The outdoor rink is a staple of life in Canada. Regardless of whether it’s in somebody’s backyard, or at the neighbourhood rink, young people across the country have learned and enhanced their abilities thanks to the opportunities provided by an outdoor rink.
Estevan has two public outdoor arenas this winter, at the Rusty Duce Play Park in the Pleasantdale subdivision and the Westview rink. Both of them are busy places.
“We have cameras at the rinks, so we know what’s happening there,” said Rod March, the parks manager for the City of Estevan, in an interview with Lifestyles. “We do get a lot of people using them.”
And while the snow storms and the frigid temperatures haven’t always created ideal conditions for fun outdoors, the weather has still been co-operative for most of the winter.
“I can’t say enough about the volunteer groups that are out there, with their organization,” said March. “They call me, and I get them what I can in terms of materials.”
The Estevan Lions Club takes an active role in operating the rink at Rusty Duce, which is named the Cliff Hawkes Skating Rink in memory of a deceased Lions Club member. They set up the boards at the start of the season, with some help from people in the community, and flood the surface to ensure there is ice for the children to use.
“When the weather gets cold enough, we usually get the first few floods on the ice to make it usable,” said Lions Club member Ed Sinclair, who has taken an active role in maintaining the rink for years.
The skaters and the people from the community often help out with clearing snow from the ice surface. But after a big snowfall, which has happened a few times this winter, the Lions will come out with their snowblowers and shovels to remove the snow.
Six to eight members of the Lions Club are usually involved with setting up the boards, and a few volunteer during the winter to take care of the snow.
Additional people from the neighbourhood are always there to help out.
“It gives the kids something to do in the wintertime, and it gets the kids outdoors. It promotes volunteerism. If they want to skate, they have to shovel,” Sincalir said with a laugh.
But it’s always rewarding when they see the kids enjoying the rink.
“I had one young fellow who, when I was out here flooding the ice … saw me, went home and got me a coffee … with cream and sugar,” said Sinclair.
The Lions Club has dedicated the outdoor rink to the memory of Hawkes, who was a member of the club. He donated a storage area for the arena boards.
Keiara Olson is among the users of the Rusty Duce park who is grateful for the efforts of the Lions Club and other volunteers. Her grandmother lives near the park, and she regularly came to the park with her brothers to work on her figure skating techniques.
“I love skating. It’s one of my hobbies,” said Keiara, who used to be part of the local figure skating club until she hurt her knee.
Keira lives outside of the city, so she will come to the rink after school, or during the evening so she can skate with friends under the park’s lights.
“It’s more fun when everyone’s together at the outdoor rink,” said Keiara. “You can come in here to the shack, chill out, and then go back out.”
And she will gladly help out with clearing the ice surface whenever she can.
March believes outdoor rinks provide invaluable recreational opportunities for people of all ages, including some from outside the community. But without volunteers, the outdoor rinks wouldn’t exist.
“The parks run a skeleton crew in the winter, and the priorities, as always, are the cemetery operations, then snow clearing and maintenance of our pathways,” said March. “After that, if we have free people available, we help out with the rinks.”
Volunteers also work tirelessly at the outdoor rink in the Westview subdivision, clearing the ice and making sure it can be used by local youth. March noted numerous people in the Westview neighbourhood help out at that rink.
The volunteers also communicate with the city if they need any materials.
“They help us monitor the premises just to make sure everything is going smoothly there,” said March. “They act as a point of contact and they help organize their volunteers to assist with helping maintain the ice surface.”
The Estevan Police Service also helps out with making sure park users are safe.
March hopes to have an smaller outdoor rink at Torgeson Park open for skating before the end of the winter. But the snow seen in Estevan this winter has delayed the opening, since parks staff have dedicated so much time to the cemetery and with pathways.
He also wants to launch a social media campaign to see if there are enough volunteers to open an outdoor rink in the Hillcrest subdivision. Hillcrest’s outdoor rink hasn’t been operating in the last few years.
“I did have a couple of inquiries,” said March. “There hasn’t been one there for years, but I measured it (the old rink site) this year, and discussed it with the city manager. So we’ll probably take this to city council, just to make sure everything’s on the up and up with council.”
And he is hopeful the new year-round facility at the Kin Play Park in the Hillside subdivision can be open later this year. The Kin clubs have been fundraising for the project, and once it is complete, it will serve as an outdoor rink in the winter, and a roller derby practice site in the summer months.
