Oz desert town soon to have an ice skating rink

Melbourne, August 26 (ANI): While the mercury will be topping 40 degrees during the school holidays, kids in a desert town in Australia will be seen wrapping on a scarf and a thick pair of socks, for there are plans to make an ice skating rink for them.

Northern Territory (NT) Sport and Recreation Minister Karl Hampton has announced 60,000 dollars to help transport and install the 30 by 15 metres rink in Alice Springs.

"(It'll) be a first for the town," news.com.au quoted the Minister as saying.

Although the trial venture has been designed with sweating locals in mind, people associated with the tourism industry hope that travellers visiting Alice may also get in on the action.

"I think you would be beating them off with a stick," Peter Grigg, the General Manager of Tourism Central Australia told ABC radio in Alice Springs.

"Over that Christmas period there are some people that head south or east or north or west to spend Christmas with family.

"What a great opportunity now to actually invite your family to Alice Springs and say, 'Don't worry about the heat, don't worry about the kids, we'll take 'em down the skating rink,'" Grigg added.

Considering that the project may provide students with a constructive way of spending their time off school, the Alice Springs Town Council has also dedicated 10,000 dollars to it.

The rink will be open for six weeks during the summer months, including the school holidays.

Hampton hopes that the youth of Alice Springs would be able to make maximum use of it.

The Convention Centre, which normally shuts from December to February, is also expected to support many jobs, says Hampton.

"The ice-skating rink will provide a location for Territory families to have fun together in a secure and safe environment with on-site security," he said. (ANI)