THUNDER BAY — The outdoor rink season is here, again, despite a setback from the mild weather after Christmas.
As of Thursday morning, 19 of 31 skating sites, including six out of eight supervised sites, were open and ready for skaters.
Cory Halvorsen, manager of parks and open spaces for the City of Thunder Bay, said that as of Monday some sites were able to start opening.
“(It) was good news, by New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, we had just over half of our sites re-opened, including Prince Arthur's Landing. It’s nice to see that the temperature is more conducive to flooding and the next two weeks look very promising for weather as well,” he said.
Halvorsen said December was not a bad month for skating weather.
“Other than the warm spell we got after Christmas, we were able to have more than half of our sites open for the beginning of the holiday break, which was probably a little better than average," he said. "Within a few days of the break starting, we had all but one site actually open, so I think that's above average definitely.
“We had some temporary closures, pretty much on all of our sites for a few days during the warm spell we had after Christmas. We've been able to recover fairly quickly. The rink program should be fully open within a couple of days."
Halvorsen said if there are multiple days above zero, there will likely be closures again.
“I think what we've learned is that a large portion, over half of our sites, can recover quite quickly. Right now, I'm optimistic we're going to have a solid season for outdoor rink skating,” he said. “I think everyone eagerly anticipates the rinks opening for the break, when everyone has some time to go use them. And continue that through January and February where people are looking for activities to do. We're happy to be able to provide them."
The city also has an outdoor rink map, showing what amenities are at each site and whether the rink is open or closed.
