CHRIS YODER
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

IT'S BEEN ALMOST two weeks, but it’s been hard to forget the first Uni ice skating party.

I walked into the University of Illinois Ice Arena on Nov. 17 not completely sure what to expect.

I hadn’t strapped on a pair of ice skates in more than 10 years and hadn’t been skating at all in three. The junior class and Student Council were sponsoring the party as an alternative to a November dance.

After I paid my $3, I got my skates and “walked” over to the rink. I thought walking in skates was difficult, but I hadn’t even gotten onto the ice yet. I looked at the other skaters already on the ice — they didn’t seem to be struggling too much — and took a step.

At that point, I realized ice skating was considerably harder than it looked. I took a few small steps, intending to start off slowly, but I kept inadvertently pushing off with the small spikes at the front of the skate.

I tried to move over to the edge, but I had no control of where I was going. I felt my weight shifting forward, waved my arms to no avail, and fell face first onto the ice.

It was going to be a long night, I thought.

I somehow managed to make it halfway around the rink — falling two or three times in the process — before an employee pointed out that my shoes were much too loose. After I retied my shoes, I skated onto the ice for Act II.

It took quite some time for me to pick up a fluid skating motion, but by the time the Zamboni came and cleaned the ice after an hour, I was at least more successful than I had been at the start.

I found the second half (after the Zamboni smoothed the ice) much more enjoyable overall. Aside from the nagging pain where the oversized tucked-in shoelaces bit into my ankle, it was worth it to stay on the ice as long as possible.

I only fell one more time the rest of the night, when some little kid who thought it fun to crash into the wall did so right in front of me. But how could I let a 7-year-old on skates ruin my evening?

After all, I wasn’t the only one to experience trouble with my balance. For some people, crashing into walls was the only way they could stop. We all had to learn through experience, not by reading a textbook. And some people had some — ahem — entertaining "learning experiences."

But it certainly compared favorably to recent Uni dances. I don’t need specific totals to know that there were considerably more people at this event than usually show up for a school dance. (According to junior class president Isaac Chambers, 100 people bought tickets.)

Many, if not most, of the people there I had never seen at a Uni dance. The music was also similar to that played at a dance, although less the focus of the party. Everyone had to worry more about staying upright than staying alert. And as far as I know, no one so much as twisted an ankle.

Hopefully next year, I won't be quite as clumsy.