Students step onto the ice during Saturday’s Free Skate.
Last Saturday evening, students gathered at Andover’s Free Skate event, waiting in line for skates before joining friends on the rink. Though attendance this week was lower than usual, students still described the event as a fun and much-needed break from academics.
Simba Xiong ’28 found the event welcoming to beginner skaters such as himself, and he intended to attend another if it is offered again.
“You get to skate with all your friends, and you can chat and talk about anything. This is a really good event to meet new people and just have fun in general. Some of my friends told me I should go because it’s really fun. At first, I was hesitant because I was afraid I might slip. In a way, [it felt welcoming to students], because there are tools you can hold onto so you don’t fall. But I had to wait quite a long time to get skates that fit my feet properly, so that was a potential downside,” said Xiong.
Another attendee, Benjamin Levchin ’28, commented that the event was a highlight in the Weekender. Levchin also expressed disappointment with the wait times to obtain skates.
“To get onto the ice, you need skates, and it’s so bad that some people end up going onto the ice with skates that don’t fit properly. My feet have gotten friction burns because I had to wear skates that were too big. It’s really hard to find skates that fit. Some people even go onto the ice without skates because of how difficult it is to get them,” said Levchin.
Some students pointed to small changes that could improve the experience. Bryan Bu ’26 noted that he would like to have seen food at the venue.
“Helping my friends learn to skate for the first time was the most memorable part of the event… Not wearing helmets was really fun, although there was no food this time [unlike last year]. Food would have made the event much better,” said Bu.
Ethan Liu ’26 described the Free Skate as a welcoming event, highlighting how students of different skill levels helped one another throughout the night and recalling that he first learned to skate at a similar campus event.
“I’m from Florida, so I’m not really good at skating. I’ve only skated through the events that the school has had here. But one of my friends had not skated before. And it was just fun helping him out. It’s just a fun night in general… I remember the open skate lower year for me. And that was really a fun experience too, because that was where I learned to first skate. It’s scary, but also fun,” said Liu.
Christopher Capano, Director of Student Activities, mentioned how the goal of the event was to provide students with an opportunity to have fun and connect. Capano also discussed how the event needed a chaperone to supervise, which on this occasion was John Rogers from the Chemistry department.
“We like events where students can gather, and we love it when students try new things. If students are from New England, they likely grew up skating, but if they are from somewhere else, this might have been their first time to try it. [We’re] trying to give students options and have fun.”
