Jack Frost hasn’t knocked on anyone’s doorstep this winter. He’s running late on schedule, leaving this winter feeling dull and leaving us with almost nothing to do.

A way to make up for the lack of snow could be to go to a Franklin Southern Ice Arena and get some ice under your feet.

Skating helps pass the winter days by providing skaters with a challenge interesting enough to partake in, but not so hard that you want to give it up.

Sophomore Emma Alexander recently went skating with a few friends.

“It was really cold outside but there was no snow, we had nothing to do,” Alexander said. “So I looked on Instagram and saw others going skating. I gathered my friends together and we all escaped time for a while.”

Whenever you freeskate you are not allowed to experiment with tricks, but there are some movements that are allowed. These can make your time more interesting.

Alexander seemed to be more cheerful when telling the story of what her and her friends do to keep the time on the ice engaging. She smiled and even giggled at their accidents.

“You know that one trick where you have three friends and you’re in the middle and they take your hands launching you forward?” she asked. “We would do that, and some of us would sometimes fall but we were able to laugh and be ourselves. There was no rush and we always have a great time.”

Franklin Southern is only open during the winter months so there is only a short amount of time to experiment with skating.

Classes are also available and ice skaters can practice without worrying about crashing into other skaters.

Emma started skating at a young age and didn’t do it professionally but enjoyed all her times on the ice.

“When I was little,” she said, “I remember taking a couple of classes. I know I’m not professional but I’m not new at skating either.”

Because ice skating isn’t thought of much during the warmer seasons, it’s easy to forget Bloomington has an ice skating rink.  

“If it wasn’t for others on social media posting pictures of themselves skating, I wouldn’t have had the idea,” Emma said.

Franklin Southern Ice Arena is located right behind Bloomington High School South. The cost to get in is $6 and skate rental is $3. Sessions usually last 2-3 hours and are during weekends.