Mini-Rink Has Applications Beyond Ice Facilities

A feature of several recent Canadian ice rink complexes, the mini floor-hockey rink is — let's face it — a too-fun component that needn't be limited to ice facilities. Constructed of standard materials, including dasher boards complete with a latching entry door, glass panels and safety netting above, and outfitted with small goals, mini-rinks cost a bit more than $20,000 and can be specially ordered from most dasher manufacturers. This example, located on the second level of the four-year-old Invista Centre in Kingston, Ont., was provided by Guelph, Ont.-based Raita Sport North America Inc. and specified by architects Barry Bryan Associates (1991) Limited of Whitby, Ont., a firm that has since included one in its design of the Benson Centre in Cornwall, Ont. The Invista Centre's rink, while shown here inhabiting a central space on the concourse's terrazzo surface, is held in place only by its own weight, meaning that it could be easily dismantled and moved to another location.

Floor hockey    dasher boards