Winter Fun in the Middle of Summer

Trying to beat the summer heat? It’s always cool inside an ice skating rink. And with Michelle Kwan matriculating at UCLA, and no doubt practicing somewhere in the city, the local hip factor of skating can only heat up.

If not as ubiquitous as they once were, ice rinks nonetheless can be found all across greater Los Angeles, from Pasadena and Culver City to Van Nuys and Anaheim. And people of all ages are on the ice day and night throughout the year--whether playing hockey, figure skating or just trying to circle the rink without falling on their behinds.

At the Pasadena Ice Skating Center on a recent warm afternoon, several dozen skaters, from small children to senior citizens, moved across the ice, some gracefully, some awkwardly, but all seemingly enjoying themselves.

To the beat of an old Rolling Stones song, one young woman executed a variety of those stylish, gravity-defying double, occasionally even triple, jumps so familiar from the Olympics. Were they lutzes or axels? With no commentators in sight, how was one to know?

Choreographer Susan Austin, who has been skating her whole life and operates the City of Angels Ice Theater, teaches at several facilities, but particularly enjoys Pasadena.

“This one is small and wonderful, with great light and large windows,” she explains. The continuing appeal of skating is no mystery to her. “It’s one of the most wonderful forms of exercise, a sport and an art, and you always have music.”

One senior citizen, who asked to remain anonymous because she was supposed to be at work, had just discovered this facility and plans to become a regular.

“It’s the only rink where beginners and older people can safely skate and enjoy themselves,” she said, pointing to her arm, which was broken when a teen boy slammed into her at another ice rink. “It’s ideal here, very social. We’re new, but we already know everybody by name.”

The Pasadena rink, attached to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, was originally a ballroom--check out the high ceilings and unusual chandeliers for a clue to its past--and was converted in 1977. More than a few Olympic aspirants train here regularly, while Peggy Fleming has been a regular over the years and Nancy Kerrigan shot a commercial on the rink’s ice.

Friday and Saturday nights draw the teen and 20-something crowd, with loud, KROQ-style music, while Monday’s late evening hours bring in 20- and 30-something guys for adult pick-up hockey. And skaters on a budget turn out in force for “cheap skate” night, when the standard $6 admission also includes skate rentals.

Surprisingly, summers can be slow for skating rinks, as many people think beach and ocean before ice, according to Andrew Todisco, inventory supervisor for the Pasadena facility. Interest in the sport waxes and wanes, but the Olympics always bring a new round of enthusiasts.

“Parents call and ask, ‘How long will it take and how much will it cost to make my kid a champion skater?’ ” Todisco says. “I tell them 14 years and $100,000, if not more.”

Pasadena Ice Skating Center, 310 E. Green St., Pasadena, (626) 578-0801.