Edmonton ice rinks face challenges to stay open during pandemic

The skating rink in the neighbourhood of Parkallen had drawn a mini crowd thanks to Sunday's sunny skies and positive temperatures.

Ten skaters, most with hockey sticks, dashed around on the ice, while around 20 others waited for their turn. 

According to the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, 60 to 70 of about120 total community league rinks are open this year.

Since outdoor activities are a last resort of recreation left during the pandemic, more and more people are turning to outdoor skating and hockey rinks. However, having crowds follow new health guidelines has been a challenge. 

Leanne Kohn, president of the Parkallen community league, said it was an easy decision to remain open as members of the community need a recreation outlet.

"This is a horrible, stressful time," Kohn said. "People should be able to play and have fun and so our goal is to make sure that people still have fun."

However, remaining open has come with some challenges. Kohn said the weekend after the province announced the latest restrictions — limiting outdoor gatherings to 10 people — she saw the ice rinks packed with 20 to 25 people, some of whom had come in from other neighbourhoods.

"It took myself, and another executive, plus three rink staff to negotiate with people, who don't live in the neighborhood ... that they need to get off, take turns," she said.

She hopes if they are hard on people about the rules now, they'll start to listen and follow the rules in the future. 

• Rinks and slopes introduce pandemic precautions to keep winter activities going

The City of Edmonton said it is opening outdoor skating rinks over the course of the month but "organized activities such as shinny hockey will not be permitted."

"We will have staff at rinks during peak times to assist people in following the new restrictions and public health guidelines," city spokesperson Pam Hnytka wrote in an email. 

Other skating rinks like Victoria Oval and IceWay are also operating at limited capacity. Hnytka said ice capacity is 280 while groups skating together can not be more than 10 people.

Safety guidelines

Laura Cunningham-Shpeley, executive director of EFCL, said they are using new technologies like using a QR code to help keep people informed of rules and regulations around rinks.

"It'll be on top of a City of Edmonton sign, so that people that come can scan the QR code and then we'll have that information, as to what rink they were at? What times? So we can help leagues to do contact tracing if that is needed," she said.  

Some leagues, like Parkallen, have also put up signs to warn people of the current restrictions. 

Kohn said if people don't follow the rules, they shut down the lights on the rinks to force people to listen. 

She said she is not only afraid for people's safety but also for the rinks getting shut by Alberta Health Services and the leagues getting fined. 

"I know businesses can be fined if they're not following the rules and I'm assuming community leagues can be fined as well," she said.

Financial woes

Kohn said because of the pandemic, community leagues have been suffering financially as booking out halls for events used to be a substantial source of income to offset the rink costs. 

Cunningham-Shpeley said this year has been difficult financially for community leagues but they have found ways to stay afloat. 

"We've been working with the Edmonton Oilers Foundation, which has put together a small grant for us to get out to leagues. And so we're hoping we can get that money out as soon as possible," she said.

"The City of Edmonton has their operating grants, as always, and there's been some extra snow winter grants that they've been able to provide too." 

She said the estimated cost for a rink is around $15,000 a year, for the water, the flooding, the contractors and upkeep of equipment.

She said if people want to help community leagues they can buy league membership cards that cost around $20 to $25. "It's just an extra boost to a league at this time of year," she said. 

Closed rinks

Not all community league rinks have remained open. Ritchie community league decided on Thursday to listen to rink manager Leonard Wampler and keep the rink closed for the season.

The rink in Ritchie is popular and before COVID-19, saw 50 to 60 skaters a day during the winter season. But Wampler said the rink is mostly unsupervised and it'll be hard to keep track of people social-distancing.

"Our typical evening or day, there would be 25, 30 people up here playing shinny, and you can't stay six feet apart when you're playing shinny," he said.

"I didn't want to be part of the problem with COVID expanding just at that point." 

Wampler said he manages the rink with a helper and it would be difficult for the two to monitor the rink for an entire day. 

When open, the Ritchie ice rink operates between the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Wampler said the league has already received several calls about when the rink is opening. "I think that's going to be a real disappointment for the community, which is quite understandable," he said.