We would like to nominate the Assiniboia Outdoor rink.

This rink is located next door to our indoor rink and is full of skaters from dawn until well into the evenings.  The lights on the rink make it a great place for the kids to hang out and play some shinny under the Saskatchewan night sky. This is a free space for our Community members to enjoy, as our indoor rink is busy busy during hockey season!

Often times kids will leave their skates on after practice, and walk on the rubber carpet right out to the outdoor rink to keep the fun going!

Our U-18 Minor Hockey Team and their coach has stepped up to volunteer and take care of the ODR and the warm up shack this season. We are very proud of this team for all their hard work and dedication so everyone can enjoy the rink for the winter. The ODR means a lot to our community especially this year with so many sports getting cancelled it's a place for everyone to use and stay safe. 

I would like to submit the Carrot River ODR for the CARHA Outdoor Rink Contest. Our outdoor rink has been a staple outdoor facility in our community for as long as I remember. I spent many lunch hours skating there as a child growing up in Carrot River, my children and their friends spent even more time there enjoying the space for hours on end as they worked on their shots and built confidence as skaters. My children are grown adults now and have moved away but that rink continues to be used by a new generation of youth and occasionally my children and their peers.

With a heated warm up shack, lights, full boards and puck stop fencing this ODR is easy to enjoy for long periods of time. Volunteers work hard to get ice in every fall and ensure the space is maintained and our local Facilities Manager takes it up a notch by routinely running the Zamboni over the ice, creating one of the best outdoor ice surfaces around.

Thank you for the opportunity to enter one of our communities best spaces!

Churchbridge has an indoor and outdoor rink, with a population of 896. Even with an indoor rink, individuals prefer the outdoor rink and it can be seen with residents from near and far using the rink at all hours of the day. The community also helps shovel off the rink when snowfall occurs, with the Town clearing the area if a major snowfall occurs. Our Town is very diverse with the amount of outdoor recreational opportunities it has and this is just another example of the community coming together to build one. The Churchbridge Volunteer Fire Dept helped flood the area, with Jared Melnyk, Town resident, helping prep the area and running the Zamboni. The outdoor rink was created mainly due to the school aged children unable to skate inside due to COVID restrictions last year, but it was such a hit last year, that the rink is back for a second year.

See a special thank you to the volunteers!

Where people travel far and wide to take a picture at our “Welcome to Eyebrow” sign, or lace ‘em up for a game of shinny on the ol’ ODR! Back in the day, this barn had a roof on it. Today, we battle the elements like real Canadians. We don’t even have a tarp or cement to flood on top of… just dirt. Eyebrow rink is the only ODR for miles around. Drive by any time of the day and you’re likely to see groups of people out for a skate, playing a mildly competetive game in our outdoor rec league, or filming a music video for “The Cooperall Song” (shares by TSN and Spittin’ Chicklets.. check it out!)

I’m nominating Eyebrow ODR and the entire community for putting this together. 

I’d love to nominate our Northside Park Firemen’s Outdoor Rink along with Fire Chief Scott Osborne!

This outdoor rink is heavily utilized and publicly accessible by the community – and has even been home to a few Foam Lake Flyer Minor Hockey practices on particularly mild days!

Each February on Family Day, our community celebrates the day with fun outdoor winter events, usually a community wiener roast, skating, sledding and other great outdoor fun – and we gather at the Firemen’s Outdoor Rink and adjacent Northside Park for these activities.

Our community’s rink is unique in the way that the Outdoor Rink is primarily cared for and maintained by our volunteer Fire Department. They use their water truck to flood and install the ice, and our Fire Chief Scott Osborne, (along with his son Carson) can often be found out shovelling snow away or on their make shift “John Deere Zamboni” – making sure the ice is ready for our community and its future hockey and figure skating stars! Please see pictures of Scott and Carson in action (attached) along with a few more of this “winter hub” in action.

We are so fortunate to have Scott here in Foam Lake – he is a huge volunteer and can usually be seen in the background of our community events, as an organizer, a worker, a designated driver – however he can help – Scott is there lending a helping hand!

