Hockey season is underway across the province, and Elm Creek boasts a U7, U9, U11, and U13 team this year. However, the Elm Creek Skating Rink isn’t ready yet for action as it’s a natural ice facility, and the weather has yet to cooperate.
“We have to rent ice in other nearby towns to practice, and this year, we even need to rent ice to play home games as our ice isn’t quite ready,” said Daniel Lepp, Elm Creek hockey organizer. “We are currently close to putting on lines and then will need to build more ice on top of that to start practicing and playing in our rink. It wouldn’t take long, we just need some colder weather.”
The Elm Creek Skating Rink was the beneficiary of a $2,800 grant from the Carman Area Foundation, which was used to purchase new rubber matting in the waiting room, stairs to the basement and players’ benches. The arena is also in debt to the Culross Kopper Ladies Club for their donation of $1,000, which was also put towards new rubber matting in the rink.
“The rubber matting got installed this fall, and we are very pleased with how it looks, and we think it will last a long time,” said Lepp.
Elm Creek Skating Rink committee volunteers are currently in the beginning stages of looking into applying for grants to help purchase a new type of artificial ice plant. This is something that would cost in the range of $800,000 to $1,000,000, depending on the type of plant.
The Elm Creek Curling Club has also been busy as volunteers have been getting the ice set up over the past few weeks. League play for this winter is slated to begin on Dec. 12.
