Ice Hockey on the Pond

After the recent cold snap, more then a week well below zero, i was invited by a guy from work to head down to the local pond for a little ice skating/hockey during lunch. Having never skated on a frozen piece of water before (only ever in a rink) i was a little sceptical when he was saying "it should be thick enough". He called me last night and let me know there were people skating on it so we were 'green for go'.

I was really happy when we came into sight of the 'pond', i'd call it a small lake, and saw heaps of people on it and also areas where no one had been so the ice was nice and fresh. So we parked the car, doned the skates and jumped on. I was very cautious at the start as I could see the thickness of the ice and was struggling to believe that only 10cm was required for skating. It just looked soooooo thin. Anyway after a few minutes i was feeling very confident and up to speed.

I was told that the ice was thinner on the edges so be careful when retrieving the puck from the edge. Well after a minute or 2 about 5 kids and few other adults came over and we started playing. At one point i had a big stack and heard a VERY LOUD cracking and was thinking i would be swimming but it was all good. Another bloke took a ENORMOUS fall where his skates went in the air and he fell strainght onto his arse on the ice. There was an almighty crack but again nothing. It was only when it was cracked that you could see just how thick it was. Where this bloke fell over it must have been 20cm + thick and totally safe.

Anyway we played for an hour or so they put the shoes back on and went back to work. What a great way to spend a lunch break

Anyway hope everyone has a happy new year

cheers

Gatesy