All built and maintained by community members. Jorges Langevin, Jesse Langevin, Nova and Tryton Langevin, Jason Kruger, Dawson Kara Dave Bentley, Max Braitenbach, Dan and Morgan Gryacheski ... We love the rink! 

I would like to nominate the Town of La Ronge for their creativity and efforts to continue the tradition of ODRs.

The Town creates and maintains 3 ice surfaces throughout the Winter to facilitate various activities.

Morley Wilson Park Skating Rink
-This surface is built over a tennis court and is typically used by local youth for casual games of shinny.

Patterson Park Skating Trail
-This season, 2021-22, the Town reimagined winter use of one of the parks and successfully built a skating trail loop at Patterson Park.
-This has held events and is always open for skaters that want to skate through the trees with a view of our beautiful lake

Patterson Park Beach Rink
-This season, the Town built their largest ODR ever on the lake. It is a full-sized hockey rink with glowing lights built in the ice that closely resemble a standard hockey rink.
-This space will hold a number of upcoming events to showcase both the local SJHL team: The Icewolves as well as the local Rec Hockey leagues.

Ice Skating and playing Hockey are essential activities in our community, and having accessible ODRs across the Town serving various purposes ensures there’s a suitable option for anyone looking to skate outside.

I would like to nominate the Parks & Recreation Staff: Wade Beatty, Sheldon Arcand, Jordan Denton and Darcy MacMillan for their efforts on the outdoor rinks.

We have 3 skating areas.  We have a skating loop used for skating. We have small rink at a local playground. Popular for shinney. We also made full size rink on the lake, where we installed lights in the ice to replicate a hockey rink. We have pond hockey nets out there and is pretty cool skating at night.  

I'd like to nominate LaRonge Saskatchewan for their efforts in keeping the tradition of outdoor rinks alive and well. The Recreation Department of the town has been active in keeping three rinks open for the community to enjoy. Morley Wilson skating rink, the skating loop at Patterson Park and the crown jewel, the hockey rink on Lac LaRonge at the beach in town. The crew cut into the ice and flooded over LED lights to create a spectacular rink!

It’s great to see the Recreation Department crew’s efforts appreciated as young and old have been using all the rinks.

Westview Park has been a mainstay in Meadow Lake for the last 25 years but took on even greater importance this winter after the Meadow Lake Arena burnt down in June.

Westview has four skating surfaces to cater to all levels of skating, from the kids taking their first strides on the toddler skating surface all the way up to competitive games on the outdoor rink portion.

The park also has a warm shake, skating path, crockicurl and outdoor shuffleboard and is home to the Kickoff to Christmas Celebration December 1^st.

I am proud to nominate Westview Park in Meadow Lake for CARHA Outdoor Rink Contest!

Moosomin Saskatchewan has a Outdoor Hockey Story that will blow your socks off …the first documented Outdoor Rink in Western Canada

In the 1800’s was behind the Rossitor Hotel in Moosomin , Saskatchewan. Over the years ODR’s have been common place. In 2002 a group of volunteers built our new outdoor arena complete with Night Lights , Changeroom , Plexi Glass and its own Zamboni. Then when COVID hit in 2020 we introduced the Skateway in the fall …it adjoins the ODR and uses a common changeroom. It has become a staple for everyone from 2 to 82!!

This arena will see up to 60 kids every night of the winter not only from Moosomin but from neighboring Communities as well. This ODR has played a huge role in developing young hockey players. In the past half dozen years this facility has seen countless young players come ..develop amazing skills ..and then leave Town for hockey. Names like Dakota Boutin (Brandon Wheat Kings), Ryker Cole (Regina Pats), Jesse Gabrielle (Brandon Wheat Kings ), Brayden Holloway ( Portland Winter Hawks ), Dawson Davidson (Saskatoon Blades ), Chevy Schwean (Spokane Chiefs ), Kyle Bochek (Vancouver Giants) , Drayson Skulmoski (Virden Oil Caps), Kayden Skulmoski (Grand Prairie), Mitchell Rutledge (El Paso), Devon McGonigal (Notre Dame).

