This winter, take a journey to some incredible hockey spots with the ten-episode Outdoor Hockey Club documentary series. Filmmaker Randy Frykas will travel across the country to meet the people making the rinks and enjoying hockey in its purest form.
The Kings Point Outdoor Rink was a finalist for its own episode! CARHA Hockey’s The Next Stride provided all our 2022 ODR Contest contributors with the exclusive opportunity to enter their rink to be featured on the Outdoor Hockey Club documentary series. Guest judge Randy Frykas selected three (3) finalists from all who submitted, and the grand prize winner will be determined via an online vote taking place Monday, November 7 to Thursday, November 10, 2022. Click here for the winner reveal.
Check out the Kings Point Outdoor Rink’s submission!
Rink submitted by Laura Barr
Kings Point, Newfoundland
The Kings Point outdoor rink is the hub of our community during winter months! The rink is located right behind our K-12 school, and is used for both school activities (ie. phys.ed classes) and community events. Last year, the 6/7 class hosted the first annual Kings Point Winter Classic which brought the community and nearby communities together, after several years of being forced apart due to the pandemic. It was a beautiful snowy Saturday, with two hockey games that were played by community members and refereed by students, a barbeque with donated food items run by several families, and a hot chocolate stand. Every member of the community came to visit, as well as some newcomers to our community, getting a warm welcome. We had one community member bring down and set up a massive campfire to keep everyone warm in the snow, and local businesses donated food items and materials to support the kids. Our physical education classes often go for skates during class time, as well as students using the space at lunch time, after school, and on weekends, as an activity to do on their own and with friends.
This community, as well as the rink, is incredibly special as it is fully run by volunteers. Our local fire hall floods the rink for us at the start of the ice being built, and several times when the ice has been used, and it gets quite uneven. The fire hall and community members make sure that it is always safe to skate on, and community members (including children in the community) clear the rink with shovels and leaf blowers. It is not rare to run down early on a Saturday morning to see a few students out clearing the ice for the day.
Our rink should be featured for this opportunity because our community is forgotten in the winter as it is so small, and we would love for others to realize the amazing things we can do in the winter months. As someone who only moved to the community last year, I can confidently say that our outdoor rink is a place of magic in the winter months. Watching kids skate, getting to join them and skate hand in hand with them, and hosting hockey tournaments is only the start of our winter fun! The rink is located right next to the bay, and the concrete base is used all year round by students. The grade 7s this year are already begging to continue the Winter Classic this year, and hosting more hockey games and more community events at our rink. Check out the attached photos to see our rink and how much it is loved!
