Playing pond hockey or just enjoying a nice skating session on a pond or river is a great way to spend a winter’s afternoon. However, skating on ponds and rivers can be dangerous. So, there are some precautions that you should take if you plan on skating on ponds or rivers this winter. Safely skating on ponds this winter should be your main goal!

Never skate on ponds or rivers alone

Ideally, you will never fall through the ice. However, if you do, then you want to make sure that you have at least one person with you who can help to rescue you if you do happen to fall through. The more people that you have with you, the more likely you will be to get rescued if you do happen to fall through.

Check the thickness of the ice

Thicker ice is stronger ice. Before you skate, you want to make sure that the ice is at least a good five or six inches thick. You can take a drill with you and drill through the ice to test it. The colder that the temperature has been recently, the more likely the ice will be to be thick. If there has been some warm weather recently, then you should be wary.

Call for help if someone does happen to fall through

Rescue personnel are trained for these sorts of rescues, so if anyone does fall through the ice, call 9/11 immediately. However, if you are going to attempt to rescue the person yourself, then you should use the assistance of a long stick or rope to avoid going near the dangerous ice yourself. Also, if you have to go on the ice then you should lie on your stomach to disburse your weight across a wide area as opposed to standing, which concentrates your weight and puts more pressure on the ice. But, if rescue personnel is nearby, then you should let them perform the rescue in order to prevent more people from falling into the ice.

 

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