The word artificial in the term “artificial ice rink” relates solely on the underlying artificial cooling surface, which is not a natural body of water. Hence almost all ice rinks are artificial ice rinks, except they are located on a frozen lake or frozen river.

Even a sprayed-on ice rink without a base cooling system, for example in former times on a tennis court, could be questionable referred as an artificial ice rink.

The term “artificial ice rink” is often misinterpreted with “synthetic ice rink”. But artificial ice rinks are definitely built up with frozen water, then real ice! Synthetic ice rinks failed the component ice.