Alexandra Palace Ice Rink

Dear Sir/Madam,

I recently visited Alexandra Palace, where me and my friends went ice skating. I was very disappointed by the state of the ice rink and the quality of the skates. The Ice Skates were very uneven and the laces were so bad; bordering on impossible to use. The skates were extremely difficult to make them fit!. The ice was very bad, it was very slippery with chunks of ice everywhere. I felt like I was in the Artic! I am a grade 8 skater, and even I couldn't skate!

I even asked to speak to the manager, but the security guard muttered to me 'not now'.

If you could please get back to me with a response A.S.A.P, I have great concerns as to people's safety and wish to get back on the ice every weekend once quality of everything has gone up.

Thankyou

George Worton

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Dear George


I take your comments on board and thank you for your custom to date.

It would have been useful if you were able to tell me at what time and on what day you came as I could then question the staff that were on duty.It was probable that I was on site and that a Duty Manager was too,both of us able and willing to answer and react to any reasonable concern raised by a member of the public.I therefore should like to take your comment up about the security guard with his management.

It may interest you to know that we have just invested £10,000 in new skates which have been arriving throughout this week and have been made available to the public from our skate hire.The order also included 200 new pairs of laces and new tongues which are being used to service some of our existing skates.I am pleased this investment has been made although it is something I have been requesting for rather a long time.

This is the busiest time of year for ice skating and we resurface the ice many times through the day.It is however most unusual for 'chunks' of ice to be around unless kids have been hacking at it with their toe rakes.The management staff have the authority and ability to resurface the ice midway through a session should there be cause or reason to do so.Safety is of paramount importance to us all and we have a good safety record covering eighteen years of continuous operation.

I hope you are able to continue to enjoy your ice skating here at Ally Pally.You may find the morning sessions or Club ice a little less busy and more condusive therefore to practising the elements of a level 8 skater.Thank you for drawing my attention to some of your concerns.

Yours sincerely

Jeremy Walton

Leisure Facilities Manager.