Rink of Dreams gives Ottawa skaters another refuge

By Ariana Armstrong and Fangliang Xu

While the Rideau Canal slowly succumbs to the winter freeze, local Ottawa skaters can already zip around the ice at City Hall’s Rink of Dreams.

“I love skating,” said Annalise Mathers, a third-year science student at the University of Ottawa who took advantage of the fresh ice last week.

“I’ve been waiting for the canal to open all year, so the fact that the Rink of Dreams is open already just gets me right out here.”

The Rink of Dreams officially opened its third operating season last week.

For Mathers, who jumped at the opportunity for a good skate after its official opening, the return of an operating Rink of Dreams couldn’t come at a better time.

“I skate almost every day in the winter, either on the Rink of Dreams or on the canal, whichever is open,” she said.

“When it’s all lit up at night it’s really pretty and it’s just a great way to get exercise without actually feeling like you’re doing anything.”

The Rink of Dreams first opened in January 2012 after the Ottawa Senators offered to fund the $2-million cost of construction. Mayor Jim Watson reported almost 60,000 people used the facility during the 2012-2013 season, which lasted 120 days.

“We think it’s a great addition,” the mayor said at this year’s opening. “This was basically a barren area where no one hung around in the wintertime because it was just empty.”

“Having the rink here helps a couple of things,” the mayor added.

“It animates City Hall and it’s great for tourists because sometimes they come here for Winterlude and the canal is not ready because it’s too warm and this is a great backup.”

The operating budget for the rink is approximately $250,000. Maintenance costs, including the costs associated with first aid, safety patrol and Zamboni operation, are included in the budget.

Rink manager Kelly Amon leads the operational team that ensures the ice is safe to skate on.

She said the refrigerated ice surface is maintained by flooding the rink five to six times a day, and more often than that during the busy Winterlude period. A Zamboni smooths the ice approximately every three hours.

“I come out from my office and I’ll talk to people skating,” Amon said.

“I’ve talked to people from California and all over the States that have been here for visits and they really enjoy it.”

Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder reiterated the organization’s 2011 commitment to construct an additional 19 skating rinks in the city.

The first of the 19 community rinks was built at Jules Morin Park in Lowertown last year and Leeder said there are plans to build between two and four more rinks this upcoming spring and summer.

Mark Taylor, city councillor for the Bay ward, wrote in an email to Impact that the next rink is scheduled to be constructed in his constituency, which runs along the Ottawa River and stretches from Sherbourne Road to March Road.

The location of the other rinks remains under discussion and the cost of each rink will vary depending on existing rink infrastructure, according to Taylor.

The City of Ottawa will provide rink grants of approximately $5,000 to help local community groups maintain the ice but the majority of the construction money will come from the Ottawa Senators, which will have its logo and the logo of any other funding partners in a prominent place on the rinks.

The Rink of Dreams is open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., until March. The heated skate shack that accompanies the rink is open daily from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m.