Why we love outdoor rinks - rink stories from the diaries

2008-2009 season

Buttonwood

Wednesday December 10 2008

The rink is in the middle of a big open space behind an apartment building. At night it's visible from far away because of the bright rink lights and the steam rising from the condenser. The ice looked good, despite bad weather yesterday (rain mixed with snow). At about 7 pm the rink had 25 youth on it, skating around or talking. A few girls, mostly guys. Almost half seemed to be smoking. There was no adult at all, nowhere nearby either. The mood was merry, lots of ribbing, but it didn't sound mean. Some of the kids remembered having their photo taken last year, and they commented on its having been the "featured picture" on the cityrinks.ca homepage for some time.

Sticks were thrown into the middle and then suddenly there was a fast game. There are no boards, and the ice doesn't even cover the whole tennis court -- on one side there's suddenly cement -- but it didn't seem to bother anyone. A few kids wore helmets. Most didn't.

Outside of the rink, against the chain link fence, was a shrine for 17-year-old Boris Cikovic, who was murdered near the rink in early October. There was a hockey stick, a basketball, some lanterns, a photograph, a plastic wreath, and a little printed description, maybe from the funeral.

A rink maintenance staff person came by to check on the rink. He said that there had been many layers of water put down to get the rink ready, "every day, every day, we were out here" and he was clearly pleased at the results -- good ice and a rink full of kids, playing shinny. The memorial is right beside them, and at least some of the kids must have known this talented young hockey player. But as long as there are kids and places where they can play, life goes on.

• The Star: Slain teen excelled in hockey, studies. Oct 05, 2008.

Campbell Park

Sunday December 21 2008

No ice maintenance at all. Over the course of the day different groups of hockey players cleared part of the ice leaving two sections large enough for shinny and pleasure skating.

The building attendant arrived at 10 and spent two hours clearing snow on the front path and around the rinkhouse. Shortly after noon three local teenagers asked if they could clear out part of the ice. The building attendant went out with them and told them not to put any snow against the boards, because that would make it harder for the Zamboni to clear the ice. The building attendant also warned them not to lose any pucks in the snow, pointing out that a puck can damage a Zamboni. The three teenagers cleared out a section in the middle of the ice and began playing. Later a man and a woman came and cleared out a second section and began playing there.

The building attendant made some hot chocolate which he gave out to people who stopped by the rinkhouse to see if the rink was open. A grandmother who lives up the street stopped by with four children. The children had rented skates before during a Saturday pleasure skate. They were anxious to go skating again. The building attendant said that Sunday afternoon was shared use, which meant they would have to skate while people were playing hockey. He pointed out that Wallace-Emerson was open and that it had a separate pleasure-skating pad. The children, however, didn't want to walk to Wallace. The grandmother finally decided to rent three pairs of skates. By that time the first group of hockey players had left and the children were able to use the patch of ice the players had cleared. The children also spent time in the rinkhouse eating hot dogs and looking at the rink's small collection of children's books.

Some local hockey players also stopped in. They didn't bother bringing sticks or skates. They just drank hot chocolate and hung out for a while. Later the building attendant got a call from Christie Pits asking if there was any shinny at Campbell. Two men had come to Christie to play hockey, but couldn't because that rink only had pleasure skating at the moment. The building attendant explained that there had been no ice maintenance but that two sections of the ice had been cleared by rink users.

A little while later two men showed up at Campbell. They wanted to play shinny and asked if there was a charge for using the ice. The building attendant said skating and shinny were free. He asked the men if they were from out of town. The men said they had come from Brampton looking for a place to play shinny. Staff at Christie had directed them to Campbell. The building attendant told them Toronto operates 49 compressor-cooled outdoor rinks. The men said they had just learned that by going online. They thought this was sick quickly explaining that sick meant good.

They asked if they could borrow shovels to make the cleared section of the ice larger. The building attendant said if they were willing to push the snow to the main gates at the west end of the rink, he would clear the snow from there. The building attendant also warned them about not losing any pucks in the snow. The men cleared a very large section of the ice. It took the building attendant two hours to clear the pile of snow they left at the gate.

