Get Those Rinks Ready

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which marks a big day American families to be together. It’s also a good marker for when you should start preparing to make your backyard ice rink. You don’t want to wait much longer as the temperature will drop considerably soon, and this long weekend makes a good time to put it together. You’ll notice it’s been about a year since I made a post. This is mostly due to the fact that I went through the crazy effort of making a backyard ice rink last winter. Because of that, I’ll export some of my hard earned knowledge to you.

My rink from last year

Before even thinking of what you’ll need for a rink, you should first ask yourself whether or not you really want to make one. From January to February last year, a lot of my free time was dedicated to keeping up the rink. Although truthfully that’s right in the middle of the winter, where you’re probably not going out too often to begin with. These nights were filled with going out after work into the freezing cold, working with freezing water, and staying up at late hours while the temperature was its lowest. But I did it because I wanted to know I could build that, and I knew it was the last year I would have a backyard for awhile since I moved in the Spring.

Once you do decide that you want to spend the long hard winter outdoors in the cold rather than inside, then here’s some things you should do to get going this weekend.

1. Measure the perimeter and area of the rink you want. Don’t bother trying for curved corners. 
2. Figure out the height of the boards you will need. This is mostly important if you’re working with uneven ground. The backyard I used was about a foot lower in one end than the other, so it needed higher boards on one side. The normal height you should use is 1’, and increase it on the lower end to make it level. If you’re low end is 1’ below the high end, then make the low end 2’ boards and the high end 1’ boards. 
3. Purchase your boards from a home development store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Just go cheap with the untreated 4’ x 8’ plywood, and have them cut it into smaller segments. I did four 1’x6’ segments since that was the max size I could fit in the car that was useful for the rink size. The extra wood you end up with can be cut up into small stakes and joints. 
4. Purchase ample nails and screws which are long enough to go through the boards. Just ask someone who works at the store what they suggest. I used a power drill for putting this together, so I used a lot of long nails. 
5. Make sure you have a vise grip so that something can hold the stakes or joints to the boards while you nail or screw them together. It just makes it easier. 
6. Lay down painter's plastic tarps over the boards and cover the entire ice area. It shouldn’t be water tight, as you want the melted runoff to drain.  The plastic is just there to assist with building a proper ice base, though compacted snow can do this job too, but the sheets are easy to put down.  I used 10'x100' plastic sheeting.  Just tape the sheets together at certain points so they don’t fly away. Use a staple gun to attach the plastic to the boards. 

After all these steps are done all you have to do is wait for the temperature to drop and the first snow to come. It’s just a matter of time in December. Once you get your first snow fall, compress it down (like step on it or sled over it), and add lots of water to turn it into slush. Let it freeze, then keep adding water until it evens out into a smooth ice sheet. Alternatively if it doesn’t snow for awhile, but it’s really freezing (like lower than 20 degrees), you can probably just puddle the water outside and let it freeze. But that will take more water and time on your part.

I’ll put up another post detailing some temperature and watering guidance, and some gritty details on how to avoid having your hose frozen. At least for this weekend you’ll be all set for the rink before the temperate drops. Probably by this time next month you’ll be out there on the ice.

-Drew

Lasker Rink at Central Park

Ever wanted to win a hockey championship emblazoned with Donald Trump's name? Play under the stars in scenic Central Park? Haul all your hockey gear on a subway? Well, you're in luck, because New York has the place just for this! Located all the way uptown in Central Park North is Lasker rink. They have a pretty snazzy website you can check out here.

Although the rink is located pretty far north in Manhattan, it's very easy to get to. There is a 2,3 subway station right at Lennox ave. and 110th street which is across the street from Central Park. If you drive in, there's usually street parking around the entrance, but give yourself about 15 minutes extra. You can actually see the rink from the street. If you listen quietly, you can even hear hockey games going on. I would estimate the rink is about a two blocks distance from the entrance.

During the warm weather months the rink is converted to a pool. But between October and the end of March they turn it into two mini-rinks. There's actually a good video showing both the pool and the rink on the Parks Department website.

Now you'll notice that I just said mini-rink. It's quite considerably narrower and shorter than a regulation 200x85 foot rink. They make up for this with pond hockey rules of 4-on-4, no icing, but blue lines are kept. The size seems to mess with goalies the most. There are two benches, but no penalty box. If two games are going on at the same time, one plays with two whistle blows for stoppage, and the other with one whistle blow.

Lasker is an outdoor facility. This means you'll be outside in the cold and games can be cancelled due to bad weather. Also this can make for tricky ice conditions during the early and later parts of the season when the weather is warmer. Even during perfect conditions the ice isn't exactly NHL quality. Don't be surprised to find leaves embedded in the ice, lots of dark spots, and big grooves in it. It's still fine to skate on though, and you won't even notice once the game gets going and everyone chops up the ice with their skates.

Lasker provides lots of hockey options: open hockey, stick-and-puck, adult house leagues, youth house leagues, and youth travel teams. They also have the usual stuff rinks have, such as public skate and even some figure skating lessons. Be sure to check out their website mentioned above for scheduling information, as it tends to vary a lot.

This is a USA hockey facility, so all players in the leagues need to be registered (insurance purposes). USA hockey registration runs to $33 this year. Cost of playing in the league is $325 this season, which is the cheapest you'll find for an ice league in the city. Goalies play for free.

