Windsor Park Ice Rink
The rink is supervised by the rink
manager.
GUIDLINES FOR THE WINDSOR PARK ICE RINK
Snow Removal
The snow is removed from the ice surface as required. If it snows during
the night or during the day, the snow is removed from the ice by 6:00 p.m.
In addition, the rink is scraped every evening as part of the closing procedure.
On the weekends, the snow is removed from the ice by 10:00 a.m.
Lighting
The rink has automatic lights which are set to go on at 4:00 p.m. and shut
off at 10:00 p.m.
Opening and Closing of the Change Room
The changing rooms are opened every day at 8:00 a.m. and closed at 10:00
p.m. As part of the closing up procedure, there is a daily safety check
of the boards for such things as protruding nails and the ice surface for
such things as cracks. The rink is scraped every evening. As another part
of the closing up procedure, there is a clean-up of the change room and
bathroom.
Flooding
The rink is flooded a minimum of twice a week, presumably on Sunday evening
and Wednesday evening, if weather permits. To build the ice at the beginning
of the year, clean off the bulk of the snow with the snow blower if need
be. The ideal temperature for building a rink is -7 to -17 centigrade,
as that ensures that the ground is frozen. Every flood from the beginning
of the year to the end should be done very lightly. It takes no more than
15 minutes to flood the entire rink, which obviously means that there will
have to be many floods at the beginning of the year. Using very light floods,
it is possible to build a rink in one week, which is normally done in the
last week of November. Do not flood during snowfalls and if it starts to
snow during a flood, stop immediately. By using a light flooding technique,
it is possible to do two consecutive floods which should give a good surface.
When flooding, it is critical that the ice surface be clean. Therefore,
it is essential that the ice be scraped. After the ice is scraped, it is
also necessary to go around the outside of the boards with a shovel to
ensure that all the snow is off of the boards. Failure to do so will result
in there being a ridge of snow and hence ice close to the boards, which
is not only dangerous but makes playing hockey difficult.
Repair
There should also be a five-gallon bucket available at the rink for ice
repair. The procedure is to fill the bucket with snow and add enough water
to make the snow thick and stiff. That mixture can then be put in cracks
in the ice. You should then step on it to compress it and then use a shovel
to smooth it out. The ice should be inspected every day at closing to ensure
that there are no cracks or that any cracks that are in existence are repaired
on a daily basis.
Supervision
It is necessary to have supervision at the rink Sunday afternoons from
2:00 till 5:00 and Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:00 to 6:00. The
purpose of this is to ensure that people who wish to skate without sticks,
or who have young children, can do so without fear that there will be any
interference from hockey players. The schedule is posted and advertised
in the Newsletter and people will be attending with the expectation that
skating will be available to them on that basis. In the event that there
are no such skaters, then hockey is allowed.