Location

Roxborough Ave at Schofield. See Satellite Map

Phone: 416-392-0914

Schedule

See Schedule tab

City Councillor

The City Councillor for this rink is Councillor Wong-Tam

Rosedale Rink Profile

Rink change area: Seperate mens and womens changerooms. Coffee and pop machines present. Bathrooms were clean on our visit. The rink and changerooms are wheelchair accessible. The only parking available is on the residential streets nearby. Editor's blog about Rosedale Rink.

Staff: usually none there. Weekend building attendant very friendly.

Maintenance: Flying Squad with zamboni or front-end loader. No large green shovels on site, building attendants and rink users may not help shovel the rink.

Free shinny-hockey and pleasure-skating hours:

2011-2012

Free Pleasure-skating: Available a total of 10 hours a week, during prime time.

Free Shinny hockey: Available a total of 32:30 hours a week, during prime time.

This is a single pad rink. Shinny is available at scheduled times.

Women's Shinny: Wednesday night 9pm-10pm.

*prime time means after 4pm weekdays and all day on weekends

 

Cost to run this rink.

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Comments about this rink: e-mail us at rinkissues@cityrinks.ca.

Opening and closing dates:

Opens: Dec 1, 2012
Closes: Feb 24, 2013

Rink Diary 2012 - 2013

See also: Editor's and Rink Users' blog

Rosedale Rink - Saturday December 8, 2012, from Will Lam

8pm-10pm Adult Shinny was quiet -- only 7 men showed with most in their twenties; and two men in their sixties. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to include a newcomer (myself) joining in.

This rink is in a secluded area in wealthy Rosedale. There is only the single hockey rink with a well-kept change room and plenty of rubber mats to walk to and from the rink and change room. Due to its secluded location and the neighbourhood, there is quite a disparity between rink users at Rosedale and rinks like Dufferin. However, nearby Ramsden, and still in the affluent area (but quite visible off of Yonge) has had near overwhelming numbers during the Adult Shinny hours in the evening.

There was quite a bitter wind this night, but the rink was quite sheltered being in a park surrounded by mansions and trees. The ice was decent for being at least a week into the scheduled opening of the rink, but the recent warm weather and rain made the ice soft, but good enough to skate on. There was no staff on-site and I did not ask other users if the rink had opened on schedule on December 1

Thursday December 13, 2012, from William Lam

Last week at Ramsden Rink, a rink staff person told everyone at Adult Shinny to wear helmets the next time they played. Most everyone murmured to each other that they would do so (whether they meant to or not). Last night at Rosedale the single rink staff on duty confronted me as I arrived at the rink. She asked me very strongly whether I had a helmet. When I told her I did not she was very insistent that I and all the others had to play with helmets or that the next time we came without helmets she said we might not be allowed to play (!).

I told her that I sincerely doubted their ability to enforce this and to make players comply and that at Dufferin this is not enforced and hasn't been for years. She said that she would normally let us play at our own risk, but the City supervisor for the rinks would be coming to do inspections. What was she to do if the supervisor saw that they were not enforcing the policy? I asked then if there would be repercussions for rink staff and she was not at all sure.

She then said she was going to kick all the players off the rink at 10pm. This is when the rink closes, but the lights remain on for a longer period and, over the past few nights I have played, the other rink staff have been good enough to let everyone play on. At Dufferin, the rink staff allow users to play on unsupervised time from 9pm-11pm on the pleasure skating side during the permits on the hockey side and until the lights go off. I wonder why this can't happen here as long as rink staff don't mind putting the nets up and locking the rink later than 10pm.

The rink was quite busy during Adult Shinny -- quite a contrast to the past week with barely 6-8 players showing up. Now there were roughly 30 players and a goalie. At 9:45pm the same rink staff lady came on the ice and shouted that there was 15 minutes left until she locked the rink. Sure enough, at 10pm she came on and told everyone to get off. The game did stop but a number of stragglers continued to play with their friends. Others were angry and called her names behind her back. It did seem ridiculous to end the night while the bright lights shone on. However, I did not argue as the official closing time for the rink is at 10pm according to the Rosedale Rink page on the City website.

The lady hovered by the gate to the rink waiting for everyone to leave. As I was leaving I offered to help putting the nets up which she politely declined. I wished her a good evening, while she had a worried look at the 8-10 players that had not yet left the ice.

I'm now reviewing that, as of a few years ago and very likely to the present, there have been zero claims against the City for unhelmeted injuries on outdoor rinks. Next time I will inform the rink staff of this -- if they are worried about liability. If it is concussions we're worried about, helmets are no guarantee against such a thing. The lady seems worried about her and the staff's accountability if the supervisor shows up and reprimands them over this. I find this curious at Rosedale as the rink staff are often not onsite and last night was an exception. I wonder if the next time I show up sans helmet if I she will try and bar me from playing? I wonder if the supervisor is Kevin Mercer, supervisor of active living?