After the men from Brampton left, a group of four players took their place on the the patch of ice they had cleared. When the building attendant left at 6, the four men were still playing. Like the previous groups of players, they were warned not to lose any pucks in the snow.

During all the day's snow-clearing one small rink shovel went missing.

Tuesday December 23, 2008

Another snowy day that called for lots of shovelling. Some of the regular shinny players started their Christmas holidays today. When the rink attendant arrived at 3pm, he found thirty players on the ice. Some had been there since 10am and were unhappy that the rinkhouse wasn't open earlier. They told the rink staffer that the Zamboni had been by at 9:30.

By 4pm it was snowing heavily and the players asked for shovels to clear the ice. The rink staffer brought out the two large green shovels. The players pushed the snow to the two rink gates while the staffer cleared the snow from the gates. By 5pm, 10 players were left on the ice despite the snow. After a while the remaining players left leaving the ice empty for a while.

At around 7, a local man brought his two nieces for pleasure skating. He said they had been by earlier, but didn't go on the ice because of the hockey players. 7pm is shinny time on the schedule, but since there were only three hockey players on the ice, the rink attendant let the girls skate. Their uncle asked for a shovel to clear the ice. Once again the rink attendant brought out the big green shovels. The uncle and two of the hockey players pushed the snow to the gates which the rink attendant cleared. The rink attendant hadn't quite finished clearing the west gate when the Zamboni arrived. After the Zamboni had scraped the rest of the snow, the ice was in good shape. But the snow kept coming and the rink was soon covered again.

The weather didn't stop people from coming the rink. Some of the boys played hockey despite the snow, while others stayed in the rinkhouse and played checkers.

At about 8:30, Grace, who has a regular Tuesday-night permit, stopped by to make sure the rink staffer knew about the permit. A little while later, the first of the permit group arrived. They played checkers while deciding whether to go ahead with the game in the snow. The rink attendant offered to bring out the green shovels again.

Since the permit group was short-handed, they let the local players share the ice. Together the permit group and the local players cleared the ice using the green shovels, while the rink staffer cleared the snow from the gates. That done, the people on the ice put their sticks in the middle of the ice, and chose sides in the time-honoured way. Sticks were thrown left and right. Which way your stick went determined which team you were on. Despite the snow there was a lively game of shinny.

Normally, the rinkhouse closes at 9 and Grace's group takes off their skates outside. However, looking at the snow piling down, the rink staffer didn't have the heart to lock the players out. He worked stayed later so that the hockey players could change indoors.

Dufferin Grove

Saturday December 13 2008

Weather: High plus 2, low minus 12. Mostly cloudy with here and there a little sun. Light snowflurries beginning about 8 pm.

Saturday is a day of lots of little-kids' shinny hockey. Today it was packed. First it was 12 and under from 12 to 1.30, then it was 9 and under from 1.30 to 3 (both with parent or - in a pinch -- a cousin). With so many little skaters, surely Dufferin Rink will send someone to the NHL some day.

In the afternoon there were too many people, everything was crowded. This is the result of rental skates, in part -- so many new people come and rent the $2 skates, including lots of youth, and then they have to be stopped from racing around the ice and bumping into people.

One very nice thing: new park friends from R.V.Burgess Park in the Thorncliffe Park area came to the rink to check it out for the Thorncliffe Park Women's Committee. They had a look at everything in the park, and the three kids who had come with the group, got some loaner skates and practised skating. There was time for some good Zamboni cafe food and conversation. One of the women came from Kabul in Afghanistan, and she described an overn they used to bake in while she was at university, working at a summer job. She was very enthusiastic about cooking over fire, and making tea, and the possibility of picnics where food could be prepared in such an oven. Perhaps the Dufferin Rec staff will help them put together a winter campfire at R.V.Burgess Park.

At closing time a young man and woman came to return their rental skates. They said they are German, and are here doing graduate work in philosophy at the University of Toronto. The rink staff person taking the skates was curious, and the young man explained a bit about his study of Aristotle. The rink staff said she actually preferred Heidegger, and gave her reasons.

Will these German students go back to Germany saying that in Canada, skate lending is usually combined with philosophy?

