Volunteers building an ice rink at Inks Lake.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kamloops Outdoor Skating Association
December 31, 2021 - 6:00 PM
A call has gone out for volunteers with shovels to help clear the snow on sections of Inks Lake near Kamloops to create outdoor skating opportunities.
Kamloops Outdoor Skating Association along with their friends from Kamloops Long Blades will be making rinks, an oval and a skating path tomorrow, Jan. 1, after last year’s rink project attracted hundreds of skaters. Everyone of all skill levels is welcome to come out at 10 a.m.
“Bring shovels, warm clothes and your own snacks,” spokesperson Nancy Bepple in an email. “If you can’t make it at 10 a.m. than come as soon as you can. We’ll be there for a few hours. We need extra help with shovels to dress the ice and do the edges.”
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops Outdoor Skating Association
Organizers will be bringing a snow blower and a quad with a blade to move the big snow.
“Last winter the organizations successfully teamed up to build and maintain an Olympic-size 400-metre speed skating oval for six weeks,” reads the release. “This winter we are keen to recreate the popular attraction and expand by adding pleasure skating areas, a skating path around the lake, and several large and small shinny hockey rinks.”
READ MORE: More outdoor skating options in Thompson-Okanagan this winter
The overall plan is to get the skating surfaces ready in the New Year and work at maintaining them for as long as the weather will allow.
Many volunteers are needed to make the rink a reality, including those with a quad and blade, people with shovels, people who can help organize and those who can help with graphic arts and marketing.
As well, 10 to 20 “hosers” are needed to regularly help groom and flood the ice. A hoser is defined by the organizers as a Canadian who is happy to build and maintain skating ice - mostly for kids - by hosing down a rink or natural body of water.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops Outdoor Skating Association
“We need to raise $5,000 in cash or in-kind donations for home-made Zamboni equipment, an ATV with a blade to clear snow and snow blowers,” the release reads. “We will need signage, pumps and hoses, plus lumber for the boards of the ice rink, and if we raise enough we will get porta-potties too.
“The main goal this year is to build upon the success from last year and help Kamloops get through another COVID winter by offering a healthy, family-oriented, community activity that is free for anyone to enjoy.”
Volunteers are invited to bring their skates to try out the ice after the work is done.
Donations can be made here.
To volunteer yourself or your group or your equipment, contact Nancy Bepple at nancy.bepple@gmail.com or call 250-319-2500.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
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