Midday free skate gives these NDG teens something to do with their lunch hour

Ibrahim M’hamidi, a Secondary 4 student in Montreal, was out on the rink near his high school Thursday, using his lunch break to hang out with friends on the ice.

“It’s fun because I haven’t skated in like five years and it’s a new opportunity to learn,” he said, admitting he’s not a very good skater yet. “You go fast. You fall. You play with your friends.”

Montreal teenagers on ice may sound like a downtown musical, but it’s been the routine for dozens of youth from Saint-Luc High School in recent weeks at Confederation Park in the city's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.

Marieciel Allana admits she’s not very good yet either. She was out skating with her friend, Amy Lapada. Together they were laughing as they spoke to CBC News, saying they wanted to try something new. 

“I saw a few of my friends coming here and I wanted to try it out because I thought it would be fun,” said Allana. 

Lapada, sporting a T-shirt despite the cold, said they both borrowed skates from the park’s chalet to use during their lunch break. She remembered being in elementary school and going to that very same rink to learn how to skate. 

“It gave me so many memories,” she said. 

The fun is all thanks to a program spearheaded by Jeunesse Loyola, in partnership with the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, to give students something to do during their free period.

“The idea is to make the space and the equipment available to them, and give them access to some physical activity — you know, something to do on their lunch hour,” said the non-profit organization’s director, Christine Richardson.

The teens are skating on the Bleu Blanc Bouge refrigerated outdoor rink in Confederation Park, not far from the school. In the park’s chalet, there are about 60 loaner skates available for the kids to use for free. There’s also hot chocolate available for those who need to warm up before heading back to class.

Richardson said the idea was to respond to an ongoing and growing issue in the neighbourhood. The school, one of the largest and most diverse in the city, has about 2,000 students and, come midday, they are let out for lunch. 

“They head into the park or local stores. The sheer volume leads to tension between residents, students and merchants,” said Richardson, so the aim was to give those kids a place to go, socialize and “break up their day a little bit.” 

Richardson said some of the kids are first-time skaters, or don’t have much experience. Staff help them with fitting and lacing. They are offered helmets, and the rink has been busy every day for the last couple weeks.

“I was expecting maybe 20 at most, right,” said Shakeem David, a co-ordinator at Jeunesse Loyola. “But for it to be 60 to 70 kids who are just here at the rink, it’s kind of crazy.”