Humber Valley

Wednesday December 10 2008

7.30pm -- the rink had good ice, a bit snowy but no problem for skaters. A dozen youth were on the ice with an instructor, having full equipment hockey drills. They had an odd drill where two lines of kids on either side of the rink shot pucks back and forth to each other while other kids took turns running the gauntlet down the middle, trying, I guess, not to get hit. Nobody raised the puck so it didn't seem dangerous, but it was different.

Inside the change room there were another dozen younger boys just changing out of their equipment, and as soon as they left, another crew of kids arrived to get ready for their time.

The rink operator said that the Humber Valley Hockey Association has the ice every evening, and it was those kids who filed in and out according to their time.

The operator said that they do the ice with a newer machine but not a zamboni. The new machine was broken and he was having to use the old one. Even so, the ice was all right, despite the bad snow/rain combination yesterday. But the operator says that he'd like it if the city stopped auctioning off its old $60,000 zambonis for $1000, and placed them in the "major" rinks instead.

The operator said he is a lead hand, but there are also Arena Pool Operators (APO2s) doing ice maintenance for the unboarded rinks they call "minor" rinks in Etobicoke. They do basically the same work for $5 an hour less, and (as the CUPE Local 416 web site says) this will be the source of so many grievances that the arrangement probably can't last.

The operator had worked at the Park Lawn "Bubble" rink and told more stories about it. Apparently the Humber valley Hockey Association bought the bubble for over $250,000 about 14 years ago, in return for getting a reduction for their hockey time -- which is about 80% of the time at Park Lawn. That worked all right, but now the bubble is getting old -- four year after it's "best before" date, and it's unclear what will happen to it. The public skating time is packed -- 150 or more kids from the surrounding apartments, with only two rink guards. The area is predominantly Eastern European, frugal, and without much money. The operator said he's seen brothers come to skate, with one of them skating for 20 minutes and then then taking the skates off so the other brother can have a turn. Apparently there used to be snack and hot chocolate machines and even a skate sharpening machine there, but they've all been taken out because everything gets damaged.

No wonder, with so little public skating time -- it must frustrate people. And the operator says it's pretty hard to get rink guards, when they only have two hours of work at minimum wage -- nobody wants that job.

An hour later, downtown at Trinity and Christie Rinks, there was public over-18 shinny at both rinks. Trinity had 28 out on the ice, 12 in the boxes, and another four guys just arriving. Christie had about as many on their open shinny time, and then a permit came and everyone got off for them. The permit was mixed men-women, again over 20 people. Same story from the time school lets out, only that before 7 it's younger teens, then little kids and parents. There are rink guards, and the wood supply for the "hot stove" at Christie is neatly stacked against the wall. Last night the skates for rent were still being sorted, but they exist.

Different cultures, in a way. A "major" rink like Humber Valley could be called a "working rink." The downtown rinks are more "playing rinks." Nobody from the downtown rinks is going into the NHL (but some of the Humber Valley kids might). Downtown the skaters just get on the ice and play shinny, sometimes for three hours at a stretch, since there's so much free public ice time compared to the Etobicoke and North York rinks. Or on the single pads, during the pleasure-skating time slots, they skate around with their friends, or play British Bulldog when the rink guard has his back turned. At Humber Valley the times are shorter and the hockey skills approach is more serious.

Different strokes. But more public time slots might be helpful at this Humber Valley Rink and others like it, to spread the joy of skating more broadly.

Ledbury

Friday December 12 2008

Aty 2.15 the rink had 7 shinny hockey players at one end, three pleasure skaters, and a large family of eight more skaters just arriving in the rink change house. The rink is so long that the shinny hockey players and the other skaters seem to be able to share the ice without bothering one another. The rink change area is clean and inviting, with lots of benches and a great view of the ice.

Otter Creek

Friday December 12 2008

At 2.30 pm Otter Creek Rink had 21 enthusiastic shinny hockey players on the hockey side and another 17 on the pleasure-skating side, with many more in the players' boxes. They said it's exam time (the rink is right by Lawrence Park Collegiate) and a lot of the kids had the afternoon off. What better thing to do than play hockey?

