This year, there’ll be a piece of the Energy City’s usual winter scenery missing in Kin Park. The Estevan Kinsmen Club has decided against opening the outdoor rink in the Hillside Kin Park for the first time in, what vice-president Dave Elliot estimated to be, 50 or 60 years.
Although the lack of an outdoor rink sounds, at first, like a loss, it’s the beginning of a plan to build a new and permanent rink in the park between George Street and Henry street.
“Every year, in the fall, we had to put it up, and then in the spring we’d have to tear it down,” said Elliot. “The last couple of springs we’d go there too late and some of the teenagers in the area would tear down a section, which ends up damaging the boards. They weren’t being destructive with them; they were being constructive because they’d take those boards and make ramps for their bikes.”
Elliot said the Kinsmen are facing the need to do more repairs on the outdoor rink’s boards this year, before being able to set them back up. Instead of going through that, the club has decided to raise funds to build a permanent rink in the park.
“About a decade ago, we switched over to using all treated materials, putting puckboard on all the ends, and that kind of thing,” said Elliot. “We’re going to get enough money to put in a permanent rink with a full cement pad, and the whole works.
“Instead of putting money into preparing and fixing the old boards, we’re going to keep it, and throw it into this bigger construction project we have planned.”
The permanent rink is planned to be 60X120 feet, located in the southwest corner of the park. Elliot said the Kinsmen are going to adapt a feature from the design of an already standing outdoor rink in the town of Assiniboia, constructing the boards out of treated two-by-six boards. He noted there has been minimal structural damage after regular use to the two-by-sixes used to build the rink in Assiniboia, and that they’re easy to replace in the event that they are damaged.
A goal of the Kinsmen is to raise enough money through fundraising to install dasher boards for the rink, but a full system of dasher boards is quite expensive.
“You’re looking at around $50,000 for that, so the cost of that is prohibitive for a small non-profit like ourselves,” said Elliot. “Just the pad itself is quite a bit higher than that. If you’re going to do it, you might as well lay the right foundation.”
Construction is planned to start this coming spring, with land prep and the pouring of cement for the pad. The Kinsmen also plan on installing basketball nets on either side, so that rink can serve multiple purposes for year-round use.
While the outdoor rink as people know it will be disappearing from the Hillside Kin Park, the boards will be put to a proper use this coming winter. Rod March, parks manager with the City of Estevan, said the Kinsmen have donated the old boards to the city.
“We’re going to be using them in Westview where there once was a rink,” said March. “It was a temporary structure that was once at Westview. I think we can set it up year after year, with the help of community members down there.”
The rink planned for Westview will be smaller than the one that was at the Hillside Kin Park, since there are a number of broken down boards.
“It should be more than sufficient for the area we have down there,” said March. “People will be happy to see that again.”
As part of the fundraising effort, the Kinsmen have a Christmas Party planned for Dec. 5 at the Wylie Mitchell Building. The party will feature a Christmas roast dinner prepared by A Little Taste of Heaven Catering, and entertainment provided by comedian Dez Reed. The party will also feature music and several auctions, with all proceeds going towards the costs associated with the new rink. To purchase a ticket, contact Dave Elliot.
