Great Skate #35: Otter Creek Centre

My Great Skate Project is simple: Try to skate on a different outdoor rink each week, and encourage as many friends and family members to join me as possible. 

 I began this project in January 2012 as a way to make the cold months pass more enjoyably. Now, five years later (!), I'm still at it. It has been a fun way to get fresh air and exercise, and to explore different parks and neighbourhoods.

 On January 1, 2016 my friend Cathy joined me for Great Skate #35 at the Otter Creek Centre rink. It's a very typical Toronto rink with heated change rooms (with washrooms) and two ice surfaces (for pleasure skating and shinny). It's not pretty, but it gets the job done. There were lots of people skating. I didn't see any otters. 

 Cathy and I spent a pleasant hour of going around in circles in the cold, and catching up on our lives. She has been a enthusiastic participant in many Great Skates (including Great Skate #1). Thanks for being such a fan of my goofy project, Cathy!
Skaters in the snow at the Otter Creek Centre rink on Cheritan Avenue.

Where will the Great Skate Project go next?

There are a lot of rinks to choose from, even just within city limits. The City of Toronto maintains 53 outdoor rinks. That doesn't include the more than 30 natural-ice rinks created by neighbourhood groups in Toronto, or rinks run by other organizations like Harbourfront or the Evergreen Brickworks.

 I have skated on 35 different rinks so far. Skating each week from January to mid-March means this year there are about 12 opportunities to add more Great Skates to my list. Priority goes to the rinks that are easy to reach by transit, or that friend and family with cars are willing to drive to.

New Rink Links

Old Toronto Skating Photographs - This recent article by Joel Levy in the Toronto Guardian shows dozens of archival photos from the early 20th century.  (Thanks to my sister for sending me the link.)

 Carousel on Ice - Watch this fun video to see what happens when you put Latvians on a frozen lake with a chainsaw and an outboard motor.


Location: Cheritan Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada

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