Medibank icehouse, docklands?

[Vanilla Ice]

I'm moving to melbourne and this is the only ice rink i can find. Is it good? Has anyone skated there? Pro's, Con's? Good figure skating program? Anything to watch out for? Can you test there? Are there any other rinks in melbourne?

Thanks

[Ice Bound]

Its my home rink! Personally I really like it. It's one of the newest in Australia which is good.
Pro's: 2 ice sheets, off ice ballet, conditioning, stroking and skills classes, and all that stuff is there, usually around 8 freestyle sessions a day
Con's: lack of seating (I think it seats around 1000 but the rink quality is good enough to host international events, if there were only more seats. We hosted Australian Championships last year i'm pretty sure.)

I'm not sure what level you are but there is learn to skate, freestyle 1-4 and then it's figure skating academy which is like a fs club. They prepare people to skate competitively and I find the coaches are really good.

You can test there, you organize it through the fsc.

The only other non-synthetic ice rink in melbourne is in Oakleigh, which is the Olympic Ice Rink. It's not that good but if it's closer to you then I guess it would be alright.

[Elektra]

I skate at the Icehouse! In fact, I practically live there, I work there as well and spend more than 50% of my time there...But anyway, it is an amazing facility - it has two ice surfaces (one is mainly used for public skating/freestyle sessions, the other is the hockey rink which is also used for competitions and speed skating - we do sometimes open it up for public skating when it gets busy though, especially in the school holidays).

It is massive. Like I said, it has two Olympic-sized rinks under the one roof, the building itself is huge, the staff are really nice and in addition to being an ice rink, it also has a gym (extra cost), ballet room (you can go in there and do off-ice without paying extra as long as nobody else is in there), cafe and bar (not that the last two really matter much to you, but still). It's also still quite new (opened in 2010), the ice is really nice and the venue in general is great.

For figure skaters, there is the Aussie Skate Program for beginners (goes up to Freeskate 4 which is around flip/lutz and camel spin level). After Aussie Skate, you can take lessons with a private coach which you book through the coaches, not through the rink. There are also some group classes you can take through the figure skating academy (eg. moves in the field classes, ice dance, off-ice ballet, synchro, etc.). There are figure skating sessions every day (5:45-8:45am every morning except Fridays, plus afternoon sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Wednesday nights). They run in 45 minute blocks, and each block costs $15 (if I remember correctly. I haven't had to pay for ice time in a while because of my job there). Lessons can be booked either in freestyle or public sessions.

Tests and competitions are run by the club (Icehouse FSC). There are test sessions held every couple of months for the ISA levels (these are separate to Aussie Skate). Information about tests and competitions can be found on the IFSC or ISV website (below). Also, if you join the club you can also join the club Facebook page where information is regularly posted.

There is one other rink in Melbourne - Olympic Ice Skating Centre in Oakleigh (don't be fooled by the name, it's actually not even Olympic-sized). I've actually only been there once, it's really old and run down, the ice isn't as good as Icehouse, and the sessions are overpriced. A lot of Oakleigh skaters I know have actually changed rinks and skate at the Icehouse instead, even though it's closer, lol.

Here are some helpful links if you want more info:
Icehouse website: http://www.icehouse.com.au
Freestyle schedule: http://www.icehouse.com.au/images/storie...hedule.pdf
Coaches' contact details: http://www.icehouse.com.au/home/skate-sc...h-profiles
Figure skating academy details: http://www.icehouse.com.au/home/skate-sc...ng/academy
ISV (Ice Skating Victoria) website: http://iceskatingvictoria.org.au/
Icehouse FSC website: http://www.icehousefsc.org.au/ (doesn't work at the moment)