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Tegan and Tyler Stoesz, and Brody James glide on the ice at
the new outdoor pleasure rink at St. Andrews Community Club. The club’s manager
built the outdoor rink for families and people of all ages to get out and get
active in St. Andrews this winter. See story page ?
RECORD PHOTO BY DAVE BAXTER
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By Dave Baxter
Originally published in the Selkirk Record
Dean Gilkes has spent countless hours creating a way for
families and people of all ages to get outside and get active in St. Andrews
this winter.
Gilkes, the manager of St. Andrews Community Club has been
hard at work flooding a large outdoor rink that he said is the perfect rink for
families and people of all ages and skating skills.
“In Winnipeg they call them pleasure rinks, but here we call
it the pond,” said Gilkes.
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| Dean Gilkes stands proudly on the outdoor pleasure rink he has been
hard at work building at St. Andrews Community Club. |
The rink is right next to the club’s outdoor hockey rink,
but Gilkes said he built it as a place for families to skate without the fear
of faster skaters running into them, or “hockey pucks flying at the heads.”
“It’s a lot of work and I’m out here flooding every day and sometimes
twice a day, but I really wanted to create a rink for families, and I hope
people will come and enjoy it.”
The rink starts right at the back door of the community club
so people can get their skates on in the club, and step right outside onto the
ice that stretches all the way from the back doors to behind the club’s main
outdoor hockey rink.
Gilkes said people have definitely been taking advantage of
the new rink so far.
“We’ve had days were there are a ton of people out here, and
people really seem to be enjoying it.”
He also said he’s had some big help from the St. Andrews
Fire Department.
“The beautiful thing is that I have never had help like this
before,” said Gilkes. “The St. Andrews Fire Department came in with their fire
trucks to give us loads of water.
“And they have always helped out here, but with me and them
working together they said they have never seen the ice looking this good.”
He said he would specifically like to thank St. Andrews
firefighters Don Peters and Ron Pawluk for all the help they have given to the
project.
He said a few people were definitely skeptical when he announced
his plans for the outdoor rink.
“They didn’t think someone would be this ambitious, and I
know even the RM was skeptical.”
He is not done working on the rink yet, as he hopes to make
benches out of snow on the side, and he also wants to build a slide that will
let people slide right onto the ice.
He said novice hockey players are welcome to skate on the
rink with their sticks and pucks, if they don’t feel comfortable playing with
the more seasoned players on the club’s main outdoor hockey rink.
Tammy Keller was out on the rink last week with her son
Harrison, and said she has not skated in years, but felt comfortable giving it
a try on the new rink.
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| Harrison and Tammy Keller had a great time skating on the outdoor rink at St. Andrews Community Club last week. |
“If you are a novice skater this is the perfect rink,” said
Keller. “You are not afraid to get hit, so we are just having a great time out
here.”
St. Andrews Community Club is located at 28 A St. Andrews Rd off of Hwy. 9 in St Andrews.
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