Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  It doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen easily. The transition from racquet season to skating season involves many hands and a great amount of engineering, science, weather understanding, teamwork and sometimes just plain grit. It often involves burgers.

On Saturday, tennis and pickle ball people took down the nets on the courts. On Sunday, RINK volunteers showed up to prepare the Dasher boards for the hockey season. They will be working on weekends throughout November with the goal of opening mid-December. That depends, however, on the weather. Ice needs cold. RINK needs people to prepare the rink for the ice.

“We are gearing up for another great ice season at Nedrink,” says Herb Pugmire rink manager. “We need volunteers to help make this season successful.”

A group of eight people worked on Sunday including a couple of rink rats, Ellie and Madi Brewer who can’t wait to get on skates. The volunteers added braces to the breakers to make them more stable.

Pugmire says timing is important. “You can’t let snow and ice build up on the rink, but if you put the liners out too soon, they will blow away. We will secure the new liners to the concrete and stretch them tight with a row of anchors. Once we get that in place, we wait for the cold temperatures.

Volunteer Ryan Keenan says he used to play hockey and when he moved here he was pleased to know there was an outdoor rink and was glad to be a part of making it happen.

During November volunteers will make the transition to the ice configuration. During December on cold nights, they will help to make the ice.

During the holiday break, volunteer Rink attendants will be needed so the rink can be open while the kids are out of school. During the weekends in January and February attendants are needed while the community comes out to enjoy the park.

All volunteers will get get credit for every hour that they work and they can apply it towards a RINK season pass or Hockey and Curling fees.  Last year the RINK credited roughly $7,000 in volunteer hours.

Also needed are members of the ice community to serve on the RINK board of directors. The board is looking for those who are interested in training this season for a paid position as RINK manager.

If you would like to be on a list that gets called out for volunteers, or let rink managers know what kind of job you would like to do, contact nedicerink@gmail.com