ION Skating in Leesburg, VA - A Review by Principal Powers

Photo: Lots of skaters enjoying the ice during the "Public Skate" at the Ion ice rink (Ion International Training Center) in Leesburg, Virginia.

One of the best gifts you can give your child is a special memory of doing something together. Remember, experiential knowledge is key! So during the Christmas break, we made our way over to the newer ice rink in Loudoun County known as Ion International Training Center. (https://ionitc.com) Having opened in 2019, this new facility offers training/practice opportunities for many ice sports including hockey, figure skating, ice dancing, theater on ice and speed skating. We went there, however, to try out their "Public Skate" opportunity for some leisure and fun.

Getting to Ion from Frederick County or Clarke County is easy. It's a straight shot in 7 east and then you hop on the Dulles Toll Road and get off at the very first exit (Belmont Ridge). There is not a toll (or charge) as you are only on the Dulles Toll Road for a hop, skip and a jump before exiting. The Ion ice rink is right off this exit and easy to spy from a distance. It is a nice, large, brand new facility.

Photo: Children get ready for ice time with Ion's festive decorations in the background.

Once there, we went inside and were immediately waited on at the front desk by a polite and helpful young man. It was nice that they had two employees helping people as there was no waiting. Admission was $9 for adults and $8 for children. Skate Rental was an additional $4 for adults and $3 for children (total of $13 or $12 depending). After paying, we went around the corner to a side room to pick up our skates. Like the facility, the rental skates were new as well. It was a nice convenience that the restrooms were located in this same skate pick up area so parents could have all in their party take a bathroom break while still in street shoes. Once our skates were picked up, we made our way into the rink area to put them on and have our ice adventure.

Ion boasts a large ice "Arena" and also a "Rink" in their building. The public skate was held in the "Rink" area. One of the things that was great for parents with kids is the fact that there are sections of seats available all along the the edges of the rink. This is a super nice feature as you don't have to jostle for space on limited benches, as is typical in some other places like this. You are able to stake your claim for some seats and leave your shoes or other belongings there, reserving your space. This is nice as the skating session progresses, as the industrial style skates are hard on the feet and taking breaks to sit down for a minute or two is needed. Having your own zone and your own seats for the whole event is a very nice convenience. There are lockers available for people who want to secure valuables, but as we were able to see our seats from the rink, we were comfortable to leave our belongings there.

Now it was time to hit the ice. The ice is smoothed over nicely at the beginning of the session prior to the start. All attendees were able to then take to the rink and skate away. As it was a holiday week, there was a good number of people there and all of differing ability levels. At first thought, a parent wonders if this will be a concern. Will an agile speedster knock my beginning skater over? However, this is where I give Ion it's biggest compliment. The ice rink had monitors out in the rink as well and they were on patrol duty. I witnessed a teen slam into the plexiglass on purpose to scare a row of other teens that were seated just on the other side. The ice "cop" was on it and immediately addressed the offender. It was evident that the management realizes they have to have "life guard" type of employees on the ice keeping everyone safe throughout the session and this was what kept the ice time pleasant and enjoyable for young and old alike. Great job, Ion!

Photo: Beginning skaters take to the wall for a hand support or a break.

Our public skate session lasted for an hour and a half. This gave ample time to warm up and get back into the swing of things, if you hadn't been skating for a while. It was also ample time to skate, work up a sweat and take a few breaks. Which leads to another super nice feature Ion offers, which is it's restaurant. The restaurant, known as "Lu's Bar & Grill", faces the rink where the public skate is happening. One is able to sit in the restaurant, have a coffee or a bite to eat and still see all the skating activity in the rink. This was super handy, especially at a holiday time when we were there. I chatted with a grandma who was visiting from California. She was able to stand inside the rink and get a few pictures of family members, but could have a seat and a coffee in the restaurant for some of the time and still see the happenings in the rink. Another smart set up Ion! Great job!

Photo: Lu's Bar & Grill inside the Ion Skate Center.

Our experience at Ion was a positive one. We loved the nice facility, helpful employees and the amenities like the conveniently located bathrooms and restaurant. The crowd that was there for the public skate in the daytime hours was a good one and we were so appreciative of the ice monitors present who were keeping everyone safe. We also liked that the music being played was not at deafening volumes, as we've experienced at some other venues. While we heard the evening public skate is a teensy bit more crowded and usually has more older kids, our day public skate time was a great, active adventure and we were quite pleased with the venue and the management of the events happening there that day. Kudos to Ion for a job well done!

Food for Thought: The only recommendation we have for Ion is to enforce the wearing of helmets on the younger children.