Community Pride Abounds

Local Hatter, Ryan Davison, has been volunteering with the City’s Adopt-a-rink program for close to 20 years at the outdoor rink in Kiwanis Central Park.

“Adopting a rink has helped me stay active during the colder months,” says Davison. “For me I’ve always liked the idea of creating an ice surface, it’s just cool! Volunteering is also rewarding and helps to keep a positive community spirit alive.”

The community’s 14 outdoor rink locations are managed by a group of volunteers each winter. Volunteers are supplied with shovels and hoses, training, and some removal support from the Parks and Recreation City crews. They are asked to build and maintain the ice, flooding and shovelling when necessary.

“My family and I first moved to the Southeast Hill because of all the beautiful trees,” says Davison. “There’s so much history here and Central Park is one of the city’s oldest parks. These cottonwood trees are over 120 years old. We love this area!”

Ryan has also taken it upon himself to build a smaller ice surface beside the boarded rink for smaller children.

“During the holidays the rink is packed with people playing hockey,” says Davison. “We have lots of little kids in the area that also want to skate so I built a smaller surface that they could enjoy safely.”

The City is currently seeking immediate support in the following neighbourhoods: Southridge Community Park pond, River Heights, and East Glen.

“We are so grateful for our volunteers who help us maintain our outdoor rinks,” says Deb Grunwald, City of Medicine Hat. “They’re accessible to anyone in the community and it’s wonderful to see families connecting with one other and staying active.”

Interested community residents are encouraged to fill out a volunteer application: https://bit.ly/Adopt-A-Rink.