January 30, 2013

rink change room at left, tennis club on right

gate to tennis club section always open

windowless rink house section

tennis club, with windows, part of the same building

entryway is mainly vending machines

little warren of separated rooms

Interesting difference of approach between the comfortable tennis club on one side, with couch and chairs and signs of sociability, versus the windowless rink side. The message seems to be "put on your skates and get out." There is a staff person on site but he mainly stays in a windowless, unlabelled staff room at the end of the building.

Read More >>

See Diaries tab

Views of the rink

Rosedale Rink

Rosedale Rink An evening view

From The City of Toronto Website 2012-13

For the skating schedule, go to Rosedale Rink page on the City website, then click on Skating.

For up to date listings of open rinks (not the same as scheduled openings), see Current Conditions on the cityrinks.ca Home Page

If you notice a different schedule at your rink, please let us know mail@cityrinks.ca
See also the City of Toronto Outdoor Rinks web pages.

Notes

Toronto by the blade

by Dave Bidini, The Toronto Star

Feb. 20, 2005

11 a.m., Rosedale Rink: The Rosedale rink is adjacent to Rosedale park, the site of the first-ever Grey Cup game. It turns out that I've missed the game; there are only five hockey players left on the ice. A rink attendant tells me: "The shinny here is so famous that guys from Maple come down to play, which is weird because I spent my life getting out of Maple."

Sometimes, he leaves the rink key for players who want to play first thing in the morning (Eric Lindros, Jim McKenny and Stu Gavin have all skated the ice), and last year, scrubs lobbied and won the right to start games at 8 a.m., the earliest opening in the city. Today, there were 40 skaters, but the rink is now snowy and ragged. Still, I fire a few pucks, poke a few ribs. Inside the change room I come across the oldest Nescafe machine I've ever seen, with pictures of a guy who looks like Art Hindle drinking coffee with a girl who looks like Trudy Young. I like the Rosedale rink.

Rink Diary 2012 - 2013

See also: Editor's and Rink Users' blog

Rosedale Rink - Saturday December 8, 2012, from Will Lam

8pm-10pm Adult Shinny was quiet -- only 7 men showed with most in their twenties; and two men in their sixties. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to include a newcomer (myself) joining in.

This rink is in a secluded area in wealthy Rosedale. There is only the single hockey rink with a well-kept change room and plenty of rubber mats to walk to and from the rink and change room. Due to its secluded location and the neighbourhood, there is quite a disparity between rink users at Rosedale and rinks like Dufferin. However, nearby Ramsden, and still in the affluent area (but quite visible off of Yonge) has had near overwhelming numbers during the Adult Shinny hours in the evening.

There was quite a bitter wind this night, but the rink was quite sheltered being in a park surrounded by mansions and trees. The ice was decent for being at least a week into the scheduled opening of the rink, but the recent warm weather and rain made the ice soft, but good enough to skate on. There was no staff on-site and I did not ask other users if the rink had opened on schedule on December 1

Thursday December 13, 2012, from William Lam

Last week at Ramsden Rink, a rink staff person told everyone at Adult Shinny to wear helmets the next time they played. Most everyone murmured to each other that they would do so (whether they meant to or not). Last night at Rosedale the single rink staff on duty confronted me as I arrived at the rink. She asked me very strongly whether I had a helmet. When I told her I did not she was very insistent that I and all the others had to play with helmets or that the next time we came without helmets she said we might not be allowed to play (!).

I told her that I sincerely doubted their ability to enforce this and to make players comply and that at Dufferin this is not enforced and hasn't been for years. She said that she would normally let us play at our own risk, but the City supervisor for the rinks would be coming to do inspections. What was she to do if the supervisor saw that they were not enforcing the policy? I asked then if there would be repercussions for rink staff and she was not at all sure.

She then said she was going to kick all the players off the rink at 10pm. This is when the rink closes, but the lights remain on for a longer period and, over the past few nights I have played, the other rink staff have been good enough to let everyone play on. At Dufferin, the rink staff allow users to play on unsupervised time from 9pm-11pm on the pleasure skating side during the permits on the hockey side and until the lights go off. I wonder why this can't happen here as long as rink staff don't mind putting the nets up and locking the rink later than 10pm.

The rink was quite busy during Adult Shinny -- quite a contrast to the past week with barely 6-8 players showing up. Now there were roughly 30 players and a goalie. At 9:45pm the same rink staff lady came on the ice and shouted that there was 15 minutes left until she locked the rink. Sure enough, at 10pm she came on and told everyone to get off. The game did stop but a number of stragglers continued to play with their friends. Others were angry and called her names behind her back. It did seem ridiculous to end the night while the bright lights shone on. However, I did not argue as the official closing time for the rink is at 10pm according to the Rosedale Rink page on the City website.

