Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Rink Update - 2012-02-01

Before today's weather (6cm of snow last night plus freezing rain today) the rink was in good condition but hardly used at all this year.

There have been offers for volunteers - which is most welcome.

Here is where things currently stand:

  1. Use the rink flood lights for night time public use.  Just press the GREEN button on the control beside the announcement display case attached to the outside of the community centre.  It takes 5 minutes to warm up, and the light will automatically turn off after 30-45 minutes.
    1. The lighting mechanism was fixed recently.
    2. Please enjoy the rink!
  2. Recently - the ice surface was cleared by a kind (but uninformed) person.  The wet snow layer was deliberately left alone by the Ice Manager untill the freezing rain passed to protect the ice.
    1. The wet snow was shoveled into a pile and it froze into a mount of ice.
    2. The Ice Manager had a team of 4 people working for 3 hours to remove it.
    3. Spread the word: If you are going to shovel clear the ice rink - you must throw the snow OVER THE BOARDS and leave the way clear for mechanical snow removal.
This is the first year of the new rink clearing management.  We are working out the kinks and learning from mistakes.  Next year should be an excellent year for skating!