Burns Lake Minor Hockey held a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation.
The meeting was to discuss the current ice situation at the arena.
The meeting started with Lewis Jones, Director of Recreation Services for Village of Burns Lake explaining how things went wrong and what needs to be done to fix the no ice situation at the arena and curling rink.
“We started the plant up right after the centennial weekend. We were getting to our final layer of ice before the whitewash and the Freon alarm went off. We had a major rupture in our chiller which does most of the work of cooling the brine down to keep our arena floor cold,” Jones said.
“We’re looking at between 12 to 16 weeks for getting the part. I think it’d be closer to 12 weeks just to get that piece. Once we get it, it will be relatively quick to get the plant running. We’ll be working overtime to get the ice in there as soon as possible,” said Jones.
The meeting was also attended by parents through zoom. Katie Nesbitt, a parent made a suggestion for purchasing fake ice and to put it down in the arena.
“My first thought was, well, it’s kind of a waste, I suppose. But on the other hand, you could use that in summer. In theory, it brings minor hockey on board,” Jones said.
Brad Abeitkoff, President of Burns Lake Minor Hockey has been in communication with Ashley Bennett, Fraser Lake Minor Hockey Association Manager and the C.H. Foote Arena’s ice coordinator about the no ice situation at the Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena.
According to Northwest Minor Hockey League Association, teams must seek help from the closest association if they are having difficulties.
Fraser Lake immediately responded to help Burns Lake Minor Hockey.
“Our kids can practice in smaller groups or with their team on the same ice. There’s 20 kids and the coaches will coach them all. We’re gonna share the ice,” Abeitkoff said.
Practice will start at 5:30 p.m. Families and their kids who cannot make a 5:30 p.m. practice during the weekdays will have the opportunity to use the ice on weekends.
Abeitkoff’s main concern is to get the kids on ice. He is making plans for the kids to play in competitive tournaments and also said, there can be dryland practice in Burns Lake.
He said, “How are our kids going to go to tournaments without being on the ice? Kids are going to be sluggish. You know, if they’re not on the ice, they’re not going to want to practice. I want them to still love hockey, still want to play hockey.”
There were concerns about transportation and the board decided carpooling is the best option for everyone.
“It takes three vehicles to get a full team to Fraser Lake. Six people fill up a truck full for a carpool. I’ve had a few parents who stated that they would do one day of the week, if other parents step up to cover the second day of the week,” Abeitkoff said.
“This isn’t a new problem. Houston had the same problem about two years ago. They didn’t get ice until the end of December. They were doing one practice on ice and another on dryland, and they stayed competitive throughout the season,” Shawna Abeitkoff, BLMH board member said.
“I’ll drive your kid to help get to Fraser Lake. I don’t care, it’s just $30 fuel,” Brad Abeitkoff said.
BLMH did a survey which showed 72.5 per cent of parents want their kids to travel and practice at Fraser Lake. Forty people took the survey.
Fraser Lake has showed their willingness to run all of BLMH’s tournaments this year, even though a couple of games are scheduled before Christmas.
“If we can host them in Fraser Lake and not have any conflict with their hockey, we should be able to actually even host all our own tournaments,” said Abeitkoff.
The board said, the Village of Burns Lake is making an outdoor rink again this year. With lack of volunteers, they are worried that it will be difficult to maintain.
More information about the ice situation at the arena will be posted later.