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McKinley Park Ice Rink Is Back Open for the Season

By Casey Cora | December 3, 2014 5:31am
 Winter's arrival means the ice rink is once again ready for skaters.
Winter's arrival means the ice rink is once again ready for skaters.
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Chicago Park District

MCKINLEY PARK — Skaters, rejoice. 

The ice rink at McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Road, has reopened for the winter season through March 1. Here's a look at the complete schedule.

Open skating takes place 3-7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1:30-9 p.m. on Friday, 1-5 p.m. on Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. 

Admission for open skate is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and military and free for children and students with ID. Skate rental is $6, but the park district is offering a special $7 admission and skate rental package. 

Special "family skate" session will take place 5:30-9 p.m. each Saturday. Admission is $10 per family and includes skate rental. 

First time on the ice? Don't worry. For the absolute beginners, the park district offers a "Learn to Skate" program that takes place 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. every Saturday. You'll learn the basics of balance, forward stride, starting and stopping and backwards skating.

Admission is $10, which includes skate rental and access to Saturday's open skate sessions.

The rink also offers a chance for hockey players of all ages and skill levels the chance to lace 'em up. 

Pickup hockey games — aka "rat hockey" — takes place 7:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday and 6:30-8 p.m. Sunday. These are unsupervised, unstructured hockey games open to players 18 and older. Admission is $10 and includes skate rental. 

Special note to all of the would-be Patrick Kanes out there: Full hockey equipment is required for rat hockey, slap shots are allowed and checking is prohibited. Admission is $10 and includes skate rental. 

The park district offers lessons for novice hockey players in the form of back-to-back 45-minute practice sessions.

The first is a "stick and puck" lesson where skaters can work on stickhandling, skating and shooting, and the second is "pond hockey," the less competitive (no slap shots, no checking, less equipment) little brother to rat hockey. 

Those sessions take place 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday. 

Admission is $7 per person or $10 for an adult and child combo. That price includes skate rental and instruction for stick and puck lessons and pond hockey games.

The rink is also playing host to a few special programs throughout the winter, including the family friendly "cartoon skates," where kids can share the ice with their favorite cartoon characters. Those are scheduled for Dec. 14, Dec. 28, Jan. 11 and Feb. 22. 

The Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Clinic stops at the rink on Dec. 20. The free two-hour session includes equipment, lessons and skates for kids 6 to 10 years old. No prior experience required.

A qualifying round for the citywide Silver Skates competition is scheduled for Jan. 15. That's open to ages 7 and up. 

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