There's only 1 season a year from the beginning of November until the middle of March. The divisions in the league tend to shift around every season, but usually it's 5 divisions total for the adult leagues. Players are allowed to join up to 2 adjacent divisions. Each division plays on a different night of the week. All the divisions are co-ed. The last few years I only saw a handful of women players spread across the entire league, but this year there are even 2 full teams made up of entirely women. Don't be surprised when they beat you, because they all appear to have played in college.

Both men and women's locker rooms are on-site. Each has complete bathrooms with showers. These are the only indoor portions of the facility. As with any public park, the rest rooms are sort of...meh. Goalies can also store all their equipment on-site for free during the length of the season. There's a back room they lock up specifically for this. Be advised though, if you don't pick up your equipment before the end of March, then it becomes house equipment for next year!

A few weird things with the locker room though. Obviously it's going to smell. The staff does a good job cleaning it though. That means it'll either smell like bad BO or bleach. Children change in the same room as well, so you're actually not supposed to go buck naked in there. This year they also converted one of the small rooms, which is technically inside the men's locker, into a women's locker room. Yes, that means women walk into the men's locker. Just another reason not to go full nude. And let's all be honest, even if it was all grown men inside, the last thing we need is for guys waving their junk around while they change anyway.

All that's great, but what about the most important park of a rink? What about the atmosphere?! The players who show up tend to range from guys recently out of college, all the way to men in their 50's. I feel there's a bit more maturity with the players attitudes and speech with each other, and it translates to the ice. You'll notice it with the short shifts most guys take. Most of the teams come back every year, and they're kept organized by a captain on each team. Each team has their own attitude, but everyone is pretty well past their prime playing days and is simply there to have fun.

Overall the facility is decent, and definitely the best priced option. The location is very easy to get to, but sort of far north. If you're strictly keeping to Manhattan, then this is the only facility which will assign you as a free agent no matter what (no tryouts). The one thing Lasker offers which you won't find any where else in New York though is the ability to play under the stars in Central Park. When the weather is clear, it can be really beautiful to skate ice with that backdrop. And who can resist the chance to get a Trump branded hockey jersey?

George Harvey Park

Situated next to the Whitestone Expressway in the northern most part of Queens is the best pick-up roller hockey game in all of the New York metro area. George Harvey park is a medium sized public park with several basketball courts, a playground, two baseball fields, and impressively a full sized hockey rink INCLUDING two goals. People come as far as Long Island and New Jersey to play here on the weekend.

I'm not sure of the exact date, but the rink was built around 2000. The pavement is still smooth and it was previously used for a youth hockey league up until several years ago. These days it's all pick-up hockey though. There's a scoreboard for leagues, viewing stands, and also lights which are occassionally on depending whether or not anyone submits work for a permit that season. The fact that it has two goals is the real kicker for putting this at the top of public rinks.

The most common times to find a pick-up game is on the weekends at around 10 or 11am. It usually runs until about 1:30 to 2pm depending on how many people show up. Regularly there are about 20 people on the weekends, and upwards of 30 if the weather is perfect. I've even gone there in the winter when it was 5 degrees outside (dangerously cold), and in the spring when it was in the high-80's (dangerously exhausting), and there were enough for 5-on-5 games with a guy on the bench. Goalies vary, but expect at least 1 on the weekend. If not, then you'll be shooting on elevated garbage cans, which is actually difficult to score on unless you have precise shooters.

During the week there are some games at night, assuming the lights are on. Otherwise you can regularly find guys going down there to skate by themselves and shoot the puck around. Every so often I head over there with some cones and practice drills. I suggest searching facebook for the George Harvey Park Hockey group to see if anyone plans on heading there for a game.

Important to any rink is the atmosphere and people it brings. Since Harvey is a public park, it runs the gamut of talent and personality. You'll see the usual group of park regulars, as well as new guys who show up. Everyone is welcome, but expect to hear the usual things you do in a hockey rink.

Since this is a public rink, you're not required to wear any pads. Most guys don't wear helmets, some guys don't even wear leg pads, but everyone has gloves. Due to the lack of padding, I have seen people lose a tooth or get cut. Because of this most of the play is finesse, meaning don't attempt to block any shots with your body or bodycheck anyone. That doesn't mean people aren't playing hard though. Quite the contrary, the teams are there to win and the score is important. Expect to be yelled at to end your shift if you mess up.

As great as the place is, all is not right with Harvey though. Near the end of this summer a mysterious hole showed up overnight in the penalty box boards. It's large enough where someone could fall in, and you need to be extra careful by it. Probably due to the large hole, the parks department came by and also removed the duct tape on 2 other sections which have some of the wood paneling stripped. Couple this with the usual dirt and leaves, which are copious in the corners, and the rink overall can be quite dangerous.

I actually was checked into the corner where the wood is stripped about a month ago, and when I came home I found I had a big laceration in my side. The important part is my Iginla jersey didn't get ripped in the process. You do need to be very careful though with the lack of padding and dangerous boards nearby. Even in a game where you're not hitting each other, accidental contact does happen. Sometimes I find myself playing tentatively because of this, but don't worry, eventually someone will yell at you for playing like crap and you'll snap out of those worries real quick!

The parks department is scheduled to fix the rink, but so far no one has heard a timeline. I wouldn't expect anything done until next year at the earliest. Until then, I suggest you wear ample padding, or just do what Ray did, and turn into a goalie. Just kidding, don't do that unless you like spending money like you're addicted to white powder.