SAFETY AND COMMON SENSE FIRST

Outdoor skating is an activity that involves some risks. Erecting and maintaining an outdoor rink is an activity that involves some risks of injury or property damage. These risks are voluntarily assumed by those who use, enter onto, erect or permit the establishment and maintenance of an outdoor rink on their property. To minimize such risks, we recommend the following:

1. Supervise use of the rink, particularly when being used by children, and/or when sticks or pucks are involved.
2. Ensure all skaters skate in control and wear proper safety equipment including knee and elbow pads and a full face helmet. Do not let people on the ice without skates and proper safety equipment.
3. Establish safety rules for the use of your rink.
4. Ensure all users, and in the case of minors, their parents and guardians, are aware of the risks being assumed and the rules you have established. Make sure children using the rink have been given permission from their parents or guardians.
5. Inspect the rink on a regular basis for ridges, gouges, holes or unevenness and clear and flood as required to maintain a smooth skating surface.
6. Maintain edges of rink and surrounding areas to ensure that users can access and exit the rink in safety.
7. If flood lighting is used take all necessary precautions to ensure that there is no risk that extension cords can be severed by skates or shovels and that cords do not pose a hazard. Cords should be off the ground and should not be permitted to be buried beneath snow. Cords should be disconnected at the power source when lighting system is not in use.
8. When erecting rink, wear appropriate foot and hand protection.
9. Establish the rink in a well drained area. Do not locate rink in an area prone to flooding, ponding drainage or grading problems. 
10. After flooding rink, ensure water flow to outside taps is properly turned off to reduce risk of pipes freezing.
11. Boards around the rink constitute a hazard to skaters and pedestrians and should be clearly visible and clearly marked. Rink should not be located in an area likely to be traversed by pedestrians who may not know of its presence or the hazards it presents.
12. Some brace systems for holding the boards in place are made of metal and therefore should be installed properly by hammering them into the ground as far as the dasher boards will allow (check with your local utility before doing this). Monitor during the winter to ensure they continue to be snug to top of boards.