A mother who was there with two young children said that normally the rink is pretty quiet on weekday afternoons. She didn't mind that on this day both rink pads were full of shinny players -- they were letting her little boy play along with them and the mom said -- this is one of the best days of his life!

Prince of Wales

Sunday December 7 2008

This is one of the most impressively located rinks in the city, with a huge view of the lake and the Toronto skyline. At 11 a.m. The ice was in excellent condition, but there were no skaters. The front door had no sign announcing the rink opening date. The rink operator was friendly and informative, though, and said they had been preparing the rinks for two weeks already. So it was no wonder that the ice was so much better than at the downtown rinks, some of which had only three days of preparation.

The rink operator said she hopes to get together a rink staff hockey team to play for fun this season. She said that that one of the rink guards at this rink was a former member of the Canadian Women's Hockey Team -- so the pace of the hockey ought to be pretty fast.

Rennie

Friday Nov.28, 2008

Good ice, with the zamboni flooding. The zamboni has the Toronto Maple Leafs on it, even though they didn't give the zamboni -- in return for giving the boards and the scoreboard three years ago, the Leafs got to "wrap" some pictures on the zamboni. The images show kids playing hockey, bound (maybe) for the NHL.

The rink staff said that they began to cool the rink with the compressors over a week ago (Nov.20) and they started ice-making on last weekend. But then the weather wrecked the first layer and they had to begin again on Tuesday Nov.25.

Sunday December 7 2008

Rennie Rink ice is thick and excellent after one week open. Inside there's lots of chat among neighbours waiting for their kids to have their figure skating lesson. A young man sells pre-wrapped Dad's cookies and he makes hot chocolate by the cup (with baby marshmallows). He says the reason he sits at a table in the middle of the room with his kettle and his cups is that he doesn't want to raise wrong expectations in the buyers -- doesn't want people to think he's got more to sell.

All proceeds on Sunday morning go to the Swansea Figure Skating Assocation. The cookie seller is not a figure skater himself -- he says he's manning the snack table because he's working off his school community hours.

Wednesday December 17

At 8.30 pm the large parking lot is full to capacity -- it's girls' hockey night and every change-room is full. Lots of parents/friends watching, some standing beside the rink and some looking down from the changeroom above. The snack bar is open, staffed by three young guys who say they're doing this as volunteer hours. Zero healthy snacks! Just chips and chocolate bars and pre-wrapped cookies. They say that on Saturday the menu is more varied, even including toasted bagels.

Two hockey teams on the hockey side and 17 pleasure-skaters on the other side.

The zamboni operator doesn't know when this rink was cleared from last night's snow -- but when he came on duty at 3 pm, it was all done. He says he cleans the ice often, up to five times a shift.

2007-2008 season

City Hall (Nathan Phillips Square)

Friday Feb.22

The zamboni driver said, "I love this job so much." Good ice, and happy skaters.

Saturday Feb.2

The last day of Winterfest, with a remarkable fire display from France:

There was so much fire all over the square -- it looked beautiful but the smoke was pretty intense, and acrid. Happily, there was no one crying out, "stay back," or, "don't touch, you'll get hurt!" But the skate lineups looked like they'd last for an hour, so a little boy at the side set to work making a snowman. He said, "this is the first snowman I've ever made." His father said that's because they've been here in Canada for less than a year. He'd like his son to learn winter things like skating, and even to learn it himself, but the lineups at City Hall are too long.

And indeed the lineups were impressive. Nor was there very much food around -- but fire and food go together! Maybe on another occasion some of the good campfire cooks in the city will make a fire event around City Hall rink that also involves food.

But it was very impressive.

Saturday November 24

Diary entry by M. Monastyrskyj

Cold overcast day. Minus 1 celsius. Arrived at 12:15pm. The rink is busy but not too full. The ice is snowy and ready to be cleaned. There are two rink guards on the ice. At 12:35 they ask people to get off and when that's done, the Zamboni starts to clean and flood the ice. The driver is slow and careful. He does a good job. The flooding takes 15 minutes. One guard remains on the ice to make sure skaters stay off. (A Zamboni driver later tells me the guard is necessary, because people tend to treat the Zamboni as a toy rather than the potentially dangerous piece of machinery it is.) I count fifty people wearing skates standing on the side waiting to go back on.

