Countless kids with NHL aspirations and their parents are dusting off their skates and gearing up for some serious ice time at their newly frozen neighbourhood pond.
Some, however, are bringing this quintessential Canadian tradition home by building their very own backyard skating rinks.
"It's a great way to enjoy unstructured, spontaneous play on a natural ice surface over the winter," says Jody Conrad of Go For Green.
A non-profit organization that promotes healthy outdoor physical activities, Go For Green runs Ice Dreams, which supports the development and enjoyment of outdoor community and backyard skating rinks.
Conrad says a growing number of Canadians have been calling Ice Dreams (www.icedreams.ca) in recent years for personal rink-building advice.
"More people are getting in on this trend because it's so inexpensive to make, there's little skill needed and little work involved, and you can avoid paying admission fees to skate," Conrad says.
Considerations
Backyard rinks will work only in consistently subzero climates, so if you live in a part of the country that experiences mild winters, such as coastal B.C., you may want to stick to indoor skating rinks.
Another consideration is your backyard space - Conrad recommends having a minimum of 40 feet by 30 feet available.
"You want your children to have enough room to work up a good speed," he says.
Supplies
Before you let your hose loose on your backyard, you'll want to draft a list of essential supplies, which includes:
- Lumber boards, about two inches thick by eight inches wide. Number of boards, and their length, depend on the size of your rink
- 1 or more boxes of 2-inch long screws
- 1 plastic shovel
- 1 broom
- 1 hose (the length of the hose must be long enough to flood your rink evenly)
- 1 RinkRake
- 1 tarp that's about two feet longer and two feet wider than the actual size of your rink
