Rankin Inlet (Oct 11/06) - The Rankin Inlet arena has opened for business almost right on schedule for the first time since its artificial ice-making plant was fired up three seasons ago.

Rankin recreation co-ordinator Jackson Lindell said the painting of the lines and circles, and other finishing touches to the ice surface were completed just before the long weekend.

He said the original target date of being open by Oct. 1 would have been met, had it not been for the power problems the community suffered this past month.

"We've got a nice community logo for centre ice this year, as well as a nice logo for when we host the Avataq Memorial hockey tournament early in the new year," said Lindell.

"We also received more corporate support this year in the form of advertising space on the rink boards being purchased.

"The Royal Bank, Kivalliq Air and the Nunavut Development Corp. are all represented now, and Calm Air and Umingmak are back for another year."

Lindell said the ice-making plant has been a learning curve for him during the past few years and, this past year, he learned how to properly run the compressors.

He now has only one compressor running most of the time, instead of all three.

"The second compressor will kick in if the plant has to make up for a flood warming the ice, but it's very, very rare that we get all three coming on at the same time now.

"Nobody here had ever been shown how to set the temperature properly, so it had always been kind of erratic.

"That would cause all three compressors to kick in way too often and that was using energy like crazy."

Lindell said, hopefully, the early problems will stay in the past, and there's no longer any reason for the arena crew not to have the ice ready to go this time every year.

He said getting the compressors under control will also help alleviate extra fuel and energy costs this year.

"It should all even itself out, cost wise, because we'll be using less energy, but the price of fuel and power is expected to go up again.

"If those costs had stayed the same as last year, we, definitely, would have come in at a lower cost of operation this year.

"That is, as long as there are no problems ahead that I don't know about."