To this day …every Christmas Night when these kids come home they all head down to the ODR for an 11pm game of shinny with their friends …it really is awesome. I included a picture above. They are on our big ice there but that was because they changed at the indoor rink and skated over to the ODR …it is only 30 yards away from the back door.

Truly an amazing place with amazing stories …in fact one picture we included is of our Community Recreation Plan. This facility is so heavily used and so heavily regarded …after hours of discussion it was chosen to be on the front page of our CRP Manual.

I would like to nominate the Moosomin Borderland Coop Outdoor Rink and Caretaker Peter Nabholz for the Community Outdoor Rink Contest.

The Moosomin Outdoor Rink (ODR) was established in 2004 and for by a group of local business people and citizens. With the town indoor rink being very busy and hard to find public skating times the group thought we should have an outdoor rink to give everyone the opportunity to get out exercise and enjoy the outdoors.

The past 18 years the ODR has been a very busy spot for all ages in the evenings and weekends with people enjoying the rink even in -30 or colder temperatures. You can even see local school classes and seniors spending time on the ice though out the day. 2 years ago we added a skate way to the outdoor rink which utilizes the same warm up shack and it has been a very positive addition and named after local Caretaker Peter Nabholz.

Peter Nabholz was one of the many volunteers that organized the building of the Outdoor Rink and helped move the warm up shack from Montmarte Sk. to its current location and helped build an addition to house the zamboni which is used to maintain the ice. Peter has been the main caretaker of the ODR ever since it was established in 2004 (18 years ago) using the tanker truck from the Fire Dept to get the ice started every winter which takes about 20 loads or 3 floods per day weather permitting to get it built up for the winter season. It is not uncommon to see Peter at the ODR by 6am and putting the last flood on at 10pm each day. He then takes the time to flood each day possible before he heads off to work in the morning having it ready to go for the day and has also volunteered coaching Minor Hockey, the senior team and reffing.

PCU Park is a beautiful space in the heart of Porcupine Plain’s downtown and, in the winter, is home to Porcupine Plain’s Outdoor Rink. The ODR has been around for a few years now, with its creation, maintenance and improvements being a volunteer effort among many groups.  Staff from Affinity Credit Union and Parkland Co-op, along with members of the Porcupine Plain & District Volunteer Fire Department, give generously of their time each year to flood and maintain the outdoor rink.  Through donations from Affinity CU, Parkland Co-op, and Altitude Electric, a warmup shack was built for the ODR; donations have been put towards lighting and other decorations to create a vibrant and welcoming space; and, with funds from a community fundraiser, cement was installed in 2021 in order to make it easier to prepare ice, as well as to make the spot useable for rollerblading or roller hockey in the summer.  It is a fantastic thing to watch our community and its cooperative entities team up for such a great project –residents and visitors love to use the PCU Park outdoor rink! 

Rosemont Mount Royal Community Association operates two rinks in our community through fundraising and volunteers. These rinks are a staple in our community and provide a safe environment for kids to come out and experience hockey & skating.  There are many families in our community from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds who are sometimes experiencing snow and winter for the first time!  The rinks are always filled with the kinship that Canada's favourite pastime provides.  Seasonally, over 2200 people use the rinks, of which 65% are kids.  We also host the Ehrlo Outdoor Hockey League on one of our rinks.  Equipment is gathered through donations and fundraisers and then given to the kids - there are over 300 participants in the program now.  

Since we don't have a community centre in our neighbourhood, the rink is also often used as a gathering place for family events & activities.  We had a free chili & a bun supper recently that was a real success & had a great turnout!

Eastview Community Association operates the rink through volunteers and fundraising! Its the hidden gem of our city tucked behind our elementary school, Ecole Alvin Buckwold School, in Saskatoon Saskatchewan.

 We have a great group of volunteers that work hard to keep it in tip top shape! We have built our own hot water holding tank aswell as a manual pull around ice flooding unit.

Our community takes great pride in the rink and we enjoy the all the extra family time it gives us as an outdoor activity in the winter. 

