Small towns, big problem: Lots of players, not nearly enough ice (2024)

As recreation centres across Southwestern Ontario prepare to freeze their pads for the upcoming winter season of hockey and other ice sports, some municipalities face ice time shortages amid growing demand for coveted evening and weekend timeslots.

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A report going to local politicians in Ingersoll outlines a recent gathering of officials from various municipalities to discuss ice allocation policies and notes widespread concerns that there just isn’t enough ice time to go around. It’s especially tough to find during “prime time” hours – generally between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weeknights.

“The majority of the users want the ice in what we consider to be prime time. . . . I would suggest that there is ice available, but it’s not necessarily palatable to this generation,” said Terry Piche of the Ontario Recreational Facilities Association, whose membership includes those who operate and manage rinks.

“It’s a change in user patterns, and it’s a change in regards to the demographics of what was traditionally used for ice users.”

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Hockey is the dominant sport. But other games played on ice, such as sledge hockey, ringette and even pickleball on ice, are increasing the demands.

Smaller communities that have limited recreational ice – there may be one pad for the entire community – are especially feeling the crunch, particularly those with growing populations.

Ingersoll has just one ice pad for its 14,000 residents, and Mayor Brian Petrie said there is ice time available but sought-after timeslots around 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weeknights are increasingly difficult to book.

“Not all our time is being used, there’s some early morning that’s been offered that hasn’t been accepted,” Petrie said. “Everybody has busy schedules, and it comes down to prime time ice.”

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The increase of users has spurred the town to look at building a new facility for “quite some time,” and there are plans for a new recreation centre scheduled to break ground in 2026, Petrie said.

Like Ingersoll, Woodstock also is discussing the potential for additional ice pads as the city grows, said Mayor Jerry Acchione. The city only has three recreational ice rinks to accommodate its roughly 46,000 people.

“We’re certainly seeing increased need for ice time in the City of Woodstock and that’s why we’re in the process, right now, doing the deep study and looking at a new single- or possibly even a double-pad ice rink.” Acchione said.

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Though Zorra Township – an Oxford County municipality about 20 kilometres northeast of London – isn’t facing ice time shortages, due to the its two ice pads for 9,000 residents, it’s still seeing higher demand for prime times slots as the population grows and more leagues emerge, said recreation manager Sofia Caldwell.

“We do our ice allocation to be fair and equitable, but we also want to protect our historical time slots,” Caldwell said.

Lucan, a town of about 6,000 people 20 kilometres north of London, also is facing ice time shortages for the community’s one ice pad.

Community services director Darcey Cook said it’s not just prime time hours that are booked up, but minor hockey uses the recreational centre ice four to five mornings a week at the 6 a.m. timeslot most people avoid.

While smaller communities face growing demand for premium timeslots, London’s 11 indoor ice pads haven’t been the subject of as much competition, said the city’s manager of sports services, Mike Vandertuin.

“I think that they (organizations booking ice time) all have enough, from what I understand,” Vandertuin said. “They have not reached out to me lately to say they’re looking for more ice.”

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada

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