SUNDRE- After endeavouring to get the ice surface ready at the community outdoor rink adjacent to the Sundre Skatepark, municipal employees officially opened it to the public last Thursday.
Sue Nelson, community services manager, said that staff efforts had been hampered and delayed by the weather as well as a suspected issue with the plastic liner under the ice.
Up until early last week, the rink was already largely finished, with the exception of the surface’s north edge along the boards, said Nelson.
“We were having a heck of a hard time getting water to stay there,” she said.
Crews continued their efforts last week, when temperatures dropped, further attempting to flood the ice surface to patch up the edge, she said.
Although not 100 per cent certain, Nelson said the issue most likely stemmed from the plastic liner underneath, and that next year, it won’t be used, instead simply waiting until the ground freezes over.
Although not in the foreseeable future, Nelson hopes the municipality will one day be able to allocate funding to lay a concrete pad.
“That’s my wish.”
The weather this year was also a factor, she said, adding temperatures ranging above freezing during the holidays did not exactly help very much.
“There’s no way we could make ice.”
But with temperatures dropping last week, she expressed optimism last Wednesday that it was just a matter of time and a couple more floods.
Now officially open to the public free of charge, the outdoor rink is available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., when the lights are shut off. The site was upgraded a few years ago with lighting so people could enjoy some evening and night skating since it gets dark so early at this time of year.
During the holidays, some people did venture out onto the ice, and simply steered clear of the surface’s incomplete section, she said.
“People have been skating on it,” she said, adding the municipality has signage outlining rules and that members of the public use the rink at their own risk.
“I was hoping lowering public skating fees would help people come out to the indoor rink,” she said.
As of last week, the public skate fees for the Sundre Arena were reduced, with youth up to the age of 17 skating free of charge, adults paying $2 and seniors 60 years of age or older paying $1. Fees for sticks and pucks, held on alternate days from public skates, were set at $3.50 across the board, she said.