Our rink in the Holliston neighbourhood of Saskatoon not only serves the members of our community but is also regularly used by the students at Holliston Elementary School. The rink is situated right beside the school and hosts a variety of learn to skate programs and pick-up hockey games! Our rink shack is located right next to the rink and serves as a place for folks to warm up and tie their skates.  The Holliston Community Association (led by Anthony Pawluk, our rink coordinator) is responsible for all the upkeep of this rink and community members are eager to step up to help with flooding, surface shovelling, and supervision of public skate times. 

I would like to nominate our local outdoor rink in Saskatoon.  It is located in South Nutana Park, and operated by volunteers from the South Nutana Park Community Association. 

The outdoor rink was built about 12 years ago, after a few years of fundraising, and was built with volunteer labour. The rink has puckboard boards and a warmup shack.  The rink is an important hub for the neighbourhood in the winter, and keeps us all busy and active.  I enjoy spending time at the rink with my kids and meeting friends there for a game of shinny, or just to watch the kids play.  Volunteering at the rink has been a great way for me to get out of the house in the winter and enjoy some outdoor air!  It’s great to see the rink so busy this winter with people of all ages enjoying a skate or game of shinny.  It’s nice to have a great partner in ECF School which provides the rink with hot water for great floods!

I am nominating Sharon Walde, our local Outdoor Hockey League Coordinator. Sharon is committed to providing a hockey league to youth ages 5-18. This league focuses on team and fair play. This outdoor league is economically feasible for participants, youth are encouraged to play no matter their skill level, allowing for skill improvement. This outdoor hockey league is hosted at our local “Sheldon Kennedy Rink” located at Riverdene Park. Sharon has been the coordinator of this program for many years, without her dedication to this league it would not be where it is today! 

Caitlin, along with our Wadena Kin Club and other local sponsors and community members raised a total of $11,425  in a matter of a couple of months to get our community an outdoor rink for the winter. The need was extraordinary this year due to the uncertainty that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to our world and this year, our community was eager to help ensure that we could have hockey. The Outdoor Rink was a dream that the Wadena community had for many years and with the dedication of community members, volunteer groups and Town Staff the dream quickly came to life. Fundraising began for the Outdoor Rink on August 23, 2021 and it only took a few short months to raise enough money to build the rink. By the end of October, we raised $11,425. The community was thrilled to have this as an addition during the winter months and jumped into help wherever needed. The town employees built the Rink in an afternoon and with the help of the Wadena Volunteer fire fighters the rink started to take shape immediately.

The rink has enhanced the amenities in the Wadena’s Wildcat Battalion Memorial Park tremendously. The Park is already home to 2 playgrounds, a walking trail, gazebo, campground, aquatic centre, indoor recreation entre and now the Outdoor Rink! This Park is a central hub in the community where there are always activities happening throughout the year.

The Wadena Kin Club & Community Outdoor Rink brings joy to many people in the area. It is a safe place for all ages and skill levels. A place where friends can gather, children can grow and memories can be made for many years to come. 

We would like to nominate the volunteers of our Wakaw & District Recreation Board who create and maintain ice at our Scott Crescent Park each winter. The effort they put in to create and maintain the ice goes a long way to provide a valued recreational opportunity for our community. This year we added a warm-up chalet to enhance the outdoor skating experience of its users. Whether it's the popularity of the outdoor ice increasing each year or the new warm-up chalet, we have seen an increased number of new users this year. The new users come from families who are now making use of the ice, going beyond our hard-core hockey players who have enjoyed the ice year over year. Seeing these new users make use of the ice has put many smiles on our volunteers' faces.

Not only are our volunteers enjoying the use of the ice they spend so much time on to maintain, the residents who live across the street and nearby enjoying seeing kids and parents out there skating. The outdoor ice provides an opportunity in our community for outdoor recreation that is accessible to everyone in the public at no cost. Without the work of these volunteers our community would not have accessible outdoor recreation opportunities in the winter.

Thank-you for the opportunity to nominate these volunteers and their efforts to make our community a better place to play.