One of the results of the ongoing pandemic has been the need to seek outdoor activities. These include tobogganing and snowshoeing in Confederation Park, as well as outdoor skating. While it is impossible to know how long winter will allow the outdoor rinks to stay open, I encourage you to make use of them. Our community rink is located in what is still shown as “Horsy Park” on Google maps. This is at 30th Avenue and 5th Street NW. The name harkens back to a day when the playground equipment included toy horses to ride. Those days are long gone, but the name lives on! In November, some community members asked the Board if we would purchase a commercial snowblower to use on this outdoor rink. In light of the uncertainty surrounding when (or if) we would be able to reopen the Sportsplex for indoor skating, we determined that this was a prudent use of funds. We are grateful to the community volunteers who took the initiative to bring this proposal forward. Special thanks to Shawn Stordy, who agreed to serve as the outdoor rink coordinator. Happily, we were able to obtain the snowblower just before our “exceptional” (to quote the Calgary Herald) snowstorm on December 21 to 22. Shawn reported that a group of 15 to 20 volunteers had the snowblower running for eight hours to clear the rink. Signs placed by the City show a “recommended capacity” of 55 people. There are also two large rinks in Confederation Park, beside the Rosemont Community Hall.
Given the ongoing closures, we continue to apply for available grants to mitigate our financial losses. Our current projections are for a cash shortfall of $283,000.00 for the fiscal year 2021. If we are able to reopen our facilities, of course, this will improve.
Philip E. Carr
Past President MPCA | 403-467-0351
