We started an outdoor rink in 2021 in response to hockey being shut down in our community due to COVID restrictions. It’s small but we love it. It really saved us during that time as our kids and neighborhood kids would often get out there at lunch while they were learning remotely before schools reopened and of course afterwards and on weekends. Even this year we have kids in the neighborhood who are 13 and play AA all the way down to my 6 year old who is just starting out using it almost every day.
One of the coolest things that our rink facilitated was at that time we had a young woman living with us working as an au pair who had only skated a few times. But because of COVID her social life was limited and so she embraced what was available to her and she went out on the rink with our kids everyday and between that and watching hockey with us on TV she fell in love with Mitch Marner, the Leafs, and hockey! It got to the point where we bought her used equipment and got her skating with a local women’s group! She even took her new gear back with her to Germany and went out with a local team.
The rink means a lot to us and our neighbours. We plan on continuing to put it together for the next 5-10 years while our kids grow and develop their skills. IF we were fortunate enough to win one of the prizes we would use it to build up the boards and add some netting to keep pucks from getting away. So far this year the kids have put 20 pucks into the snow banks, only to be recovered when the snow melts. I might need some of that money to replenish my supply of pucks!
