by Dave Salter
Northern News Services

NNSL (DEC 02/96) - The sun begins to set as snow flutters slowly from the sky. A lone skater chops through a sheet of ice on a frozen Northern pond -- steam shooting from a drippy nose.

Scenes like these are part of our Canadian fabric.

Nearly every Canadian has skated on a pond or outdoor rink at some point in their life.

A couple of weeks ago News/North ran a story on natural ice surface arenas in the North. Many of these structures are covered. Some communities use temporary outdoor rinks while they await the completion of modern, indoor facilities.

But in some tiny Northern hamlets, an outdoor rink is a permanent fixture. It's all these communities will ever have.

Because the weather is so harsh in the Eastern Arctic, outdoor rinks are limited to the West.

Shane Thompson is something of an expert on outdoor rinks in the NWT. The recreation development officer at Municipal and Community Affairs, Thompson grew up playing outdoor hockey in Hay River.

Aside from the obvious weather conditions, he says there's a "different feel" to playing outdoors than indoors.

"It's a more friendly atmosphere on an outdoor rink. It's more fun," he says. "It's less structured and you don't really notice the cold as much as you'd think."

Wrigley, Trout Lake, Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Snare Lakes, Rae Lakes, Dettah, Arctic Red River, and Colville Lake are some of the Northern communities who only play hockey outdoors.

Thompson says due to limited populations, these hamlets will likely never have enclosed arenas. But they make do.

"The rinks are usually built close to warm-up shacks or community centres so the players don't freeze. In Rae Lakes they have a stove next to the rink so it's nice and cozy when the players get off the ice."

The rinks have boards similar to a standard arena but don't have plexiglass. Some are permanent fixtures while others are removed during the summer.

Thompson says he's seen rinks measure from 30 by 15 metres to 60 by 25 metres. He says the size sometimes depends on how much shovelling the locals want to do.

"If they don't feel like shovelling off the ice, you'll see the ice surfaces shrink. Other places that have snow-blowers are better off."

He says the beauty of these rinks lie in their simplicity.

"They're easy to maintain. You just have a level base and flood it like you would a back-yard rink, except with a water truck.

Playing organized minor hockey is expensive. Anyone can afford to play on a outdoor rink. All you need is a stick and a pair of skates."

Thompson says the outdoor rinks also play an important role in community carnivals and broomball games -- but you don't want to be on the sidelines watching.

"It gets a little cold just standing around, you definitely want to be playing."

Tony Kulbisky has also had first-hand experience on an NWT outdoor rink.

He played three seasons on Holman's old outdoor facility. The hamlet built a covered rink four years ago. Although temperatures often reached -30 C, he says he misses the experience.

"It was a lot of fun. You were dressed like Sherman Tank, but the atmosphere was great."