prevalent use today: natural, where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures, and artificial, where a coolant produces cold temperatures in the surface below the water, causing the water to freeze. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics.
context_section_description: In any climate, an arena ice surface can be installed in a properly built space. This consists of a bed of sand or occasionally a slab of concrete, through (or on top of) which pipes run. The pipes carry a chilled fluid (usually either a salt brine or water with antifreeze, or in the case of smaller rinks, refrigerant) which can lower the temperature of the slab so that water placed atop will freeze. This method is known as 'artificial ice' to differentiate from ice rinks made by simply freezing water in a cold climate, indoors or outdoors, although both types are of frozen water. A more proper technical term is 'mechanically frozen' ice.
  A famous example of this type of rink is the outdoor rink at Rockefeller Center in New York.
caption: SM Skating Rink at Metro Manila's Megamall located in Ortigas
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