By Staff
September 28th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
City hall is encouraging neighbours to come together to maintain outdoor community ice rinks this winter at select locations throughout the city.
Applications for the Cogeco Neighbourhood Rink program are available now at burlington.ca/neighbourhoodrink and are due by Nov. 30, 2023.
Wayne Gretzky got his start on a rink like this.
Groups looking to organize a neighbourhood rink at pre-approved locations will need a minimum of six people from their community to maintain the rink. Volunteers who are approved to move forward with their rink will need to agree to the terms and conditions set out in the Cogeco Neighbourhood Rinks program, agree to complete training and agree to complete daily inspection checks of the rink and provide their own water source for parks without an existing water source.
The agreement between Cogeco and the city is similar to other sponsorships; Cogeco provided funding in exchange for naming rights which helps keep the cost of the program low and accessible to all.
By per-approved, the city has a set list of locations. Not all parks/locations can have a rink set up due to slopes, space or water source.
City staff will install rink boards and provide a training manual, hoses and tarps in each location. As the colder weather arrives, each neighbourhood group will flood the rinks to get them ready for a first skate and then maintain them throughout the winter.
Neighbourhood rinks are open to all community members to skate for free.
For more information, visit burlington.ca/neighbourhoodrink.
