While hot, dry conditions continue in the South Cariboo, there’s one place that’s ready for winter.
The South Cariboo Rec Centre’s ice rink is up and ready for the upcoming hockey season.
Minor hockey were the first players on the ice on Sunday, Aug. 27 with rep tryouts, while through the week hockey players have been on the ice for a pre-season conditioning camp.
After tryouts are completed over the next couple of weeks, the regular minor hockey season starts in late September.
The Labour Day long weekend will play host to the 100 Mile Wranglers fall camp as they put together their season for the year. The Junior B team will play an exhibition game against the Kamloops Storm on Monday, Sept. 4 and will host a home opener on Friday, Sept. 15.
Josh Dickerson, general manager at Canlan Ice Sports says the rink had a weird start to the season.
“We had Red Cross in here before and ESS but we were able to shift them over to the curling rink so that we could start in preparation of making ice. [It] went very smoothly even with the warm temperatures,” he says.
“It’s right back into the season,” he says. “It gets fairly busy, but we’re ready. We’re prepared and everything. Everything is running smoothly so far.”
He says putting in the ice is a long process.
Staff members, including himself, walk back and forth along the rink spraying water on top of the concrete.
“I like to do it in a two-week span just so that it sets up properly and each layer that you put down freezes properly. Then, after you build half an inch of ice, then it gets painted white and the lines get put on and then another inch [of ice] on top of all of that. So, actually the ice is only an inch and a half thick but it takes a good week to two weeks of sealing and laying water on it.”
Dickerson says there are probably close to 100 layers of ice on the rink.
