Rink change area: Very bright with good visibility of rink. Rink staff office has no windows but has the look of a friendly hang-out; door kept open. No food. But often locked, e.g. Saturday mornings. Why?

Comments about this rink: e-mail us at [email protected].

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2022 - 2023

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Rink diaries from earlier years:

2021 - 2022

Nov.27,2021

Opened for the season

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2020 - 2021

COVID-RELATED RESTRICTIONS:To find out how to book a skating time, go to the city's outdoor rinks web page.
All shinny hockey has been removed except for Greenwood (and only children and youth are allowed there). The city's opening rules are described here and our rinks blog is here.

Nov.28, 2020

opening day

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2018 - 2019

2019 - 2020

No reports

Opened: Nov.24, 2018

Jan.29, 2019

The rink has been marked as open until yesterday and then it was listed as "snow removal in progress" (with over 25 cm of snow). At 4 p.m. it was again listed as open.

Jan.13, 2019, from ESL teacher Sally Bliss:

we’re still skating with our Phys. Ed. classes. We walk over to Dieppe now that we’re inside Danforth Tech. It’s about equidistant to Monarch and Dieppe, but Dieppe’s change areas are brighter with a better view of skaters. It’s also open reliably in the morning and they have lots of skating supports. As a double pad (mini-trail and shinny rink) we don’t have to worry about hockey scheduling. And with all-day, all-ages shinny scheduled during school hours, we have the chance to introduce the better skaters to shinny.

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2017 - 2018

Jan.1, 2018

The city's website lists Dieppe as having a service alert, not for snow clearance but because the hockey pad is closed. The details given are "leisure pad open, hockey pad closed -- issues with rink structure." Dieppe rink is closed more than most double-pad rinks, but usually it's because of mechanical problems on the skating trail. Something went wrong at the time of construction.

Dec.3, 2017

The rink is listed as closed on the pleasure-skating trail, open on the hockey side. The construction problem on the trail was evident from the time the rink re-opened after being rebuilt, and it still seems not to have been resolved.

September 11, 2017

A letter was sent to the city councillor, offering a donation of a complete skate loan collection for this rink.

Our reasons:
* people love to borrow skates: newcomers, school classes, kids and youth who grew out of their skates
* we have 110 pairs of skates, 20 hockey sticks, 20 helmets to donate
* this kind of program has been done by city staff for 12 years at Dufferin Rink, 9 years at Wallace and Campbell -- lots of experienced staff, each one teach one
* staff often have time on their hands to lend skates and also to maintain skates
* the city has insurance that can cover this (the city is self-insured under $5 million anyway), but skate lending programs are rarely threatened with a claim if they do responsible skate maintenance.

Offer declined (actually -- ignored).

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2016 - 2017

March 11, 2017

The rink once again says "closed on pleasure rink." Same problem, one imagines, although there are never any details o the city's website.

Nov.26 2016

4 p.m.: Dieppe Rink is still marked as "service alert" from 10 a.m. There's no definition what this means. 311 pointed out that the city's Dieppe web page also says "hockey rink open, pleasure rink closed." So what this may mean is that Dieppe Rink has continued to have the skating trail problems that were there since construction. Follow-up tomorrow. Since there are no public phone listings for the outdoor rinks, rink users have to go to the rinks and see for themselves.

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2015 - 2016

March 10, 2016

This rink closed for the season today, although it was scheduled to stay open until March 20.

January 6, 2016, email from cityrinks to City Councillor Fragedakis:

January 1, 2016

Last year on New Year's day the rink building was locked, but this year at noon you could tell right away that it wasn't -- the parking lot was full of cars and people were parking in the overflow area. A cheerful scene inside the change room -- filled with people changing into skates, talking to their kids, and calling out "happy New Year!" And even as we were leaving, more people were pouring in.

There are two big banners put up across each end of the rink, inviting people to a Leafs practice on January 11. A young rink guard said that the Leafs are donating a new water fountain for the change room "and a zamboni." I said, "really? Are you sure?" He said actually he wasn't sure, the just thought it might be true He had also heard that the Leafs were going to make the place look better because a big Leafs logo was going to added at centre ice.

