Following a minor delay, the recently completed outdoor rink is now officially open for the public to use free of charge.
Unfortunately, volunteers who had initially committed to helping the municipality maintain the site reconsidered after being sent three-page waiver forms that have since been replaced by a simplified one-page document.
But as of last week, none of the new waivers had been submitted.
So without assistance from members of the community, Town of Sundre staff will now assume full responsibility of maintaining the ice, which is located immediately adjacent to the skatepark across the street from the high school.
That means the original plans were somewhat modified. While a schedule had initially been planned to make available opportunities for sticks and pucks, as well as family skates in which parents and guardians could take out their children without worrying about flying pucks and swinging sticks, there will instead basically be a first-come, first-served free-for-all.
The municipality also now intends to install discretionary use signage and local officials additionally encourage everyone to use appropriate safety equipment such as helmets, to be considerate of other skaters, and to ensure young children are adequately supervised.
While it’s too bad the volunteers ended up essentially withdrawing, perhaps the cart was placed before the horse. Important details such as confirmed volunteer commitments outlining responsibilities in writing probably should have been worked out before proceeding with deploying the outdoor rink, rather than the other way around.
At least donations from several businesses helped make the project a reality by providing and installing light standards and connecting them to the power grid, so residents can come out to skate at night without dangerously stumbling around in the dark.
So despite the hiccups that led to changes in the original plans, the community now not only has an outdoor rink, but the potential for even more recreational opportunities in the future.
Although still very much in the early discussion stage, a possible future project could involve creating a permanent hard surface that would not only make it easier to prepare the rink in the future, but also accommodate a multi-purpose court for summer sports such as, for example, tennis, basketball or ball hockey.
In the meantime, now that warmer weather has finally offered us a much-welcome reprieve from the recent deep freeze, the timing could not be much more perfect to try out the outdoor rink.
Just please be mindful and courteous of other users, as well as safely share the ice with those who might still be learning to stay balanced upright on their skates.
— Simon Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