After the Zamboni finishes its job, I put on my own skates. I change on the benches surrounding the rink as do most of the other skaters. The concrete benches on the south side are covered in snow. A lot of people just leave their shoes by the side, but some, including myself, put them in the lockers that are available for a quarter in the change room. The change room itself is just a narrow corridor with lockers on one side and a door to the employees room on the other. There is a long rubber mat, but it only extends half-way into the room. Half the floor is bare concrete. There is no room for chairs or benches. Even though there is barely enough room to sit, a few people do change on the hard floor.

The rink at Nathan Phillips Square is different than a typical neighbourhood rink. For one thing, it is larger. For another, there are no hockey boards. Also, and I wasn't ready for this, there is a one-foot drop from the side to the ice surface. I had to be careful getting on and off the ice. I had trouble the first time, because I wasn't used to it. I saw parents helping their young children get on and off. Also, some of the teenagers would jump onto the ice and the momentum would carry them into the middle of the ice. I saw a couple near-collisions when teenagers jumped onto the surface.

Overall, the ice is good. It's hard but not quite as smooth as I would have hoped. (It's possible my expectations are too high for an outdoor rink at this time of year.) Unfortunately, the ice was not cleaned for at least another three hours. (See below.)

There is now one rink guard on the ice. He appears to be wearing an iPod. Now and again a child without skates goes on to the ice. I see the guard politely tell one father that children can't go on without skates. The father listens. When another father asks the guard if he would mind taking a picture of him and his family, the guard obliges. The guard is sometimes there, sometimes not. At one point, I see the guard sitting on a bench talking on his cell phone.

In general, the skaters are orderly. A few teenagers are playing tag. Pretty much everyone else is skating in circles. The atmosphere is friendly and people are having a good time. Lots of smiling and laughing. Plenty of people on and off the ice are taking pictures. A middle-aged couple is holding hands. I saw one father skating around the ice with his young child on his shoulders. Fun for the child, but hardly safe. I didn't see the rink guard then.

The skaters are diverse: different ages, sexes and ethnic backgrounds. Some are experienced skaters, others seem to be trying on skates for the first time. (Skates can be rented at the rink. It costs $9 ($7 children) to rent skates for two hours. A credit card, driver's license or other government-issued ID is required as is a $40 cash deposit. Helmets can be rented for $5. Hats, gloves, socks and laces are on sale. Skate sharpening costs $5. Fast food is available from food trucks parked on Queen, south of the Square.)

I skated for three hours because I wanted to see whether my first impressions would hold up. They did. The number of skaters varied but the whole time I was there the atmosphere remained friendly. The opening ceremony of the City's Cavalcade of Lights celebration was on that evening and performers were doing sound checks while I was there. There was also music from the radio playing over loudspeakers on top of the building at the west end of the rink. The music from the radio wasn't very loud.

The ice quality, however, began to deteriorate because of the lack of cleaning. At about 3:30 I approached the Zamboni driver and asked him how often the ice gets cleaned. He says they try to clean it every two hours, but it depends. For example, when there's a special event like the Cavalcade of Lights opening ceremony, the number of people crowded onto the ice makes it impractical to clear the rink for the Zamboni. The driver told me he couldn't go on right then, because no rink guard was available to keep people off the ice. When I left the Square at 3:50pm, the ice still had not been cleaned.

Saturday Nov.24, 10.15 pm

The rink was full of snow at this point, and also full of skaters -- maybe a hundred or more. All staff had gone and the skate rental was closed but the lights were still on and people still looked like they were having a good time.

Queensway

Sunday February 24

3:30pm Twenty hockey players of all ages ranging from adults to little boys are playing an energetic game of shinny. Some of the players are wearing helmets. Some aren't. Three more boys are playing on their own at the east end of the rink next to the boardwalk where people put on their skates. The ice is snowy but otherwise in good shape except for the edges where it's soft.

12:30-1:15pm The weather is warm and the snow in the park is starting to melt. The ice, however, is in pretty good shape. When the CELOS researcher starts skating, he notices that the ice is a little soft especially along the edges where some melting is noticeable. Nonetheless the ice is more than good enough for pleasure skating and hockey. Fourteen people are playing a game of shinny. The players are of various ages ranging from young boys to adults. Two of the players are teenage girls. Both girls are good players and can easily keep up with the boys. Of the fourteen players only one little boy is wearing a helmet.

