Fernie volunteers sign 30-year lease to revive outdoor skating with new rink

FERNIE · The city of Fernie has granted a 30-year lease to a local volunteer society to develop a new outdoor skating facility. The Fernie Outdoor Rinks Society will take over operations at a site on the Fernie Aquatic Centre grounds for an annual rent of $10. This follows several poor seasons for outdoor skating, with the previous rink offering only about 10 skateable days over the last three winters. The society's first step is to prepare a temporary rink for use this winter, though its success hinges on cold weather. President Jorde Goethals said the group has all necessary preparations in hand, conditional on the temperature.

"We will have everything in place that we need ... if it's cold enough, we can make ice," Goethals said. The city reported the old rink had zero skateable days in the 2023-24 winter due to poor weather and was closed the next season because of operational challenges. The new location at 250 Pine Avenue is intended to provide more reliable access. The society is responsible for all development, operating costs, maintenance and property taxes for the facility.

Goethals was motivated to act after moving to Fernie and seeing the unused rink. "A ton of kids that play hockey, and people that just wanna skate ... they don't have anywhere to do it," he said. "And it was a real shame." He has assembled a volunteer list of about 40 people, with turnout sometimes so high he has had to turn helpers away. The group aims to complete work on the temporary rink by mid-December, with skating potentially starting in January or February.

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City official Brett Logan said volunteer management should improve ice maintenance. "The outdoor rink society will have a lot more success, just being able to do the ice-building and maintenance in the evening when typically temperatures are colder," said Logan, the director of parks, facilities and recreation. He noted city staff struggled to maintain the old rink while also running the busy indoor arena. The original outdoor rink was built quickly in December 2017 after a deadly ammonia leak closed the town's main arena.

Environmental researcher Robert McLeman said climate change is making outdoor skating unpredictable. McLeman, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University who runs the RinkWatch project, said variable temperatures and rainfall patterns challenge natural ice in Western Canada. "Our research shows is that if we don't change our ways in terms of burning fossil fuels, we are going to eventually lose the opportunity to skate outdoors here in Canada," he said. This reality is shaping the society's long-term plans to reduce reliance on the weather.

The society's multi-phase plan calls for a permanent concrete pad in 2027, a roof in 2028 and artificial refrigeration by 2029, pending fundraising. Goethals estimates the full project will cost around $2 million and could eventually provide four to five months of skating each winter. "You can't control the weather, and so you've got to design around it," he said. McLeman cautioned that refrigeration, while extending the season, is energy-intensive and costly. He framed the loss of outdoor skating as a broader cultural concern for winter activity. "It's something that we can give our children as an opportunity if something to do in the coldest, darkest months of the year," McLeman said. "And if we lose that opportunity, we won't have any of the fun stuff that we normally experience in winter." The original outdoor rink was constructed with help from community groups like the Calgary Flames Foundation and Fernie Lions Club after the 2017 arena tragedy.

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News