The lady hovered by the gate to the rink waiting for everyone to leave. As I was leaving I offered to help putting the nets up which she politely declined. I wished her a good evening, while she had a worried look at the 8-10 players that had not yet left the ice.

I'm now reviewing that, as of a few years ago and very likely to the present, there have been zero claims against the City for unhelmeted injuries on outdoor rinks. Next time I will inform the rink staff of this -- if they are worried about liability. If it is concussions we're worried about, helmets are no guarantee against such a thing. The lady seems worried about her and the staff's accountability if the supervisor shows up and reprimands them over this. I find this curious at Rosedale as the rink staff are often not onsite and last night was an exception. I wonder if the next time I show up sans helmet if I she will try and bar me from playing? I wonder if the supervisor is Kevin Mercer, supervisor of active living?

January 30, 2013

rink change room at left, tennis club on right

gate to tennis club section always open

windowless rink house section

tennis club, with windows, part of the same building

entryway is mainly vending machines

little warren of separated rooms

Interesting difference of approach between the comfortable tennis club on one side, with couch and chairs and signs of sociability, versus the windowless rink side. The message seems to be "put on your skates and get out." There is a staff person on site but he mainly stays in a windowless, unlabelled staff room at the end of the building.

Read More >>

Rink Diary 2011 - 2012

Saturday Dec.3 2011

Although at 9.30 a.m the city's website said this rink will open today, at 11.30 a.m. it's still being hose-flooded (in hazy sunlight!) by two city staff, cement visible. Early shinny permit was turned away. There is no sign on the bulletin board, about when the rink will open. Late in the day the website was changed to "closed."

11 a.m. Dec.3: still being hose-flooded, cement showing

empty bulletin board, no opening date

Sunday Dec.4 2011

4:10 pm: It's raining, no one around, this season's schedule is up but rink and washrooms are locked. Concrete is visible at edges of the ice. No signs about when the rink may open -- only extra underlining about wearing helmets for shinny hockey.

raining on thin ice

schedule up now, but no opening date info

Saturday Dec.10 2011

6.30 pm: A lively shinny hockey game, and the ice looks fine now. There are twelve teenage shinny hockey players, with one puck on the ice, ten subs in each box. Seven of the skaters were wearing helmets, the rest not. No sign of any staff around.

lots of shinny players, Saturday night

Sunday Dec.11 2011

At 3.30 the last shinny players were just straggling home, and the ice was given over to pleasure-skating. The ice seems fine now, except for a mushy patch against the south-facing boards, especially by the gate.

Sunday afternoon skaters

very mushy ice at the gate

The inside of the rink change area has been given a fresh coat of paint and it looks new faucets have been installed in the rink washrooms. It looks tidy but the cramped, windowless room divisions leave no open social space -- too bad. On the other side of the wall is the tennis clubhouse, with a great space, with couches and kitchen area and windows looking out to the court. Two separate worlds!

The building attendant was sweeping when we were there. He said he has a hard time persuading the shinny players that their time is up -- today it took him about twenty minutes to get them off the ice.

fresh paint and new sinks in the rink change house

crossed-out rink schedule

Monday Dec.12 2011

Letter to cityrinks.ca from Rosedale shinny player M.P.:

Letter to cityrinks.ca, from Rosedale rink user R.K.:

Response from cityrinks.ca:

Cityrinks.ca is not a city-run website -- we're people who just want the rinks to work as well as they can.

Skaters from the Rosedale early-morning weekend shinny times contacted us in other years because of ice maintenance problems, which city staff then improved. Hopefully this problem will be quickly worked out as well.

As you said, your early-morning weekend permits are very well used. It's puzzling that someone changed those scheduled times without consulting the Rosedale shinny players. Also puzzling is why the city's official schedule, attached to the right of your entry gates, is all crossed out (photo attached, taken at the side of the rink) in favour of a different, paper schedule.

Two people who can help are your City Councillor Wong-Tam (cc'd here) and Sue Bartleman, the new recreation manager for your area (also cc'd). Councillor Wong-Tam's office can be reached at 416 392-7903.

Please keep us posted about the resolution of this problem, so we can add the information to the Rosedale rink diary pages.

Sunday Dec.19 2011

From rink user Ryan Cram: Adult shiny for sundays will be back to the original time slot of 9-11am starting this week.

Unfortunately the rink is close this sunday (dec 25th) and next (jan 1).

First useable day will be jan 8th.

Read More >>

Diary 2010 - 2011, Rink Diary 2009 - 2010, Diary 2008-2009, RinkDiary2006-2007, Rink Diary 2003 - 2004