House By Dominique Lamberton, “Ice Advantage: Inside 5 Amazing Backyard Hockey Rinks in Calgary, First of January 2024
Motivated by a passion for hockey, individuals throughout the city are constructing outdoor skating rinks. Five families allowed us to get a close-up look at theirs through the fence.
Fall is when the process usually starts because the days are shorter and the air is crisper. The boards are erected first, followed by the lining, and flooding occurs when the temperature falls below zero. Dedicated hockey moms and do-it-yourselfers labor endlessly to construct their own ice rinks in backyards all over the city. It’s a labor of love that needs constant upkeep (from cleaning and shoveling to re-flooding and fixing liner tears) throughout the winter. Even on the coldest evenings in Calgary, the backyard rink builders featured here are driven to venture outside by their love of the game and their desire to instill that love in their children. “Watching my son play hockey is a tremendous source of delight for me and probably a lot of other parents,” says rink builder Geordie Macleod. “That’s the main idea here.”.
Geordie Macleod, a member of the Calgary Flames, had been wanting to build a home rink for years, but he was put off by the idea that it would be too small. But last winter, when his eight-year-old son Owen was enrolled in the Timbits hockey program for the second time, Macleod purchased a kit from Kijiji and gave it a try. referring to the 16-by-16-foot strip of ice, “It takes up every inch of grass we’ve got—everything that’s not rink is flower beds.” Even though it’s little, Owen can practice shooting and stickhandling in it, and the family has found that it has truly changed everything. According to Macleod, “We adore our yard in the summer, but it became abandoned in the winter.” “We can now use it to enjoy the season much better because of the rink.”
Erin Donnelly-Ferguson and her husband, Iain Ferguson, have created backyard rinks at two different homes for six years, and throughout that time they have learned a lot. For instance, the pair found that it was more economical and efficient to hire a water truck to flood the rink last year as opposed to taking 12 hours to do it themselves. Donnelly-Ferguson acknowledges that setting up and maintaining the rink at their Elbow Park house is a lot of labor, but they feel it is worthwhile. Every day, Gunner, 10, and Magnus, 7, their elder sons, utilize it to play till late with friends and before school. “They’re out there, even in minus 20 or negative 30 degrees,” Donnelly-Ferguson said. “I see this rink being there for a long time—our youngest is only three.”
Martin and Nicole Zacharias are the parents of three hockey-playing children, including twins who are ten years old. Their schedule is packed with practices, games, and team socializing. In addition to being used extensively for drills and shinny games, their 27-by-48-foot, light-strung rink in Brentwood is also the perfect place for winter get-togethers with friends and family. It plays a major role in our winter, according to Nicole. “We put the rink on Instagram as soon as it’s finished, and people respond, ‘Let’s organize a skate date at your house!'” We normally have a bunch come over to skate on any free night, and we also have a fire, play music, and have hot chocolate.
