‘It is priceless’: Nova Scotia family builds rink, creates memories

A backyard rink is a great way to get outdoors and improve your skills on the ice.

Building an outdoor rink takes time, but for those who love skating -- it’s well worth it.

For Kristine Richer of Stillwater Lake, N.S., it’s the best part of winter. Her family has been turning their backyard into a hockey rink every year since 2021.

“Living in Nova Scotia, living in the cold, you want to get them out, you want to get them active,” said Richer.

Richer said the process starts in December.

“We use metal brackets. We pound them into the ground, attach them to the 2x10 supports, make sure everything is somewhat even, and then we get a big tarp, put that on,” she said. “Then when it’s time, when it looks like we’re going to be getting consistently cold nights, we’ll get a water truck out to fill it up.”

All in all, the rink is about 26 by 50 feet, and it’s even equipped with a penalty box.

“The penalty box was something my son and I made as a surprise for my husband to put him in there whenever [my son] was getting upset with him on the ice.”

While the process to build the rink began in December, it wasn’t ready until early January.

“In general January and February are pretty solid. There’s a few days when it’s not going to work out because we get into plus eight or plus 10, but we will generally run into March,” said Richer. “It depends on the year.”

If someone is interested in building their own rink, Richer has some advice.

“Get it all figured out in terms of placement when it is warm and before there is any snow. See if you can figure out what the most level place is in your yard first, and then just lay it all out when it’s a nice, warm December day,” she said.

“It’s a ton of work and it is priceless. If you don’t have easy access to somewhere to skate for your kids, they will be out on this, if they like skating, every single night.”

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