Saturday marked a memorable day for the local Kin clubs, as their outdoor arena in the Kin Hillside Play Park opened for ice sports for the first time.
Dereck Wilson, who is a member of the Estevan Kinsmen Club, said they were waiting for the temperature to be cold enough to start creating ice for the arena. The cooler temperatures this week gave them the conditions they needed.
“I’ve spent the last seven or eight nights here … flooding it and getting it ready,” said Wilson. “There have been a lot of people coming in with excitement to get out there and get skating.”
The outdoor arena opened for skating just after 10 a.m. on Saturday, and it didn't take long for several local youths to be out on the ice.
The facility can be used for hockey, shinny, ice skating and other leisure activities.
“The ice turned out great,” said Wilson.
The outdoor arena opened earlier this year, and the concrete slab was used in the summer and the fall by the South East Sask. Roller Derby Association's Junior Coaler Rollers, for an outdoor ball hockey tournament hosted by the Kinsmen, and for other activities.
Now the focus is on the construction of a new warm-up shack and dressing room at the park. Wilson hopes construction can begin during the spring.
He asks that people who use the facility to scrape the snow to the edges, since the outdoor arena is run by volunteers. It will be easier to maintain the ice.
The city brought a Zamboni to the outdoor arena recently to help with creating the ice. The Kin clubs have purchased a Zamboni from Ontario, which is expected to arrive early in the new year.
Next week’s edition of Southeast Lifestyles will have more on this story.
