For better use and better management. The UNOFFICIAL Website of Toronto's Outdoor Skating Rinks
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There are 5 people playing shinny. None are wearing helmets. The ice is usally done in the evening and at night. The ice is pretty good. They have a copy of the schedule posted but none to take home. There is a lot of garbage around the rink. The ice is more than 3 inches high and they need to bring in the edger.
A rink staff person had to get stitches because they tried to enforce the age groups. From now on staff say they less inclined to argue with patrons since they don't want to get stitches...or worse. The supervisor moved the staff person to work only at the nicer rinks.
5:30pm: The ice is not in good condition. Staff report that they are not sure when the ice may be maintained again or when it was last maintained. There are 3 pleasure skaters and 8 hockey skaters.
7.30pm: 14 hockey players, 0 helmets. 8 pleasure skaters 2 helmets (under 5 year olds). A slight head injury on the pleasure side. Staff (2) are inside in uniform talking and don't notice. Friends of the injured party leave rink after 20 minutes of commiserating with the injured person. Staff never notice despite the fact that the 3 friends sit on the ice while the injured fourth lies on the ice with her hand on her head! Ice was great, freshly maintained.
Greenwood is odd. It is somehow on a river or creekbed, all winter and summer it is wet, in summer wonderfully green and moist or soggy. The ice is wet too (it was not raining in the east until 8:15pm). The water seems to gather in spots as though the ice surface has low points. But the ice is quite high, above the dasherboards or bottom 2 by 4.
Greenwood has very badly set out mats. There are no schedules available to take home, nor schedules posted outside. Benches are all inside, in awful changerooms. Families would use them if they were placed in one of 2 reasonable spots where they could watch the ice and their kids.
I went for my first session of Women’s Shinny on and for the first time in 3 years, it was open and skateable; not flooded, but good enough for a great game. Good turnout. [SB]