Those who love the feeling of the sunshine and fresh air whipping at their cheeks when they strap on their skates are given a gift whenever Mother Nature lowers the thermostat.
The outdoor rink is a winter tradition for Canadians residing in cold climates, and if you don't have the space or patience to make one in your own backyard, there are plenty of options in Prince George to find your ice skating or pond hockey fix.
There are 23 outdoor ice rinks in the city and all but two are run by local community associations, which requires a cavalcade of dedicated volunteers.
Since the resources to maintain that many rinks would be cost-prohibitive, each community has to take ownership of their ice, explained city recreation co-ordinator
Cheryl Livingstone-Leman.
"Each community association ice rink will have an ice-rink captain in charge of accessing hoses and using hydrants for their water source," she said.
Bart Vanderlinde, a volunteer with the College Heights Community Association has been working on the ice at College Heights secondary school since the rink was put in about 20 years ago. There are five rinks in that community association (the others are at North College, Southridge, St. Mary and Malaspina parks).
He is one of the city's most experienced ice makers, and helps to lead the workshops each captain is required to take every three years.
The three-hour session includes a classroom component and a written exam as well as hands-on lessons on using a fire hydrant to flood the rink.
Vanderlinde and colleagues Randy Seabrook and Jeff MacIvor got an early start on this year's ice on the school's tennis court, but the warm weather and rain has made for extra maintenance work to keep the ice surface intact.
"You want to get the ice thick enough to handle Chinook weather," Vanderlinde said.
The Blackburn Community Association handles the rink at Blackburn Park; the Hart Community Association has rinks at Corporal Darren Fitzpatrick and Ridgeview park; the West Bowl Community Association has rinks at Zimmaro and Hammond park, D.P. Todd secondary and cole Lac de Bois, Harwin and Foothills elementary school; Crescents Community Association has rinks at Ron Brent elementary and Aboriginal Choice school; and the South Bowl Community Association has rinks at Pinecone and Starlane park and Pinewood, Westwood and Van Bien elementary school.
"I want to thank volunteers like Bart and the ice captains and all the volunteers they recruit," Livingstone-Leman said
The rinks are open to anyone, free of charge, for recreational skating and hockey at the user's risk.
"Helmets are recommended," said Livingstone-Leman, "and if it's been a heavy snowfall, bring a shovel."
In addition to the free community association rinks, there is also the Ice Oval and the rink in front of the Civic Centre.
The ice oval, located behind CN Centre, opened for the season Dec. 6.
"The season's been going quite well," said Ice Oval Society of Prince George chair Kathy Lewis. "We managed to get the ice down quite early."
The 400-metre long-track speed skating facility is also used for recreational skating (hockey is not allowed) and is maintained by a core group of 12 volunteers and board members.
"[The] oval is popular for people who just want to go skating," she said. "It's attractive because we do all the maintenance." Because of the maintenance, which includes flooding and cleaning with a zamboni, the ice oval has a user fee of $2 per person or $5 per family. Although the society gets a small grant from the city, they operate independently and need money to keep the rink running.
The oval is open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and a schedule of recreational skates and those reserved for the Prince George Blizzard speed skating club is available on the society's
website, www.pgoval.ca.
A map of all the rink locations is available in the city's Active Living Guide, which can be found at city hall and city pools and on the city's website.
