Outdoor rinks facing another abnormally short season

Outdoor rinks across Ottawa are shutting down in the face of warmer weather, and this weekend may be the last chance to skate on them, says a local volunteer.

Mike Hollingworth runs a group of five volunteers at the Weybridge Park rink in Barrhaven. A typical skating season, he says, should run from the week before New Year's Eve up to March Break.

This season, like the last one, has fallen short of that.

"It's been a challenge," Hollingworth said. He estimated there were about 30 skating days this season, compared to about 15 last year. 

"I think we all readily admit that the season may be over," he added.

Outdoor temperatures have remained consistently above zero degrees in Ottawa since Wednesday morning, wreaking havoc on the city's skating rinks.

The majority of ice surfaces across the city were closed on Thursday and Friday in order to save the ice for this weekend, when temperatures are expected to drop again.  

The City of Ottawa supports 260 outdoor rinks, the majority of which are built and maintained by more than 1,000 community volunteers. 

"Weather conditions dictate the city's ability to operate its outdoor community rinks as they are built with natural ice. As such, their conditions are fluid and change by the hour, especially in warm weather," the city said in a statement. 

Future of rinks up in the air

According to climate experts, that future will be challenging.

Scott Mitchell, a climate scientist at Carleton University, says the data he sees points to more variable winter temperatures. 

As a result of climate change in this part of the world, Mitchell said, warmer winters are expected to continue. 

"I would expect more because the variability is expected to go up," he said. "The models that do the best at matching extreme weather patterns that have happened in the past are looking at more [warmer winters]."

"And that has matched our experience in the last 30 to 50 years."

Even with this year's frequent warm periods, Hollingworth remains confident in the future of outdoor rinks. 

"As long as there's a few cold days, people will find a way to make ice," he said. "As Canadians, we all love winter. It's sort of part of our DNA."