Dec.23 2015

This rink is one of two city rinks marked as "closed due to weather" today.

Dec.11, 2015

A very warm day -- the rink is covered with a thin sheet of water att 11.30 a.m. The building is closed, as it is so often.

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2014-2015

Jan.1, 2015 (New Year's Day)

At 11.50 the rink changeroom/washroom building was locked. There were many people skating on the trail and playing shinny hockey. It was a windy cold day and people squatted on the rubber mats to put on their skates, looking quite uncomfortable. Many people tried the change room doors (there was no sign), but were unsuccessful.

A problem with the HOLIDAY HOURS: it appears on the city's rink information website/311 that almost all of the city's rinks will have their changerooms/washrooms locked on the three main holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day (yes!), and New Year's Day. You can skate on most of the rinks but you can't get your kids out of the cold to change their skates and you can't take them to the washroom. This is true for Dieppe Rink.

What's the message here -- "you should be drinking, not skating" -- ?

Dec.2 2014

The rink re-opened.

Nov.30 2014

This rink opened for the season on Nov.29, but was shut down on Nov.30 due to "thin ice and warm weather" (most of the other rinks held their ice, since it was cloudy).

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2013-2014

Saturday Dec.7 2013

At 10.30 a.m. the rink had plenty of skaters on the skating trail and a good shinny game going on as well. But the change room was locked! A sign said that the change room never opens until 12.30 (noon) except on Saturdays, when it's supposed to open at 9. But it didn't. So this is the only double pad rink in the city that doesn't allow morning access to its washrooms and change room. Too bad, because it was just rebuilt.

The ice looked good except in two strips that go right across one end of the skating trail. There is obviously a problem with the pipes, so that the ice is chippy and soft in those strips -- must be the places where people have reported tripping.

See Diaries tab

Views of the rink

Dieppe Rink

Dieppe Changeroom

From The City of Toronto Website 2014-15

For the skating schedule, go to Dieppe, then click on Drop-in programs then click on Skating.

shinny hockey only

Notes

posted December 20, 2005

• Helmets: Helmets mandatory all the time.
• To book permits call Nancy Aranha at 416-392-0361.
• The staff person on duty when we visited was very friendly and had a long litany of complaints: burnt out flourescents that had not been replaced in a year, no way to keep the pucks from sliding under the gate onto the pleasure side, a major leak in the men's washroom, a problem with the phone line, and no supply of garbage bags.
• The vending machine in the rinkhouse does not work.

Rink Diary

2022 - 2023

---

Rink diaries from earlier years:

2021 - 2022

Nov.27,2021

Opened for the season

---

2020 - 2021

COVID-RELATED RESTRICTIONS:To find out how to book a skating time, go to the city's outdoor rinks web page.
All shinny hockey has been removed except for Greenwood (and only children and youth are allowed there). The city's opening rules are described here and our rinks blog is here.

Nov.28, 2020

opening day

---

2018 - 2019

2019 - 2020

No reports

Opened: Nov.24, 2018

Jan.29, 2019

The rink has been marked as open until yesterday and then it was listed as "snow removal in progress" (with over 25 cm of snow). At 4 p.m. it was again listed as open.

Jan.13, 2019, from ESL teacher Sally Bliss:

we’re still skating with our Phys. Ed. classes. We walk over to Dieppe now that we’re inside Danforth Tech. It’s about equidistant to Monarch and Dieppe, but Dieppe’s change areas are brighter with a better view of skaters. It’s also open reliably in the morning and they have lots of skating supports. As a double pad (mini-trail and shinny rink) we don’t have to worry about hockey scheduling. And with all-day, all-ages shinny scheduled during school hours, we have the chance to introduce the better skaters to shinny.

---

2017 - 2018

Jan.1, 2018

The city's website lists Dieppe as having a service alert, not for snow clearance but because the hockey pad is closed. The details given are "leisure pad open, hockey pad closed -- issues with rink structure." Dieppe rink is closed more than most double-pad rinks, but usually it's because of mechanical problems on the skating trail. Something went wrong at the time of construction.

Dec.3, 2017

The rink is listed as closed on the pleasure-skating trail, open on the hockey side. The construction problem on the trail was evident from the time the rink re-opened after being rebuilt, and it still seems not to have been resolved.

