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On a thin ice: Shimla’s ice-skating haven feels the heat of freak weather
Once an annual affair, the century-old rink has not seen an ice-skating championship since 2002, while the number of sessions has been on the slide over the years.
The British-era ice-skating rink in the heart of Shimla faces an uncertain future due to rising temperature and haphazard construction in its vicinity.
Once an annual affair, the century-old rink has not seen an ice-skating championship since 2002, while the number of sessions has been on the slide over the years.
This season’s first skating session got off to an enthusiastic start on December 18 but rink managers are sceptical about the sport’s future, citing the razing of the Rivoli Theatre in the vicinity last year. They say the dilapidated building blocked sunlight and prevented the rink surface from melting.
“The theatre building naturally blocked the sunlight. Consequently, the skating rink got longer sessions,” said Manpreet Sembhi, an executive member of rink management.
Rivoli Theatre was shut down in 2013 after it was declared unsafe. The Shimla Municipal Corporation eventually decided to demolish the dilapidated building, which was once a popular single-screen cinema house and a major landmark of the town. The theatre’s licence was not renewed by the administration in 2010 after which the building lay abandoned. In the absence of maintenance, a portion of the theatre caved in and it was razed.
Project ready, funds awaited
The managers of the rink are now banking on the ₹40-crore Asian Development Bank project that aims to make it an all-weather delight for skaters. “Detailed project reports are ready but we still haven’t got the funds,” Sembhi said, expressing concern over the number of skating sessions dropping by the year.
The rink, he said, last held the national ice-skating championship in 2002.
The rink usually opens in December when the ice is 15cm thick and the mercury hovers between 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. The peak season for ice skating is between December and February. Two years ago, the rink opened on December 13 and only 35 sessions could be held. Last year, there were hardly any sessions.
Weather spoiler for skaters
The ice-skating club holds two sessions a day during the peak of winter, however, the erratic weather has been affecting sessions since 2010. “The temperature in Shimla has been unusually high. Temperature variations reduced the sessions last winter,” Sembhi said.
When contacted, Shimla-based meteorological department head Surender Paul said: “The western disturbance pattern has changed. The polar vortex defines the winter weather that is also not favourable.”
Every year, the management organises events, including a popular carnival from Christmas to New Year’s Eve. Last year, the event couldn’t be held since Shimla got scanty snow.
According to club records, 88 skating sessions were conducted in the 2010-11 winter season but only 11 sessions were held in 2016-17. In 2022-23, the club conducted 35 sessions. Members are keen that the rink be converted into an all-weather one.
The history of the Shimla Ice Skating Club goes back to 1920 when one winter morning, a British officer found that the water taps had flooded his tennis courts and they were frozen solid. After that, the courts were converted into an ice-skating rink every winter.
