January 30, Lepel /Own correspondent/. Figures are reflected as if in a mirror on the ice rink near the sports complex, long shadows from the low winter sun swirl in a round dance. Some are taking their first steps on the ice slowly and unconfidently, while others are already cutting through the air, performing intricate pirouettes.
January 30, Lepel /Own correspondent/. Figures are reflected as if in a mirror on the ice rink near the sports complex, long shadows from the low winter sun swirl in a round dance. Some are taking their first steps on the ice slowly and unconfidently, while others are already cutting through the air, performing intricate pirouettes.
Where do visitors go first? Of course, to the temporary rental point, which this year is located in a separate renovated building – a heated changing room. Now there is no need to put on shoes in a hurry while sitting on an outdoor bench and tie shoelaces with chilled hands.
A young woman of pleasant appearance sits at the rental desk. Olesya Rudko recently graduated from the Polotsk Pedagogical College and worked for a short time in Lepel, and then in Polotsk. However, it is better in her native land – she returned. A vacancy just opened up at the sports and recreation center. She has studied the inventory and can name the peak visiting times. On weekdays, the influx starts after five o'clock and continues until closing at nine. About forty to fifty pairs of skates are issued. On weekends, more people skate and come earlier – by one o'clock many are already on skates.
In total, there are 42 pairs of skates available, of which nine are figure skates, and the rest are hockey skates. There is also an alternative in the form of skis. However, they can only be used on the territory of the sports complex, and the choice is not great – three pairs with large shoe sizes (41 and two 43s). As for the cost, for an hour of using skates, you will have to pay six thousand rubles, and for skis – ten thousand five hundred rubles.
Which skates to choose? Hockey skates are made of strong synthetic materials to protect the feet from pucks, stick hits, etc. They are usually chosen half a size larger – then the feet are comfortable. Figure skates are designed for performing complex exercises and differ significantly in appearance: their blades have teeth at the toe, they protrude noticeably at the back, and there is a heel. Such skates are chosen in the exact size. But without what will skaters, regardless of classification, be like a fish out of water? That's right – without an ice rink. Several people are involved in filling and maintaining the ice field.
The ice rink is surrounded by a snow curb. Those who skate too fast and fly off the ice land softly.
This year, for the greater enjoyment of visitors, musical equipment has been installed – you can imagine yourself as a real figure skater performing an Olympic program or dream while smoothly gliding in your preferred direction. What else is good about the Lepel ice rink is that there are no strict rules for movement, unlike, for example, in big cities where everyone skates strictly clockwise.
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Grigory Dubko, a ninth-grade student from Secondary School No. 3, skates faster than anyone else, holding someone's hat. It turns out that Lepel has its own game on the ice. The essence is simple: you take a hat and skate away, and the owner must catch up and get it back. The best runner wins. The children are having fun, but there are their own rules – children's headwear is off-limits.
Grisha has been coming to the ice rink with his friends Vlad Markevich and Oleg Matyush for three years. Of course, there were many falls at first. Now he feels confident in these sports shoes, skates easily and effortlessly, and can brake effectively – ice spray flies from under the blade. He says that his mother, seeing his passion, gave him skates. However, he quickly outgrew them and gave them to his sister, Valera, who is the same age. He goes to the ice rink every day. He eagerly awaits Friday, as he can go straight to the world of winter sports after school, without doing homework.
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Is it more profitable to buy skates or skis – we will find out. On the first floor of the department store, where furniture, wallpaper, and other items are sold, there is a sports equipment department. I see hockey skates priced at 507,650 rubles, figure skates at 411,860 rubles. Skis cost 513,200 rubles, but you also need poles – 143,350 rubles, and boots, approximately the same price as skates, and bindings; in total, it will cost around a million. Whether it is profitable or not depends on the regularity of engaging in winter sports.
It should be noted that the sports complex is not a monopoly in the sphere of winter sports equipment rental. There is an alternative at the House of Services. The sizes of skates range from 36 to 45, although there are only eighteen pairs. The cost is reasonable – one thousand nine hundred rubles per hour, and eighteen thousand three hundred rubles per day. Skis cost 4,400 rubles per hour and 16,000 rubles per day. The only inconvenience is the operating hours of this rental point. Monday and Sunday are days off, and on Saturday, it is open only until 1 p.m. This means that if a working person decides to go skiing with their family on a weekend, they will have to rent the equipment for three days and pay accordingly.
Evgenia LYAKH.
In the photo: Grigory Dubko – a regular visitor to the ice rink.
Photo by the author.
