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T he Granville skating rink will open sometime soon, but organizers said they have been stuck waiting on the weather.
Dave Williams, along with at least two other people, plan to open the rink much as they have for the past several years; they’re just waiting for good enough weather to flood the skating surface.
“Mixing with the snow does not make good ice; you tend to get a lot of air bubbles,” Williams said Monday.
Snow has thwarted the last two attempts to flood the rink. The group hoped to have the rink ready for the Christmas break
“Weather permitting, we should be open very soon,” he said.
Williams said the ice rink had been set up but must now be cleaned up from the snowfall, which fell after the holiday.
“We’re going to have to take a look at it, but it should be ready soon,” he said.
A heavy liner gets placed inside a wooden frame and then a fire hose fills up the improvised pond built over the basketball courts from warmer sports seasons.
Williams said he expected the hours to be the same as they have been for the past few seasons.
The group still seeks skates as well, he said.
Three seasons ago, the men who run the skating rink started a collection of gently-used skates in hopes of having a “bowling alley” type stockpile of loaner skates available to anyone who wants to skate in sizes from kids to adults.
Should they fit, the “rentals” were free to use.
Williams said the group did well, receiving many pairs of skates last season and more over the summer.
“We had people go out looking for skates while (shopping at garage sales) and they picked up pairs of skates for a dollar or 50 cents and they gave them all to us, but we’ll take anything we can get,” Williams said.
“Anyone with used skates can drop them off with the village clerk or at the police station or if you see the lights on at the warming hut, stop by and drop them off,” he said.
The rink is funded in a joint venture between the village and town. The village sets up the rink and the town pays someone to monitor and maintain the rink.
Operating the rink will be Williams, T. J. Zovistoski and Dave Buxton. The skating rink can be found next to the warming hut at the Richards Memorial Little League Park off North Quaker Street.
Dave Williams said he hopes to have the rink hours similar to what they have been for the past few years; here are the hours from the 2009-2010 season. Rink hours:
Monday through Thursday- 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday- 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday- 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday- 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. hours are subject to change and all skating is dependent on weather.
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