Canada’s Outdoor Rinks Are Melting. So Is a Way of Life.

Pond hockey in Western Massachusetts was a given from right before Christmas until mid February. Pretty much the case a predictable phenomenon through the 50's , 60's and 70's. Started to see subtle changes (i.e., less predictable ice) starting in the 80's and then mostly the end of predictable outdoor ice during the halcyon days of pond hockey in Western Massachusetts.

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of warming in these rinks, not scientific. But there's tons of anecdotal evidence from all over the world, for many many natural phenomena. It's like the old joke: If five people tell you you're dead, lie down.

I don't know where Canada's political leaders stand on climate change. Maybe the melting ponds & home built rinks are a local phenomenon? Per the current American presidential administration there is no "global warming" or "climate change". Borrowing from Chico Marx ("Duck Soup"): “Who are you going to believe, us or your own eyes?”

The problem is found inside the article - it takes five days of 14 degrees fahrenheit to freeze the rink and Canada is is in celsius. Seriously, Brampton is part of Greater Toronto, which is farther south than Portland Oregon. There are cold times and less cold times every winter. You mention Montreal which has much, much colder winters than Toronto. You could freeze a backyard rink there this very day. If you want to claim that Toronto is warming use the actual data, not anecdotal nonsense.

The evidence of global climate change and the planet warming are all around us. The pond on the grounds where I work used to be frozen for 2-3 months back in the 1970's-1980's. For the last 20 years, if it freezes at all in winter, it is for no more than a few weeks.

I guess the GOP will blame this on the liberal media. Their solution will be to tell everyone to play (sigh) roller hockey.

We skated in the backyard outside of Boston in the 60s. By the time I finished college in the early 70s, our favorite spots inside the I95/128 ring did not freeze over. By the time I finished graduate school in the 80s, the no-freeze zone pushed out every farther to the I495 ring another 20 miles inland. Even here in Madison, outdoor ice is iffy.

As someone who grew up skating on frozen ponds, this makes me so sad. How are kids going to develop a love of skating if the nearest rink is hours away?

I grew up outside of Buffalo, in East Aurora. We had a 1 acre pond that was dug out by my grandfather in the 1950’s first to control run off. In the winter we shoveled it off and skated. Ocassoinaly my father would drill holes with a hand drill to flood it to smooth it out. You would run up and shovel the new snow as fast as possible to avoid ripples and have a smooth surface. In the summer we swam on it. I remember we had a diving board on the deep end, that had to be removed due to insurance reasons. ( I have a 1966 pool with a diving board in Atlanta, that I pay a ton of insurance on. The insurance company tells me I could save significantly if I took it down. I tell them no, my children love it and I remember the heartbreak of an insurance call my dad made. We also had a pavilion made with old telephone poles ( my dad worked for Ma Bell). So the city relatives came out on weekends for picnics and swimming. For the big summer party my dad made a temp. Outhouse ( our house was almost 1/4 mile away). My Aunt tells me on the main part of the farm which Grandparent bought at a 1934 tax auction. They started building an ice rink as soon as they moved in just to the side of the house ( as soon as they got electricity, they would use the milking machines to pump the water out there.

Agree with MJ...not such a biggie. On the other hand my birdbath, filled fresh each day, has been frozen every morning for the past few days. Any "thaw" seems not to be for long.

As sad as not being able to ice skate within the backyards of Canada, this will be one of the least of our problems or worries related to climate change in the very near future.

I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, and people always would flood their back yard to make ice rinks. Plus we had lots of local ponds to skate and play hockey on. Hard to believe that was only 30 years ago. Can't be done often now (despite the snow they are getting this month.)

My son in law put in a sports court in his back yard. Only one year some time ago after putting up boards did my grandsons play hockey. Now, in February, they were shooting hoops outside instead. Growing up, we had a natural ice rink across the street. My mother would have to call us in for dinner, having spent the entire day there. Now, the City doesn't even try to make a rink. Climate change is a real thing!!

It is disheartening to see the threat, or maybe passage, of a wonderful spirit-filling pastime. This should also be yet the umpteenth call to arms that global warming is threatening ALL of our ways of life. My heart goes out to these folks. But, too, note the gargantuan plastic liner in each of the private-backyard rinks. I'd wager that gets replaced seasonally, or at least often enough. The environmental costs of plastic production, then the double-whammy of its waste in the ocean (from which it never departs and fish eat it) is one of the larger contributors to global warming. Maybe a private rink in your backyard is something you should forego for the very reason you're upset you can't have it? Just sayin'.