‘This has been the best year’
With spring around corner, icemakers reflect on strong outdoor rink season
The outdoor rink season is quickly ending in Newfoundland and Labrador.
With better weather on the horizon, the days of flooding and smoothing the ice are moving into the past.
Even last week’s massive snowstorm did little to improve conditions once the warm temperatures and the rain hit the region afterwards.
Still, with some freezing temperatures earlier in the season, it was a banner year for icemakers and their palaces.
“This has been the best year,” said Conception Bay South’s Scott Sears. “There are people who are after logging 40, 50, 60, 70 hours of ice time for the kids. I mean, that's two years of minor hockey.”
Sears has been building a rink on his property for the last 14 years. He also helped start the NL Outdoor Rinks Facebook group, which has ballooned in recent years to more than 4,000 members.
HELPING OTHERS
Sears said the group has become a one-stop shop for anyone looking to start their rinks or refine what they’ve already got.
At the height of the season, there are people asking questions, others giving advice and even more posting pictures of their work.
If you’ve got a question about making your own rink, it’s the place to go.
Sears is proud of what it’s become.
“I wasn't doing it to try and have a couple of thousand people in there or anything,” he said. “It was about helping people and it just so happens if there's a lot of people talking ... that’s pretty, pretty crazy.”
One of those people who took the advice they found in the group and ran with it is Alicia Macdonald.
When she sought help making ice at the community rink in Port Rexton, she turned to the group for pointers.
“They’ve been pretty instrumental,” said Macdonald.
The Port Rexton rink, complete with boards and lights, has been operational for the last two years.
PERSEVERANCE KEY
Any outdoor rink season is marked by the dedication of volunteers who want to provide an authentic Canadian experience for their children and others.
That means watching the forecast days or weeks in advance, starting to flood in the middle of the night and maybe even getting out in the middle of a snowstorm to start clearing snow — which is not ideal for a rink — from the area.
At the beginning, the process might include moving the hose in the middle of the night to ensure an even distribution of water.
In Port Rexton, they keep a logbook of conditions to help with planning.
“It is time-consuming,” said Macdonald. “You’ve got to be constantly watching.”
PERFECT RINK
Looking back on his 14 years of experience building rinks, Sears says the perfect rink starts with the ice.
That’s the bedrock, so to speak, of the whole thing and needs to come first.
Once that’s solid, it becomes about adding to the experience with boards, lights, a warm area, etc.
“For me, it’s about the experience,” said Sears. “So, for me, the perfect rink is having ice and having a nice experience for the kids.”
Outdoor rinks are a lot of work to get going and then maintain afterward.
However, there’s one thing that keeps people doing it year after year: the feeling they get when people are out there enjoying themselves.
“Just to be driving by and seeing random people on the rink is great,” said Macdonald.