Ice skating glides into Jakarta's teen mall culture

Ice skating glides into Jakarta's teen mall culture

By Monika Winarto

JAKARTA (JP): For urban teenagers like Patricia, ice skating
has become a pastime similar to going to the movies or shopping.
And it is now recognized as a teenage trend and part of the mall
culture.

"I like going to the mall to ice skate for recreation," 16-
year-old Patricia said.

For Jakartans, ice skating and the mall are inseparable.

Three ice skating rinks in the city are located in shopping
malls, namely Taman Anggrek Mall, in West Jakarta, Mega Mall, in
Pluit, North Jakarta and Gajah Mada Plaza, in Central Jakarta.

"My friends and I go there for the thrills and fun," Patricia
explains. "It's also about socializing."

She used to ice skate a lot more when her school classes were
in the afternoon. She would spend her mornings at the rink
because it was off-peak so the admission price was lower.

But now that she has morning classes, she only goes skating
after her exams are completed.

"After the exams, we go to Taman Anggrek to ice skate. Half of
my class is there ... that's about 20 people. There are also many
students from other classes who ice skate," she said.

About 2,000 to 2,500 people go to Taman Anggrek Mall on the
weekends or public holidays to ice skate. The mall's rink can
hold up to 500 people at one time.

Both Taman Anggrek Mall and Mega Mall say 70 percent of their
visitors are teenagers.

"In 1997 our target market was specifically teenagers," Paul,
the operational manager of the Taman Anggrek Mall ice rink, said.

In the two years the Taman Anggrek rink has been operational,
it has run events for teenagers, such as fashion shows, ice shows
and an international sporting competition.

"This year we will have karaoke on ice, ladies and gents
nights and the much awaited Valentine show," he said.

The Super Ice and Cafe ice venue in Gajah Mada Plaza, which
opened earlier this month, will also host a Valentine's Day
event.

"We are targeting teenagers at the junior high school level
(12 years to 15 years) but we were surprised to see so many
elementary school children coming to our opening day," Yulie
Choo, the marketing manager, said.

Yulie said that university students who already knew how to
skate might prefer to eat at the venue's cafe.

The rink apparently attracts beginners, such as elementary
school children, as the ice is made synthetically and reportedly
easier to skate on.

However, Andre, an 11-year-old beginner at Mega Mall's Ice
Skating Castle, said he preferred to skate on real ice.

"I've heard that skating on synthetic ice is like roller-
blading, that's boring ... I am used to the ice being slippery
and it's an exciting feeling to go faster."

Erik and his cousin Max, both nine years old, said they do not
mind getting wet when they fall over on the ice.

"When we fall it's wet and cold but its much better than being
hot and sweaty outside."

At all three skating venues there are always about four rink
supervisors to assist skaters in case they fall over and a first
aid room is also provided.

But ice skating is not for everybody.

"Two of my beginner friends can only stand two hours of
skating because of the cold," Citra, a student of the School of
Medicine at University of Indonesia.

Citra, who lived and skated in the U.S. when she was at high
school, said she does not ice skate very much these days.

"Even though it is believed that university students are
regular customers, my friends and I only come during the holidays
due to our study load," she said.

Both the Taman Anggrek Mall and Mega Mall, which started
operating in 1996, are licensed by the American International Ice
Skating Sports Institute.

"American trainers trained our coaches," Heru, the manager at
Mega Mall's ice skating rink, said.

While not many foreigners ice skate at Mega Mall, 20 percent
of the Taman Anggrek rink's patrons are from other countries.

"The students from JIS (Jakarta International School) have
formed their own clubs here," Paul said.

All three ice skating venues in Jakarta plan to lobby city
high schools to introduce ice skating as an extracurricular
activity.

They offer private lessons with rates varying from Rp 35,000
for a weekly, half-hour lesson at Mega Mall to Rp 50,000 at Taman
Anggrek.

For five lessons, the Mega Mall rink charges Rp 60,000 while
Taman Anggrek charges Rp 200,000 on weekdays and Rp 250,000 over
the weekend. Mega Mall also offers a month's worth of lessons for
Rp 280,000.

Entrance fees also vary. At Taman Anggrek Mall it costs Rp
6,000 for the first hour and Rp 2,000 for the following hour
including skate hire but on weekends and public holidays it costs
Rp 7,500 for the first hour and Rp 2,000 for the next hour.

Mega Mall is more expensive at Rp 12,500 for two hours
including skate hire and an hourly charge on weekends of Rp
4,000.

Taman Anggrek Mall is offering a 40 percent discount for
groups (of at least 30 people) and from Monday to Thursday
skaters pay only Rp 6,000 for the whole day if they come before
midday.

"The more competition there is the better it is for business,
plus it improves the skating standard of young Indonesians," Paul
said.