City Rinks (Toronto)
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TORONTO STAR, JANUARY 3 1958: "It is true that the parks department operates 58 natural ice rinks for skating and 23 for hockey - or will do so, if and when there is enough frost. For all the freezing weather we get here most winters, the department might as well spare the trouble and expense, and get on with the job of multiplying the number of artificial ice rinks."
(And they did!)
Click on poster to enlarge it
wood stove at DufferinContact
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You are on the [cover page] of folder [Christie Pits Rink]< Campbell Rink | Go to List of Rinks | City Hall Rink >
See Rink Diaries for Christie Pits Rink
Christie Pits Rink Profile
updated November 09, 2008
Rink change area: There's a woodstove inside the rink change area. Good supply of benches. The rink has a large change room with huge windows -- a great view of the whole park, including the rink. Skate-friendly rubber flooring throughout. Used to have a daily snack bar run by youth but the kitchen is currently unavailable for use except for two hours on Sundays.
Staff: One rink building attendant, one rink guard. Phone number: 416 392-7687
Maintenance: Done by a flying squad, which comes 1-2 times a day. When the zamboni is late and there's snow on the ice, staff have green ice shovels available and they work with shinny players to clean off the snow manually -- they say it works well and everyone helps.
Public Skating and open shinny hockey:
Free Pleasure-skating: Available a total of 29 hours and 30 minutes a week last year (2007-2008).
Free Shinny hockey: Available a total of 31 hours 45 minutes a week last year (2007-2008). The city's mandatory helmet policy is intermittently enforced, the rest of the time most shinny players choose not to wear helmets.
City's estimated full operating cost for this rink, per season: $120,983.55
Permit revenue in 2008: $3,005.95
Public funds spent to run this rink, per season: $117,977.6
Amount of public skating during prime time,* per week: 45 hours
*prime time means after 4pm weekdays and all day on weekends
There are no permit times available at Christie Rink. For information on permits at other rinks in the south district, contact Carol at 416-392-0361.
Comments about this rink: e-mail us at rinkissues@cityrinks.ca.
Schedule
For Christie's shinny and pleasure skating schedule click here.
Views of the rink
 shinny hockey at Christie Rink |
 the view from Christie Pits rink change-room |
Christie Pits in 1923: five rinks! (Toronto Archives).
Click on picture to enlarge.
drainage problem--looks like a pool but it's a rink
Rink Diary 2009 - 2010
Saturday January 9 2010
We're trying an early-morning game: "Find the zamboni flying crew." They start their shift at 6 a.m., first going to the service yard at Boothe Avenue, across town, to park and pick up the machine. Our "find-the-zamboni" game started out in the dark, with a sickle moon still high in the sky, at 7.07. At Wallace Rink - no ice resurfacing yet. 7.13 at Campbell Rink: no ice resurfacing yet. 7.22 at Christie Rink: no ice resurfacing yet. 7.32 at Trinity Rink - no ice resurfacing yet. 7.39: zamboni driver on site at Dufferin Rink (he's not part of the flying crew). Clear, cold sky (minus 15), getting lighter. 7.39 at Wallace Rink: no ice resurfacing yet. 7.49 at Campbell Rink: no ice resurfacing yet. 7.58 at Christie Rink: no ice resurfacing yet. A beautiful sunrise -- but no zamboni flying crew, anywhere. They must be somewhere else, but where?
Christie Rink at sunrise -- where's the zamboni?
view from the park: cold morning, minus 15
At 12.45 I visited again. The ice had been resurfaced and there were 4 people on the rink and 4 people changing inside. They looked very cheerful -- "it's not cold out there!" One rink guard and one building attendant, who said there had been some really enthusiastic skaters earlier, who had already left.
I said that Christie Rink has a nightly poker game in front of the office, but the two staff were dubious. "Cards, maybe, but not poker."
Numbers samples, 7.30 pm: 12 shinny hockey players, no helmets except for one goalie.
Sunday January 10 2010
Number samples, 7 pm: 12 shinny hockey players, 4 of them just standing in the boxes. No helmets. Building closed.
10.15 pm: 12 shinny hockey players, 4 helmets. Building closed.
Wednesday January 13, 2010
Numbers samples, 8:15 1 goalie, 24 on ice, 10 inside, staff in building, visible.
Thursday January 14, 2010
Number sample, 7:50pm: 14 shinny hockey players, 3 with helmets, 6 inside
Sunday January 17, 2010
At 2.30 pm the rink was hopping -- the pleasure pad was full of skaters, the snow hills were swarming with kids, indoors there was hardly a spot to sit down. It was the Christie Pits fun day, co-sponsored by the Toronto Playgrounds Rep Baseball League torontoplaygrounds.ca/rep/ and the Friends of Christie Pits Park. Their chair Monica Gupta said there were games on the snow hills, and even a sing-song around the woodstove. And there was free pizza.
Monica said she brought wood from home and took responsibility for the fire. Apparently the rule at Christie Rink is that the woodstove can't be lit unless there is a dedicated staff just for the stove. Maybe the rink staff's card game could be moved around the corner within view?
Monday January 18, 2010
'''Number sample, 7:30pm: 13 shinny hockey players (2 with helmets), 3 inside.
Monday January 25, 2010
Number sample, 8:35pm: 3 shinny players, no helmets. Ice has been scraped, though not very well (little bumpy ridges in places, bits of frozen slush), the building is locked, with only one net on the ice. I went up to the hockey players and said "hey, you know if you want the other net it's right here and the gate is unlocked." he said "ok" then the two of us started to pull it onto the ice. then a guy comes over on his cell phone, I see it's one of the guys who usually works nights there, often playing poker, in his city of toronto hat. he asks if we're just trying to get the net on, we say yes, he helps out, still on the phone. I ask if he works here, and that i had assumed no one was here since the building was closed. he said "we're closing soon". I asked if there had been a permit tonight and he said no, never on mondays. then he went back to sit in a car in the parking lot with a friend.
Monday February 15, 2010
Number sample 4:56pm 8 hockey players, no helmets, 4 pleasure skaters (2 with helmets)
As I arrived rec staff were locking the building promptly at 4:56pm. Today was Olivia Chow's big family event from 1-3pm - the rec staff said there were hundreds of people there. He said the rink lights would be on until 11pm or so.
February 23, 2010
The Star: There's a will to fix up 'The Duff.' Why won't city find a way to help?, February 23, 2010. Read More >>
To see the (2007-2008) report card, click here
Content last modified on January 04, 2010, at 01:24 PM EST