|
Post by SCAR on Dec 19, 2005 14:46:21 GMT -5
Thats why I didn't mention a certain guard/Forward on the Lady Flames being in the Vines last week Medic! I want you and MrsPaMedic2B to get down here again! We enjoyed seeing you at Homecoming. You are the man! Now behave so you can get down here in Jan.
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 27, 2005 10:45:38 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by bigsmooth on Dec 27, 2005 10:45:52 GMT -5
medic that is good news. the center is just about ready! maybe after you read this, you will certainly be ready to come down! LU ice center almost open By Ron Brown rbrown@newsadvance.com Tuesday, December 27, 2005
At 5 a.m. Thursday, Kat Hathaway-Nunes donned her safety goggles and readied herself for another day in the weeklong process of sharpening 850 pairs of ice skates.
She’d sharpen 100 pairs today alone.
It’s a job with which she’s grown familiar.
“I worked in a pro shop for five years,” said Hathaway-Nunes, who hails from Seattle, Wash.
But in the next week, she and other workers at the new LaHaye Ice Center on Liberty University’s campus must quickly attend to hundreds of details if the new facility is to open on time.
“We’re pushing,” said Ron Godwin, the executive associate to LU chancellor, the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Godwin knows that LU has something critical at stake.
On Friday, more than 6,000 young people will arrive for the Winterfest Christian music festival, a holiday bash that serves as LU’s biggest recruiting event each year.
As the deadline nears, construction crews are working at a breakneck speed to get the building ready for the coming weekend.
The new building’s lobby provides a vivid illustration of how the building is coming together in just the nick of time.
“Two days ago, we didn’t have the ceiling grid up,” Godwin said. “The carpet just went down this morning.”
On Thursday, overhead lights in the skating rink were still being installed.
The facility’s parking lot needs another layer of asphalt to reach its final grade.
In the midst of the organized chaos, the rink’s ice surface must be applied. That alone will take five days.
And it will require some painstaking attention to detail to make sure the surface works.
“You just don’t flip a switch and hit the floor,” said Greg Hillman, who works for Accent Refrigeration, a British Columbia firm working with Lynchburg’s Coleman-Glass Construction, the project’s general contractor.
A computer program designed to identify potential hot spots in the building evaluates the cooling of the floor.
Sensors are placed over the rink’s skating surface.
“You have a lot of high end electronics in here,” Hillman said.
First, the floor must be cooled gradually by running coolant through about 11 miles of pipe embedded in the floor’s concrete.
If the floor is cooled too fast, the concrete could crack.
“It’s 45 degrees right now,” Hillman said. “It’ll be 32 tonight.”
By Friday, when water is applied with a fire hose, it must be around 18 degrees.
The first layer will put a half-inch of ice over the skating floor’s entire surface.
The second step requires that the entire ice surface be painted white with a water-soluble paint.
The third step is to apply another half inch of ice before lines and logos are painted on top of the second layer of ice.
The skating surface is then topped off with another three-quarters of an inch of ice.
The whole skating surface is surrounding by Plexiglas walls and netting designed to keep wayward hockey pucks from flying into the crowd.
LU has one of the top club hockey teams in the country and plans on competing in NCAA-sanctioned hockey someday, Godwin said.
LU currently has about 120 Canadian students. About 70 percent of the hockey team comes from Canada.
“We’re kind of shameless,” Godwin said. “We go to where the talent is.”
On Jan. 13, LU will play George Mason University in the LaHaye facility’s first college hockey game. On Jan. 21, a dedication ceremony is planned for ice center’s benefactors, Tim and Bev LaHaye.
The dedication will be accompanied by a hockey game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Godwin said the ice center gives LU opportunities to expand its offerings to its students and the Lynchburg community at large. Already, there has been inquiries about a women’s hockey team for the university.
The center will be open to the public after Jan. 1, said Chris Lowes, a former LU hockey player and the ice center’s first general manager.
Lowes said the facility will have several areas available to be rented for skating parties. It will have skating programs available for all ages.
“We’re going to have public skating scheduled daily,” Lowes said.This story can be found at: www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128768936043&path=Go Back
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 27, 2005 10:47:39 GMT -5
I beat you by seconds.
;D
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 27, 2005 12:46:11 GMT -5
what, no one working today?
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 27, 2005 12:57:14 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 27, 2005 13:05:12 GMT -5
watch your step in the parking lot. Tetanus shot, anyone?
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 27, 2005 15:15:50 GMT -5
Wow, the barn is really taking shape. But where is the scoreboard?
|
|
|
Post by givemethemic on Dec 27, 2005 17:06:20 GMT -5
Got a chance to get a good look of the inside and it's gonna be a really nice place. You guys are gonna really like it. Also you guys will like the fact that we are going to start doing Hockey games again, begining with George Mason to open up the new rink.
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 28, 2005 11:44:35 GMT -5
sweet. put it on the web
I was able to listen to the playoffs last year; at work none-the-less.
|
|
|
Post by bigsmooth on Dec 28, 2005 14:16:22 GMT -5
im very curious to hear how the hockey games are broadcast. it is the hardest sport to broadcast and you really have to know your stuff. (not knocking you gimme the mic). i look forward to hearing them. i too would like to have the games on the web too.
