Ice resurfacing requires an odd skill set.  Some of the job is technical skills and some of it is artistic.  Anyone can perform the technical skills, but only a few people can take those skills to the next step by developing artistry. To highlight this concept further, let's take a look at how ice resurfacer drivers are typically trained and developed.  Most rinks either train people who want to drive the ice resurfacer, or those people who have the work-time availability to drive...

As I write this in early October, I realize much of the nation is on the verge of experiencing extreme weather in one form or another. Seems like this year, 2011, has been extreme compared to many. While tornados and flooding are weather events that are usually unexpected and therefore unplanned for, winter weather is usually predictable in its methods.

Any facility open to the public will have a few guests who are not happy with the services rendered. I think this is a reality in life. As arena professionals, we have to deal with these issues in a manner that encourages repeat business.

My life has been consumed by holiday and seasonal rinks for the past couple of weeks. Growing up in New England, my perception of a seasonal rink was shoveling the snow off a swampy area behind my elementary school and then skating. One year, my family tried to build a naturally cooled temporary rink which failed miserably.

The past two posts (here and here) dealt with possible reasons to hire a consultant to analyze a recreational facility. Once the decision has been made to enlist a consultant's help, what kind of consultant should a facility choose? Whenever any job goes out to bid, responsible owners and managers always consider who to hire.

In last week's post, we discussed different reasons why hiring a consultant makes sense for athletic facilities in a variety of situations. We discussed five reasons, and here are a few more (in no particular order): #4 You are a municipality and your facility is 30 years old and needs replacing This situation is happening all over Canada and the Northern tier of states. Questions to ask include keeping the old facility open after a refurbishment, maintaining ice times if the old structure has t...

From time to time, things change in both business and life. Coping and dealing with those changes can get a little more complicated if your life is involved in an ice rink or athletic facility. From municipal facilities, to the mom and pop shop down the street, every once in a while the organization could use a little outside help.

Anyone I talk to always complains about all the junk mail they receive in their US Mail box. I've signed up on web sites to remove myself from junk mailing lists. One of the more famous sites is DMAchoice.org which helps consumers receive the mail they want rather than everything.

As we hit the midst of summer, I find myself contemplating why summer patterns are so different than winter patterns. Our sales year is very busy from November to February, has a busy week in March when the kids are out of school, and dies down the rest of the year. I think that's what they mean by the ice skating business being seasonal.

We've all seen our weather get warmer and storms get stronger. There is no doubt that the climate is changing. The causes of climate change are way beyond this blog, but here are two reputable sources that discuss potential changes: NASA and EPA.

Every year at the rink we run, Lloyd Center Ice Rink, we have a rose show for a week. This year I enjoyed the roses for the fourteenth time since starting to work there in 1998. Where do the years go?

Meet our new blogger Don Baldwin! Don works as a Regional Manager for Rink Management Services Corporation and as an ice rink manager at Lloyd Center Ice Rink. Today, I work in a mall rink.