Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 15/99) - Paramount to maintaining Iqaluit's two artificial ice surfaces is the delicate balance between warm and cool air that ensures clean, hard ice and warm, enthusiastic spectators.

Gord McIntosh has worked at the arena for 10 years, eight of which he has been the manager, and says the balance is a very serious component in keeping both the arena ice and the curling ice in prime condition for everyday use.

"Mondays are maintenance days for the ice when it is cut and trimmed and added to," said McIntosh.

"The lowest point of the ice is generally in front of the goal creases and the highest points are around the boards. Water will pool at the lowest points and naturally even out the ice surface."

Adding and trimming ice is done by the Zamboni in the arena and the walk-behind Ice King at the curling rink.

The blue kickboard lining the bottom 10 inches of the boards in the arena has screws in it that act as guides in ensuring that the ice is level.

"The set of screws around the kickboard tells you how deep or shallow the ice is," said McIntosh.

"When we resurface the ice it is cut with steel blades and hot water fills in the grooves that are left behind -- the machine does all of the work."

For each cleaning, the Zamboni is filled with 75 gallons of hot water that is released over a cloth which is dragged behind the machine. The Zamboni is powered by propane.

"The byproduct of propane is water so there isn't any exhaust to fill the air," said McIntosh.

Curling ice, however, is far more particular than hockey ice, says McIntosh. It must be cut and pruned to be as level, smooth and exact as possible.

"Because of the interaction between the ice and the rocks, the ice and the air temperature have to be very precise. If it's too cold the rock won't curl enough and if it's too hot it starts sticking."

Two sets of compressors control the temperatures for both ice surfaces, but McIntosh says outdoor temperatures have a huge affect on the ice conditions.

"When it's cold out the heaters will kick in too much and warm the ice and if it's really cold out the temperature of the ice drops even further."

McIntosh says both the arena and the curling rink are now fully booked.

"If another organization started up, there wouldn't be any ice time for them."