As the weather in Whitehorse is becoming consistently sub-zero, winter activities are becoming front of mind: skiing, snowshoeing, maybe a game of shinny.
That last one will be difficult, though, with many outdoor rinks across the city finding themselves without volunteers to maintain them.
The City of Whitehorse relies on volunteers to help maintain the 30 outdoor rinks spread across the city. Representatives submit applications to the city to activate the rink. Volunteers clear the snow to get the rink ready for weekly flooding, done by the City.
So far, the City hasn’t received applications to activate 13 outdoor rinks. Those rinks are Pine Street Park, Stan McCowan Rink, Tamarack Street Park, Cook Street Park, Winze Park, Takhini North, Takhini Outdoor Arena, Whistle Bend/Aksala, Canyon Crescent Park, Morley/Peel Park, Pine Ridge Park, Salmon Trail Park, and Whitehorse Copper Park.
Ryan Durack began maintaining his local skate rink after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The community association in his neighbourhood had taken some time off, and the rink wasn’t being used, despite there being many young children in his neighbourhood.
“I came to realize that it was simply because no one had picked up the slack,” said Durack. He reached out to the city and learned about the need for volunteers.
The following year, Durack and his friends took on the skating rink: it was a learning curve. Missing the first few snowfalls meant it was difficult to get the snow out, but from that point onwards, Durack said it’s been mostly smooth skating.
“I think the rink is a central piece to the community. In the winter, it gets very heavily used when it is in good shape,” he said.
Durack said maintaining the rink is no small commitment and it does require a team effort. However, he said it is an awesome opportunity to be involved in one’s community.
In a follow-up email after the News spoke with Durack, he said he finds the experience very rewarding. "I intend to keep doing this every year while my lower back can support it!” Durack said.
The City of Whitehorse is directing interested volunteers to its website. If the weather cooperates, the city said in a Facebook post on Oct. 22, the Parks department intends to start flooding outdoor rinks the first week of November.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
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