Last Friday, several of UTM’s organizations including the IEC, RAWC, Hart House, and UTMSU joined forces with the HCC Wellness Ambassadors to host the annual indoor skating event at Gym A of the RAWC.
The turnout was simply sensational, with over 550 students and faculty attending to lace up their ice skates and get moving. The rink was produced from a synthetic plastic that mimicked the properties of real ice to a considerable extent. This rink was transported in literal pieces of jigsaw shapes that were then assembled in the gym. The surface of this synthetic material was easy to skate on for beginners. Nevertheless, the event saw many ambitious individuals slip and fall while trying out new moves. The wellness ambassadors also held a competition every hour, including prizes for who can skate the fastest, do the best spin, or even do the best dance move. The winner of the latter was awarded a free pair of Beats headphones for their participation. The entire perimeter of the gym was lined up with tables for UTM organizations that promoted themselves, including the IEC that handed out free candy.
Another dynamic attraction at this event was the hot chocolate station. However, since the beverage was wholly delicious and free, they did run out of it for the last few hours of the event. Due to the overwhelming attendance, they also ran out of ice skates, which was unprecedented for any of the previous ice-skating events. All this just provides testament to the one undeniable element of this event—the remarkable energy in the room. Students and faculty were brimming with enthusiasm and smiling ear-to-ear. The event went almost viral on campus, where students invited their friends through all forms of social media to come in and try out the glice rink. In fact, the wellness ambassadors managed to get a Snapchat filter for the event in the theme of winter wonderland—the theme for the evening.
The one goal of the event was to encourage students to get out and get active. Winter is a season where individuals decide to hibernate and stay dormant rather than improve their physical health. The indoor skating event was just a reminder the many ways students can stay active during the winter and actually have fun doing so. Some of the other recommended activities were skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, and of course, a visit to the RAWC gym.
