Lundar community members got together recently to build the town’s outdoor rink.
The Rural Municipality of Coldwell put out a call earlier this month asking for volunteers to help build the outdoor rink. On Sunday, Dec. 10, seven adults and two children showed up to help RM recreation director Breanna Malcolm create the annual ice rink.
The rink, which sits in the Lundar Arena parking lot, was first built during the COVID-19 pandemic when restrictions were heavy and organized sports were on pause. With a limit for the number of skaters at a time, the outdoor rink was built and used daily by many community members. Malcolm said the point of the rink initially was to give locals a way to stay active, healthy, and safe; that goal remains today.
“As the recreation director, I like to see people active,” she said. “Activity doesn’t always have to be organized.”
Using wooden boards from a local, the volunteers first had to sand them and lay a poly material down before they could stand them up. Once the boards were up, the rink had a shape, and the volunteers could start flooding the space with help from the local fire department.
Lundar’s foreman helps set up the rink, maintains it throughout the winter, and helps with takedown in the spring. Malcolm said his work makes the outdoor rink possible.
Even thought the volunteers did get the job done last weekend, Malcolm hoped for more support. She said she’d like to see more children who utilize the outdoor rink to help set it up, and she hopes to see more of them volunteering next year. The process took just two and a half hours, having everyone home before 1 p.m.
Each year, Malcolm asks the community if they want the outdoor rink again, and each year they do. She gauges the success of the outdoor rink by the number of people utilizing it.
“I like driving by and seeing people having fun and being active together,” she said.
The outdoor rink will be in the Lundar arena parking lot all winter. The ice is still too soft to skate on, but Malcolm is hopeful it will be ready for skaters by the Christmas break. To keep up to date on its opening, follow the RM of Coldwell Recreation on Facebook as Malcolm will post updates there.