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 28, 2005 15:25:31 GMT -5
I tried play-by-play on a gameback in the day on WLBU and I was brutal. Its much tougher to describe the action than any sports other than golf. I have nothing but the utmost of respect for guys who can pull off calling a hockey game well.
|
|
|
Post by bigsmooth on Dec 28, 2005 16:27:32 GMT -5
i too have much respect for hockey broadcasters. i am fortunate to hear hockey hall of famer chuck kaiton call the hurricanes games here. he came down when the franchise moved from hartford, conn. when i watch the canes on tv sometimes i will turn the volume down just to hear chuck call the game, or when a game is not on the tube, he can make you feel like you are at the game.
|
|
|
Post by SCAR on Dec 28, 2005 21:35:12 GMT -5
I love hockey but don't count on me to broadcast those games. You guys are right, it is really tough especially for color commentators because the PBP guy has to describe so much and the action moves so fast. I guess PBP guys might say they have it tougher though from their perspective. I am excited to get to see the team live on campus.
|
|
|
Post by givemethemic on Dec 28, 2005 21:47:58 GMT -5
Well I have been gettting alot of advice from one of my mentors in Dave Goucher the voice of the Boston Bruins up at WBZ. I got alot of stuff to still learn, but we will hopefully have a good broadcast, I don't even know how much I am going to do just because of b-ball but something I wanted to learn.
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 28, 2005 22:42:48 GMT -5
I played ice hockey in high school. I grew up in Westeren Pennsylvania, so I heard Mike Lange brodcasting a lot of the Pittsburgh Penguins games (Chris...any relation?). I was at Mario Lemuix's last home game when Pittsburgh played Florida in the playoffs...but then he came out of retirement and ruined it.
I was able to hear crazy sayings like "scratch my back with a hacksaw" "Call Arnold Slick from Turtle Creek"..."By Sammy a drink and get his dog one, too" "Look out Loretta" "That goalie didn't know whether to cry or wind his watch" "Big Ben struck one", etc.
Hey givemethemic...if I'm ever up there for a game and you need a volunteer to try to call the action...I'd love to give it a try! (I'll probably do bad...but if you're desperate!).
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 30, 2005 14:55:35 GMT -5
Today's grand opening is attracting attention. Here's a story on the local CBS affiliate: www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=4299573&nav=S6aKIf you click the link, there's a shot of the ice with the logo painted. For some reason the station doesn't want anyone linking their picks with their station logo in the corner.
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 30, 2005 22:55:57 GMT -5
I SKATED ON THE ICE TODAY!! I stopped by when I was in Lynchburg, and they actually had a public skate from 3:00-6:00PM...
The rink looks great...and there are some nice touches...they have the same paint skeme (or however you spell it) as the vines center with the red and blue stripes with white brick. Also, it's nice that the entire floor area around the ice is made out of that blue tile squishy stuff so you can walk on your skates (some rinks just have a little roll out path on top of the concrete...this rink is first class).
Some weird things...the zamboni isn't working right...the rental skates are nice...continued...
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 30, 2005 23:02:21 GMT -5
The rental skates are very comfortable...and you can chose between ice hockey and figure skates...the rental skates are pretty supportive...I've used much worse.
However, the rental skates are a little wierd in that the blade part of the skate at the back doesn't curl up much, the plastic cover starts really quick. And what happens is if you lean backwards a little, the plastic part digs into the ice and makes a pretty bad rut. I saw and felt a lot of ruts. I think some of this was due to the skates.
Hopefully, however, when the Zamboni is actually working right, this won't matter...
There are no seats as of now. There is plenty of standing room...I talked to Chris Lowes, who is running the rink...he said that they may sell tickets to the home games online...so PAmedic, keep an eye out.
Liberty will have a good girls hockey team if they field one...there was a girl skate-guarding (funny name for that...I always thought of a skate guard as the plastic think you put on the blade to keep it from rusting) that could skate really well, and I think she drove the zamboni as well.
THere were a lot of people looking, but not a lot skating...
The lighting is great, the logos on the ice look great...the concession stand/ticket area/lobby area looks great, there is at least one room for skating parties...I didn't see the locker rooms...
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 30, 2005 23:04:06 GMT -5
The place will be rockin' during the LU home games, I'm sure!!! Very well done all in all.
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 30, 2005 23:06:55 GMT -5
The ventallation dehumidifer works well...I didn't see any fog (I've skated in rinks that were foggy).
I can't think of anything else to say. I think it's an excellent rink. There is room for stands...eventually I think there will be some.
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 30, 2005 23:18:47 GMT -5
The test for the fog will come in the early fall and spring when it warms up and the humidity is more pronounced.
Very cool report on the rink. My family was up in The Woodlands today where they have an outdoor rink (albeit covered with a tent to try and ocntrol temps that are in the Upper 70s outside right now). It got me wishing I was there to check out our own new ice.
Just being able to practice on a more regular basis without paying for ice time will have a big impact on our program.
|
|
tallyw
Junior Member
Posts: 53
|
Post by tallyw on Dec 30, 2005 23:20:34 GMT -5
How much are they charging or public skate?
|
|
|
Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 30, 2005 23:38:17 GMT -5
$5.00 including rental skates...that's a good deal for 3 hours of ice time.
|
|
|
Post by Sly Fox on Dec 31, 2005 0:21:14 GMT -5
$5 including rental is excellent based on what they charge down here in Texas.
|
|
|
Post by bigsmooth on Dec 31, 2005 13:31:56 GMT -5
great report! i may have to take a quick drive up and check it out today. very affordable rates for the public skate. what a great asset to the community!
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 31, 2005 16:32:12 GMT -5
so JIM- overall, you liked the figure skates? LOL
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 31, 2005 16:35:30 GMT -5
here's the shot SLY was talking about- sweet! and I remember last year on this thread we had people saying it would never happen! by the way, the name of the photo is "ice ice baby" pretty funny-whomever posted it!
|
|
|
Post by PAmedic on Dec 31, 2005 16:37:57 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Supa J on Dec 31, 2005 22:10:32 GMT -5
I'm moving my stuff up Monday and then I'm moving into my apartment next weekend (the 7th or 8th) so I'm sure I'll be out there sometime. I can almost guarantee me and my roommate will be at 95% of the games. Who does homework anyways?
|
|