A rink is a specially prepared flat surface for ice skating or roller skating. An ice rink has a smooth sheet of frozen water where people can glide on ice skates, play hockey, or practice figure skating. A roller rink has a smooth floor where people skate on wheels instead.

Ice rinks need refrigeration equipment under the floor to keep the ice frozen, even when it's warm outside. This means you can ice skate in Texas in July! Most ice rinks have boards around the edges to keep skaters safely contained and to bounce hockey pucks back into play. Between skating sessions, a machine called a Zamboni resurfaces the ice by shaving off the rough, scraped-up layer and laying down a fresh sheet of smooth ice.

Some rinks are outdoors and only work in winter, like the famous rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Others are inside buildings and stay open year-round. Many Olympic skating events happen in specially built rinks designed for competition.

Today, people also use rink loosely for other sports surfaces, like a basketball court might be called “the rink” by players who spend lots of time there.