The shinny game dominates the ice, but there are other skaters. In one corner near the entrance, a father and is young son are passing a puck back and forth. The little boy looks to be four or five years old. Another teenager is shooting the puck by himself. Three young teenagers are pleasure skating. They skate around the edge of the rink, but sometimes have to stop because of the hockey players. There are also a few moms without skates standing on the wooden boardwalk where people put on their skates.

After a while, some of the hockey players decide to leave while new players arrive. All the players put their sticks in the middle of the ice and new sides are chosen by having one player toss sticks to one side of the rink or another. After the sides are chosen, one adult jokingly says, "There is a no trade rule here." A half hour later the sticks are put in the middle of the ice again and new sides are chosen.

At 1:15pm there are 21 people at the rink, 17 wearing skates.

Valleyfield

Saturday March 1

11am The ice has been cleared of the snow that fell last night and is in good shape. There are 3 adult men and five children skating at the rink. No one is playing hockey. One of the fathers comments that the ice is "pretty good, actually." None of the skaters was here when the ice was cleaned, but they say it must have been earlier in the morning.

Sunday February 24

7:15-8pm There are 19 people at the rink when CELOS arrives. Eleven are on skates. The rest are parents and other family who have come along with the skaters.

The ice is hard and smooth, but very snowy. A couple of the hockey players wonder why the Zamboni doesn't come more often.

During a previous CELOS daytime visit, some young hockey players complained that the lights aren't bright enough at night. However, on another visit two older players disagreed, saying that while the lights didn't reach all the corners, they were bright enough. This is CELOS' first night-time visit to Valleyfield. The lights could be a little brighter, but they are adequate. As the older players said, the corners are a little dark, but the light does cover most of the ice surface. Some of the people know each other and there is a lot of friendly conversation. The skaters are of all ages. There are several parents with young children. Some of the parents are on skates, some are not. The rink is unsupervised so there is no one here to tell the parents without skates to stay off the ice. Also, there is no one here to make skaters wear helmets. Some children and hockey players do wear helmets, but many don't.

Five boys decide to play a game of shinny. They choose sides by putting their sticks in the middle of the ice and having one boy toss the sticks to either side of the rink. The shinny game dominates most of the ice, but there is still room for other hockey players as well as pleasure skating. During the 45 minutes that CELOS is at the rink, people are coming and going.

Saturday February 23

2pm There are 13 hockey players on the ice, mostly teenagers who appear to be 14-15 years old. Most of the ice surface is being used for a fast-paced game of shinny. At one end of the rink, three hockey players ares playing a separate game. On another side of the rink a father is playing hockey with his young boy.

During a previous CELOS visit, some young hockey players complained that the lights aren't bright enough at night. The players said half the rink is covered in darkness. On this visit, CELOS asked two older hockey players about this. The older players said the lights are bright enough. They said the lights don't quite reach all the corners, but do cover most of the ice. The older players don't see this as a problem.

10:30am There are sixteen people at the rink: 10 hockey players, 3 pleasure skaters and 3 moms sitting on the bleachers by the side of the rink. The moms have brought their own food to the rink. The ice is in good shape.

Saturday January 12

2:15pm The ice is in good shape. There are six pleasure skaters. An older man who is there with a few young girls says that about 4pm the rink will be filled with shinny players.

Saturday December 8

1pm This is a single pad rink with no nets or boards. The changerooms are locked. The ice pad is located at the bottom of a hill. There is snow and ice on the steps leading down to the rink from the parking lot, but they have been salted a little. There are 17 shinny players on the ice. It is a fast-paced game. The players are good skaters and have obviously had a lot of practice. One of them is a girl. Two men are standing on the side watching the game. One of them says Valleyfield is "a nice little spot, always busy." The other man says he sees boys playing shinny here in the morning when he's on his way to work. The rink was open a few days earlier than Dec 8.

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Content last modified on December 21, 2008, at 08:30 PM EST