The Rink at the 'barns has been in and being skated on for weeks now, which puts us ahead of last year by almost an entire month. Of course, the recent rain did the rink no favors, (insert pic of pocked rink surface here)  and there will be a lot of flooding to be done once the weather drops to below zero again. There are spots in the rink surface where solar gain has surfaced patches of grass and even the face of a watering access plate in the middle of the hockey area. Please, when the weather is above zero and the surface of the rink is at all soft, keep off the rink until it gets colder! (insert picture of one guy taking shots on net here)

There is an ancient tradition involving the rink; as Christmas trees are undecorated from their homes, they can be carried to the rink and stood up in the snow banks built up around the edges. The city comes and picks up the lot of them as soon as spring happens. This tradition dates back to when the Lord Of The Rink cut a little hobbit hole in the fence to pull his garden hose through to make the first rink, some 7 or 8 years ago. Now, there are many Rink Warriors who help to do all the work needed, from learning how to flood to showing up and shovelling. In fact there are teams of volunteers who keep the rink happening early in the mornings and every evening the weather co-operates.

Flooding is from about 6am any morning that the weather is below zero. This requires a team of two at least, to help with the heavy hoses and to shovel if necessary. Every evening the weather is below zero, shovellers are needed around 9pm to clear the rink and prepare for the flooding team. Then, there are more shovellers needed. If you can help, please call Peter at 416 658 3337 to become a Rink Warrior.

-RWRoscoe
staying cool.