Since it opened earlier this year, the new Kinsmen and Kinettes outdoor arena at their playpark in the Hillside subdivision has been gaining rave reviews.
The outdoor rink received one of its first big tests during the weekend during the Kinsmen Classic Ball Hockey Tournament. Ten teams entered, with a team from Saskatoon defeating the Estevan Waiver Claims in the final.
The Saskatoon team won $800 and a championship trophy for taking top spot, while the Waiver Claims won $400.
The Flying Elbows from Estevan finished third and received $200.
Four of the teams were from out of town.
Estevan Kinsmen Club member Derrick Wilson was the organizer for the tournament. He called it a great success, thanks to the number of teams that were entered and the calibre of hockey.
“There were some teams that were quite a shocker, with the skill that they had,” said Wilson. “Not playing ball hockey, it’s a different game than ice hockey. Controlling the ball is a lot different than controlling the puck.”
Wilson approached the Kinsmen about hosting the tournament even before he was an active member of the club. He had a vision for a ball hockey tournament, since the outdoor rink is a nice site and ball hockey is growing in popularity.
“I guess the big reason why I did this tournament was because my kids will use that rink, and it’s an opportunity to give back to the Kinsmen for what they’ve done to that park,” said Wilson.
Wilson said all the teams who participated were impressed with the outdoor rink and how clean the park was.
“All 10 teams said they would be back next year,” said Wilson.
The Saskatoon tournament has played in nine tournaments this year, he said, and they viewed Estevan’s tournament as the best they have been in.
He hopes that next year’s tournament can draw even more teams, and additional spectators to the rink. Wilson hopes the tournament will be earlier in the year, so that it’s not so cold at night.
The final game was played late on Saturday.
Dave Elliott was among the Kinsmen who spearheaded the outdoor rink project. He said they worked long and hard to complete the project, and it’s nice to see the use it’s received.
“It’s been quite busy,” said Elliott. “Before we even got the nets in, there were people coming over. They were actually bringing their own nets to play ball hockey. They were quite happy once the (permanent) nets arrived and were in place.”
The nets had to be ordered in, and arrived in mid-August.
Elliott was pleased to see the amount of activity at the outdoor rink during the ball hockey tournament.
“All of the feedback has been positive, because most communities don’t have anything like this,” said Elliott.
Elliott is looking forward to winter, when kids will be able to skate and play hockey on the rink.
“This is the first year in many that I can’t wait for winter,” said Elliott. “I can’t wait to see that rink packed up with kids, and having fun. This thing, for the whole club, was a labour of love, getting this thing done, raising the money and getting it put together.
“We just couldn’t be prouder. It’s the best gift we could ever give the city.”
The arena has a surface that is 120 feet long and 75 feet wide. The boards were constructed by a company that designs the boards for NHL arenas. A chain-link fence is attached to the boards around the arena.
It won’t just be hockey players and skaters using the facility, either. Members of the South East Sask. Roller Derby Association’s Junior Coaler Rollers have been skating there this summer on their own time.
“We are so fortunate to have the outdoor rink in Estevan, and to be able to go and skate whenever we want, weather pending,” said Lorelei Lachambre, a coach for the Coaler Rollers who noted the weather usually co-operated.
A lot of roller skaters took advantage of the facility during the summer months, including Lachambre. A couple of scrimmages were held in June before the Coaler Rollers broke for the summer.
“We’re so used to being stuck inside a rink in the nice weather, so it was such a nice change,” said Lachambre. “People brought their lawn chairs, we had the music going, and it was a great atmosphere.”
The surface is great, too, she said, and Lachambre looks forward to next year when the skaters will be able to use the outdoor arena. As soon as it’s dry enough and warm enough to skate, Lachambre said the skaters will be out there.
Elliott said the Kinsmen have received inquiries from the broomball association about using it, and he stressed it’s available for anybody.
“We built it for the community, and anybody can come on in and make good use of it,” said Elliott.
There is still some work that remains on the project. The shack next to the rink needs to be expanded. Elliott said he was hoping construction would start this fall, but it’s not ready.
The shack will be more than double in size once the expansion is complete.
“We expect there will be a lot more people using the rink now that we’ve got this facility during the winter,” said Elliott. “We need more room for the extra number of people that will be coming in to change and put their skates on.”
It would create enough space for hockey bags. Elliott said there would be enough room in the expanded shack for a minor hockey team to change if it wanted to have an outdoor practice.
In the long-term, Elliott said he would like to see a roof overtop the outdoor rink.
And so even though the outdoor rink is operational, Elliott said the Kin clubs are still fundraising.
“We’ve taken a more relaxed position at this point, until we have all the plans in place for the building, for the shack, so once we know what’s happening there, we can move forward,” said Elliott.
Proceeds from the tournament will be directed to the outdoor rink project.
