The Dunedin Ice Stadium is about to make history. On December 4, it will become the first ice rink to see the sun on the first-ever World Ice Skating Day. This is ironic for several reasons.
The most glaring bit of irony is that it’s the middle of summer. World Ice Skating Day (WISD) was chosen to be celebrated on the first Sunday in December, an appropriate winter day for most of the 78 countries that comprise the International Skating Union (ISU). But not here; when the sun rises on the very first World Ice Skating Day, it will rise on a balmy summer day in Aotearoa. And it gets better, because the first Sunday in December is not just any Sunday, it also happens to be the day after crate day. Cheers to that.
New Zealand is often left off of the map, but that doesn’t stop us from consistently getting to be the first place in the world to celebrate various new days. It does mean, however, that even if we recognise that we’re first to see the sun, other countries might not have taken notice. Take, for example, the administrators of WISD on Instagram, who posted colourful tiles celebrating the flags of all the countries taking part - even Australia - except one: us. The first one to actually celebrate it. Oops.
On the eve of the inaugural celebration, spirits at the Dunedin Ice Stadium were high and prices were low. Marketing and Operations Manager Eva Starostka said that she was excited to ring in the new celebration. She told us that it was all about getting new skaters on the ice and to let “everyone give ice skating a go”, which is why the rink is running a koha session on the big day from 1-3pm where new skaters can pay what they can to try it out. She also said that she’d messaged the official WISD Instagram to get us up there, because “it’s important to show the world that we’re here, we’re keen, and we love ice skating. And our flag looks better than Australia’s, anyway.”