September 11, 2017

A letter was sent to the city councillor, offering a donation of a complete skate loan collection for this rink.

Our reasons:
* people love to borrow skates: newcomers, school classes, kids and youth who grew out of their skates
* we have 110 pairs of skates, 20 hockey sticks, 20 helmets to donate
* this kind of program has been done by city staff for 12 years at Dufferin Rink, 9 years at Wallace and Campbell -- lots of experienced staff, each one teach one
* staff often have time on their hands to lend skates and also to maintain skates
* the city has insurance that can cover this (the city is self-insured under $5 million anyway), but skate lending programs are rarely threatened with a claim if they do responsible skate maintenance.

Offer declined (actually -- ignored).

---

---

2016 - 2017

March 11, 2017

The rink once again says "closed on pleasure rink." Same problem, one imagines, although there are never any details o the city's website.

Nov.26 2016

4 p.m.: Dieppe Rink is still marked as "service alert" from 10 a.m. There's no definition what this means. 311 pointed out that the city's Dieppe web page also says "hockey rink open, pleasure rink closed." So what this may mean is that Dieppe Rink has continued to have the skating trail problems that were there since construction. Follow-up tomorrow. Since there are no public phone listings for the outdoor rinks, rink users have to go to the rinks and see for themselves.

---

2015 - 2016

March 10, 2016

This rink closed for the season today, although it was scheduled to stay open until March 20.

January 6, 2016, email from cityrinks to City Councillor Fragedakis:

January 1, 2016

Last year on New Year's day the rink building was locked, but this year at noon you could tell right away that it wasn't -- the parking lot was full of cars and people were parking in the overflow area. A cheerful scene inside the change room -- filled with people changing into skates, talking to their kids, and calling out "happy New Year!" And even as we were leaving, more people were pouring in.

There are two big banners put up across each end of the rink, inviting people to a Leafs practice on January 11. A young rink guard said that the Leafs are donating a new water fountain for the change room "and a zamboni." I said, "really? Are you sure?" He said actually he wasn't sure, the just thought it might be true He had also heard that the Leafs were going to make the place look better because a big Leafs logo was going to added at centre ice.

Dec.23 2015

This rink is one of two city rinks marked as "closed due to weather" today.

Dec.11, 2015

A very warm day -- the rink is covered with a thin sheet of water att 11.30 a.m. The building is closed, as it is so often.

---

2014-2015

Jan.1, 2015 (New Year's Day)

At 11.50 the rink changeroom/washroom building was locked. There were many people skating on the trail and playing shinny hockey. It was a windy cold day and people squatted on the rubber mats to put on their skates, looking quite uncomfortable. Many people tried the change room doors (there was no sign), but were unsuccessful.

A problem with the HOLIDAY HOURS: it appears on the city's rink information website/311 that almost all of the city's rinks will have their changerooms/washrooms locked on the three main holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day (yes!), and New Year's Day. You can skate on most of the rinks but you can't get your kids out of the cold to change their skates and you can't take them to the washroom. This is true for Dieppe Rink.

What's the message here -- "you should be drinking, not skating" -- ?

Dec.2 2014

The rink re-opened.

Nov.30 2014

This rink opened for the season on Nov.29, but was shut down on Nov.30 due to "thin ice and warm weather" (most of the other rinks held their ice, since it was cloudy).

---

2013-2014

Saturday Dec.7 2013

At 10.30 a.m. the rink had plenty of skaters on the skating trail and a good shinny game going on as well. But the change room was locked! A sign said that the change room never opens until 12.30 (noon) except on Saturdays, when it's supposed to open at 9. But it didn't. So this is the only double pad rink in the city that doesn't allow morning access to its washrooms and change room. Too bad, because it was just rebuilt.

The ice looked good except in two strips that go right across one end of the skating trail. There is obviously a problem with the pipes, so that the ice is chippy and soft in those strips -- must be the places where people have reported tripping.

Diary 2011 - 2012
Diary 2010 - 2011
Rink Diary 2009 - 2010
Diary 2008-2009
Diary 2007 -2008
Rink Diary 2006 - 2007
Rink Diary 2003 - 2004