A record 17th community ice rink to open in London, Ont. Sunday
CTV
Teenagers Tanner Ducharme and Dylan Wilkins were the first to test out the ice at London's newest community ice rink.
Teenagers Tanner Ducharme and Dylan Wilkins were the first to test out the ice at London's newest community ice rink.
The two were invited to East Lions Park Saturday by Ward Two Councillor Shawn Lewis as a trial run to see if it was stable.
"We are probably a day away," says Lewis, who is coordinating the maintenance of the rink.
"We're doing a little test run today after a big flood last night by the London Fire Department. We got a couple of rough spots and a couple of spots where we need to do a little repair work before we can open it up. I'm hoping tomorrow we can take down the caution tape and we can be open for people in the neighbourhood to come by and skate.”
The rink is built on the basketball court, which was designed with higher edges be to converted for hockey in the winter. Lewis calls this space, "hugely important for the east end.”
"This is the only outdoor rink we have in the Argyle area, so I know it's going to get tons of use,” he says. “People will be practicing skating, learning to skate, or playing shinny. We've even got a neighbour who's bringing in a new today to donate for use here.”
The two boys say they usually skate at London Christian High School.