At the Malvern Community Centre around 2 p.m., the ice rinks are like the frozen tundra of the arctic: bare. We’re talking about two full-size ice rinks. What’s notable is that around the city of Toronto, ice time is a hot commodity.
The ice rinks at some community centres in Scarborough are empty at prime times. They should be packed, or at the very least, used once in a while, by the people in this area. Meanwhile, you’ve got places around the city like Nathan Philips Square, Chris Tonks Arena, and Joseph J. Piccininni Community Recreation Centre constantly packed with casual skaters.
The belief that Scarborough is not interested in hockey simply isn’t true. Scarborough has had its fare share of hockey influence. Chris Stewart of the Colorado Avalanche and Wayne Simmonds of the Los Angeles Kings are two notable NHL players from Scarborough.
This empty ice is valuable to the hockey population. So much so that the issue is even affecting City Hall. Council will vote later this month to determine whether a central agency to split ice time between girls and boys teams at the city’s 48 arenas will be created. This all started after the Leaside Girls Hockey Association said its members weren’t getting their fair share of ice time.
I’m sure if more people knew about the rinks at Malvern Community Centre, they’d be packed too. If hockey players are willing to wake up at the crack of dawn to play, surely people would make the trek to Malvern to hit the ice.
The ice isn’t necessarily just for hockey players either. Aspiring figure skaters or beginners trying to learn can make great use of this ice too.
Heck, maybe the next person who decides to use empty ice rink will become the next hockey great. So, if you want to lace ’em up and enjoy this winter activity, get down to your local ice rinks—they’re empty. Keep your stick on the ice, Scarborough.