Winter Ritual... Outdoor Ice Skating
For many, the cold days and nights of winter mean one thing: frozen ponds and lakes for ice skating with family and friends! But some years, Mother Nature does not cooperate... and the deep waters never get frozen enough for skating, the snow or rain ruin for the ice, or simply getting to a local spot for skating can be treacherous. And although Ridgefielders are lucky with access to three local ice rinks (Wintergarden Arena, Brewster Ice Arena and Danbury Ice Arena), ice time is at a premium; and most rinks offer very limited time for free skate, sticks and pucks, and pick-up hockey.
So some local families have taken matters into their own hands and built their own private, outdoor rinks... and this year, the van Wees family joined in the fun. Growing up in Canada, David van Wees had fond memories of pond hockey -- fun, less structured, less competitive, all-ages included hockey games -- and with young hockey players of his own, he knew that he wanted his kids to have "pond hockey" memories too.
So for some time, David pondered putting in his own backyard rink, but this year, it became a reality -- in the fall, when David was talking with Andy Marchison, his son, Simon's, hockey coach and the owner of Marchison Excavation, the buzzer sounded and a new period in the van Wees' life began. With advice from other "private rink owners," Paul Hallahan and Ken Peters, David and Andy, began to make plans and progress. Andy came in with all the equipment and leveled the area in the van Wees' yard where the rink would be. "This, by far, has been the best decision we made," said David. Once level, all that was needed was some wood to make the side boards and very large tarp -- boards were donated by friend, Jerry Benziger, additional lumber was purchased at Ridgefield Supply, and as for a tarp, David went to www.nicerink.com. Soon, the van Wees family had a 30' x 70' skating rink of 3.5 to 5 inches of ice, or 4,000 gallons of frozen water in their backyard, and their family couldn't be happier. "In addition to skiing and playing organized hockey for the Ridgefield Lions, we wanted a healthy outdoor activity for our four energetic young children in the winter that was easily accessible," said David van Wees explaining their reasoning behind building a skating rink in their backyard.
Was it worth it? The van Wees, and many of their friends, would say, "Most Definitely!" In the holiday week between Christmas and the New Year, the family logged approximately 200 fun hours on the rink. And in the weeks since the holidays, the van Wees family has been busier than ever. Even David admits its success and his new passion, "I have become obsessed. You quickly learn who else has a rink so you can compare notes. The biggest surprise is how much it has been used. My kids, friends, neighbors ….. It has driven a lot of socializing." With the cold temperatures lingering, and the kids home from school, David, with the help of Bill Knapp at Ridgefield Hardware, has even built his own Zamboni to help with clearing and maintaining the ice. "It's made it out of T- shaped contraption out of PVC piping -- 5 feet long and 36 inches wide -- with small holes drilled in bottom of T. The top end hooks-up to hose and the T gets dragged on ice," explains the newest private rink owner.
And what might next season hold for the van Wees family? A warming hut, locker rooms, a snack bar! With David's new found passion, one can only wonder.
This article was originally posted in February 2011.