On Monday afternoon, December 8th, at the “Christmas Village” set up at Pedion tou Areos, a serious incident caused intense concern among visitors to the ice skating rink. Entry to the rink, as visitors complain, was allowed without providing basic safe skating instructions from those responsible, such as how to maintain balance or the correct way to get up after a fall. This lack of guidance became immediately apparent when a child fell on the ice. As a result of the fall, the minor was injured in the fingers when someone else on the rink passed “over” them with ice skates. The child began crying intensely, while panic spread among those present.
Chaos at Pedion tou Areos ice rink: Reactions following child’s injury
Five minutes after the incident, while intense concern prevailed, the staff gathered those who were at the ice rink and demonstrated the correct way that those who fall should get up – namely, without placing their palms on the ground, but keeping their hands in fists and following specific safety movements. Testimonies report that this information was given for the first time only after the injury occurred.
When related observations were made to the employees, one of them appeared to be in a state of shock, while a second employee initially reacted with tension, demanding explanations for the complaints. Later, he apologized, showing a paper located in the ice rink office which states: “You skate at your own risk,” implying that the ice rink bears no responsibility for potential injuries. In an adjacent announcement titled “Ice rink regulations,” it states among other things: “For your protection, we recommend wearing gloves when skating,” which carries the character of a suggestion rather than a mandatory measure.
During the rink’s operation, there was no permanent presence of staff inside the ice rink, only two young people who appeared after the incident to give explanations to those making complaints. These individuals mentioned that they usually show children the way they should get up, but “coincidentally” at that moment they hadn’t had time to do so. In fact, one of the two people stated that she was not an employee of the ice rink, but was helping “because she knew how.”
The remaining staff were located in the area where ice skates are tied, while after the incident, as children and adults who were on the rink departed visibly distressed, the employees took it upon themselves this time to remove the visitors’ ice skates themselves.
