It’s a labour of love with a long history in Saskatoon, taking care of outdoor community rinks.
For 27-year-old Ryan Luciuk, it’s a chance to give back and provide opportunities in his neighbourhood.
“I enjoy watching the kids come and learn how to skate or young hockey players working on their skills, it’s also really nice watching the new Canadians come out and learn how to skate for the first time,” Luciuk said.
For the past three winters he’s been leading operations at the community rink in Adelaide Park as part of the Adelaide Park-Churchill community association.
While there’s a fresh sheet of ice there now, the work put into this started months ago.
“A lot of the rinks start to develop end of October beginning of November right when the ground really starts to freeze up,” he said.
“The nights are long, just to establish good ice, probably 40 to 50 hours just laying down some good ice just enough so people can come out and enjoy it.”
Luciuk has a team of volunteers to help him clear the powder off the ice following a snowstorm, moving the nets and flooding the rink. Collectively Luciuk said they put in at least 200 hours over the course of the winter.
However, what’s now being called the coldest February in 80 years is causing a headache for Luciuk and his team of rink rats.
“There’s cracking because of the cold, it’s so frigid even the ice is cold.”
Luciuk said the ideal temperatures for floods fall within -5 C and -15 C. With the polar vortex continuing to blanket the prairies, the water from the hose freezes before it has a chance to flatten out, causing bumps and ridges which are unfriendly for skaters.
Saskatoon has more than 40 outdoor community rinks across the city and they all rely heavily on the work of volunteers.
If you’re looking to get involved with your community association or volunteer for a nearby rink, find your association here.
