The Austin Peay State University mascot, “The Gov.” Photo by Abby Krieg | THE ALL STATE
The Austin Peay State University Student Life and Engagement organization hosted a Gov’s Free Skate at the downtown Ford Ice Center, with a large turnout of APSU students and their families. The event took place on Tuesday evening, Jan. 23, 2024.
The Ford Ice Center is located in the heart of downtown, attached to the F&M Bank Arena. They host the APSU Skate and Hockey Team, as well as frequent public skates. For many students at the event tonight, this was their first time ice skating.
“So at first I was nervous to ice skate since I’ve never done it before. When I first got onto the ice, I was sticking to the wall because I didn’t want to fall; but after a few times going around I got the hang of skating on ice. Although I did fall, I got back up and continued to skate. I honestly would go ice skating again to get better at it and just to do it.” said Caroline Bodamer, a junior at APSU.
The event was hosted by the APSU Student Life and Engagement organization, who host an abundance of student events on campus. Zac Moore, APSU’s coordinator of Leadership and Student Organizations, hopes that events like these will bring more of a collaboration between students and the F&M Bank Arena, as well as the Ford Ice Center.
“I work for student life and engagement, and our role is offering students events. With welcome week and students returning back to campus, we wanted to provide students with that collaboration with F&M Bank Arena and the Ford Ice Center,” Moore said.
The event had a large turnout, having between 100 and 250 people skate in each of the sessions. The first 250 students also received a free APSU sweatshirt.
“The line was a majority of my time at the event, but I don’t regret getting out on the ice for the first time. I hope this isn’t the only event because I think the lines and the wait would be a lot more bearable. But I am super happy I’ve finally gotten on the ice and tried skating,” said Joshua Pack, a sophomore at APSU.
“I enjoyed it a whole lot, and would recommend it to someone who’s been wanting to try something new. It was definitely a fun experience,” said Caroline Bodamer.
With the convenience and proximity of the F&M Bank Arena and Ford Ice Center, the APSU Student Life and Engagement Center is hoping to host more events related to this one.
