I believe it’s never too late to learn something new, which is why I, a woman of almost 40 with a spotty track record for staying upright, bought a pair of ice skates last weekend.
My decision came at the urging of a Finnish friend who invited me to join her at her neighborhood ice rink. As an American, that in and of itself was a novelty – a neighborhood ice rink! How charming!
In fact, there are about three dozen public ice fields scattered all over Helsinki, some big, some small. Some mechanically frozen professional grade ice, some made by a city employee running a firehose over a basketball court. But regardless of where they are or how they came to be, the ice rinks all have one thing in common: they’re free.
When I say ice skating is a free activity in Helsinki, I mean it is completely, 100% free of charge and open to the public all the time. There are no hidden costs like you might expect in America: no fees to use the restroom or a surcharge to access the ice at peak hours. In fact, the Finns don’t even try to sell you anything once you’re in the facility. There are no snack bars or concession stands, no t-shirt stalls, no coaches or instructors pedaling private lessons or group classes. It’s just an ice rink, where people skate. Or, in my case, slip.
“I cannot believe this place exists,” I mused to one of my friends, a British man who has also been living in Helsinki for the better part of two years. “Even if there was a ‘free skate’ at home, they’d still make money another way, like locker rentals or $5 hot chocolate or something.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “And there would be ads,” he said, gesturing to the vast expanse of Finnish nature all around us. “I can’t believe there are no ads.”
It was something I hadn’t even noticed until he pointed it out. Not only is the rink free to the public, but it is also free of adverts and sponsorships. There are no placards pushing things to buy or places to visit, no corporate logos explaining who pays for the park maintenance or cleaning.
I suppose that makes sense. Public parks are operated through public tax dollars, so all these services are bought and paid for by us, the citizens of Finland and residents of Helsinki. They belong to us, no corporate sponsors necessary.
Of course, I realize that there are public parks in America – free ones. Ones where anyone can go and spend time so long as they’re not disturbing the peace or posing a risk to others, two highly subjective points, by the way.
There is even a public ice skating rink in New York City – The Rink in Bryant Park which is the city’s “only free admission ice skating rink, thanks to the generosity of our partner Bank of America.”
Of course, anyone who wants to visit needs to reserve tickets online. They can only stay for 55 minutes and are limited to one slot per day. Oh and skate rentals are $15 per person.
If that doesn’t appeal to you, there’s something called Premium Skate, which for the price of $135 per person, includes an 80+ minute session, skate rental, skate concierge, access to the Polar Lounge, hot beverage, snack, and bag check.
And that’s the real difference to me: Every “public” space or service in America is usually made available to certain members of the public more than others. There is usually an option to pay for “premium” access so that you don’t have to interact with other members of the public.
What’s more, the consensus is that public services aren’t good enough. Decent public options may exist, but they are the exception, not the norm. Rather than invest in improvements that would benefit all, we just create a private market for some. That’s true of ice rinks, pools, gyms, schools, health facilities, pretty much anything. We’ve been conditioned to expect to pay for everything we need and anything we want.
Later in the week, when I visited the ice rink near my home in Jätkäsaari – which is truly a state-of-the-art facility – I marveled at how truly public it was. It was a Tuesday evening at 7:30 when I arrived and several all-ages hockey matches were in full swing. An unofficial adult ice dancing lesson was in session. Teenagers were making TikToks. Young children were wiping out left and right. And immigrants were doing their best to master a skill that most Finns learned as toddlers because the opportunity was available to them – for free.
I’m glad you got out there and ice-skated. I think you were disadvantaged in some ways having lived in NYC. I grew up in a small town in Idaho and while there wasn’t necessarily an ice rink in every neighborhood, there were plenty of them that were available and free, offered by the city. There is also a free large hockey facility. I prefer my winters warm(er–it’s been cold this year) in South Carolina. As far as I know, there are no ice-skating facilities here in Aiken, lol.
that’s true! living in new york has advantages and disadvantages. i actually grew up in a very small town in pennsylvania – outside wilkes barre and scranton. so part of my lived experience is drawn from there too. it was a former coal mining town and overall pretty downtrodden. as far as i know there were no ice skating rinks in my town or nearby; the closest was maybe a 25-30 minute drive and i don’t think there were ever days or times when you didn’t have to pay – in fact, i think it was only open to the public for very limited hours. i also remember the cost of getting in and renting skates to be at least $6-7 total, which was a lot for the late 80s or early 90s in that area. luckily some of my classmates had birthday parties there – and that’s where i learned :) i’m glad that it sounds like other areas, particularly where it’s colder, has some public options! and i agree with you – i would much prefer the winter in SC, with or without the rink.
Same for St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Quite a few neighborhood parks maintain temporary ice rinks in winter. When conditions are right, there are even rinks on some of the cities’ lakes. Broomball and hockey players make up the majority of the skaters, but there are always non-players just doodling around having fun. Like me! Like you!
Getting outside in winter is the best way to get through the long cold months.
nice! i’m sure you know that finnish immigration to the u.s. is pretty limited, but those who went tended to settle in that part of the country. your climate and mine match! glad to hear there are facilities there too so people can enjoy the weather, or at least exercise through it. they also clear some areas of the lakes and even make tracks on the sea. i’m interested to see what that’s like! enjoy your time on the ice and stay safe!!
I think free fun family things should be the norm, but alas. The parks here are sunup to sundown, not 24/7 and yes, as you mentioned not disturbing the peace or posing a risk to others, I’m looking at you Mr. Naked Bike Rider (why? just why?).
I live in Southern Arizona and every once in a blue moon they make an outside hockey rink. I doubt it is free. I question how much of my tax dollars are wasted on it. I’d rather smooth sidewalks with curb cuts and fixed road potholes rather than some elitist ice rink in the desert for a day. Free swimming pools, I could get behind that. We have a bit of a different climate…
yes – totally agree. public pools all the way in arizona! and also it goes without saying that i would hope the taxes go first to what you need (road repairs, schools) and then to what the community wants. there’s actually a period here every year where any resident of helsinki can vote to fund a variety of public programs. and i believe it’s mostly members of the public or community groups that propose the ideas. so they’re all kinds of things – putting toilets in the park… opening a new dog park…. free finnish language lessons for foreigners… inclusivity training for finnish employers… public sports facilities… i’m blanking on more examples (clearly you can see where i put “my” money). but i really like that system because it very clearly answers the question that you and others may have about who exactly decided to open an ice rink in the dessert? in this case, the answer is very clear: X thousand people voted for that project and it moved ahead because it met all these criteria.
So glad you’re having fun and enjoying the weather! Those free rinks sound awesome!
thank you!! i am not a winter person but this at least helps! xx