Small town hockey rinks will continue to receive funding
By Colton Hordichuk
Photo by Colton Hordichuk. Kevin Doherty, minister of parks, culture and sport, is confident that $1.7 million will be enough money to support small town Saskatchewan hockey arenas.
On Mar. 19, 2014, the Government of Saskatchewan announced in its 2014-2015 budget that they will allocate $1.7 million to the Community Rink Affordability Grant.
The grant, which was launched in fall 2012, provides municipally-owned indoor hockey rinks across Saskatchewan with $2,500 that can be used to fund maintenance such as general repairs and operating costs as well as funding wages.
Kevin Doherty, minister of parks, culture and sport, said that the grant is a crucial part in funding small town facilities.
“Twenty-five hundred dollars for a small curling rink or a small skating can mean the difference between keeping that facility open this year,” Doherty said.
The minister added that he was in Martensville when he announced the extension of the program in December 2013. While visiting, he said he was told a story about how the local arena hired a single mother who became the janitor at their facility. The grant was ultimately used to pay for her services.
Towns like Balgonie, Arcola, and Balcarres apply for the grant every year.
Chad Glasser, parks and recreation director in Fort Qu’Appelle, said that the small town located in the Qu’Appelle Valley also applied for the $2,500. Glasser recommended that every small town rink, if possible, should apply for the grant as well.
“In Saskatchewan, (a rink) is an identity. I mean, you see these small piddly little towns of a hundred people that are running a rink and they’re struggling, but it’s their identity. If we don’t have a rink, then they feel like they’re not on the map.”
In addition to municipally-owned indoor hockey rinks, schools, non-profit organizations, First Nations reserves, and cooperatives are also eligible. Privately owned facilities that register for the funding are not eligible according to the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association.
For arenas like the A.J.M. Davies Arena in Indian Head, the grant often goes to energy and power bills. SaskPower increased their system-average rate by 5.5 per cent at the beginning of 2014. Nevertheless, Chrisandra Simonson, community development officer in Indian Head, isn’t concerned about the rate increase.
“In terms of the rink, the costs are always going up in an aging facility,” Simonson says.
“The grant’s just great to have because every little bit helps.”
In time, Simonson would simply like to see the grant continued, although she says that an increase would be ideal.
“Facility grants are hard to come by… So, if the grant can continue to be there, and we’d love to say continue to grow, but realistically with the amount of rinks we have in the province - that won’t happen. That’s all I can ask for, though.”
Doherty said that the allocated $1.7 million dollars is an estimate based on the two years of experience with the grant. The government factors in the number of facilities in the province and those who applied.
