The City of Medicine Hat is calling for volunteers to help with its Adopt-a-Rink program to help maintain community outdoor ice surfaces this winter.--News File Photo
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The city expects its Adopt-A-Rink volunteers will begin flooding outdoor skating rinks this week as the cold weather settles in.
According to the parks department, some residents might be able to lace up their skates to enjoy some outdoor skating as soon as next week.
“We’re basically just finishing off the last finishing touches at a couple of the locations and then we should be good to start getting them flooded,” says William Percy, superintendent of parks. “And hopefully by maybe next week, some of the services will start and should be ready for public use.”
In September the city started setting up outdoor rinks by assembling the low boards and turning on water services.
Despite the warm weather at the end of 2023 that put a pause on outdoor skating, this week’s forecast calling for a winter blast means temperatures will be cold enough for volunteers to being flooding ice.
The Adopt-A-Rink program looks to provide each outdoor rink with a small team of volunteers, typically between three to five people, to flood the ice and shovel off snow when needed as well as maintain the small shelters at certain rinks.
“We asked the volunteers to look after and oversee the flooding of the rink and just kind of the general maintenance of it,” says Percy.
The city is always looking for more volunteers to help maintain the 14 outdoor ice rinks throughout season.
Volunteers will be supplied with necessary shovels, chippers and hoses. The city will also provide training and some snow removal.
“There is the opportunity to meet new people and work as part of a team. I just find the overall experience of volunteering, really rewarding,” says Percy. “Overall it’s such a nice thing to do during the winter months. So yeah, it’s a real win for the volunteers.”
So far the parks department has been able to find enough volunteers to maintain every outdoor rink except the crokicurl at the entrance to Strathcona Island Park on Minto Avenue.
The city is also seeking volunteers for the Southridge Community Park pond, River Heights and East Glen.
Interested volunteers can fill out an application on the city’s website under the Arts, Heritage and Parks & Recreation tab.
