Whitchurch-Stouffville
November 20, 2008 08:01 PM
Stouffville Arena malfunction cancels 10 hours of games for teams from across Ontario
Mike Hayakawa
The way Tom Graham sees it, mechanical malfunctions can take place at hockey arenas any time.
Unfortunately, when a new brine pump that was installed last summer, malfunctioned at the Stouffville Arena’s Pad A Saturday, ice conditions deteriorated badly.
Ten hours of playing time was lost during a Whitchurch-Stouffville Minor Hockey Association annual rep tournament. Twenty-six teams from across Ontario were taking part.
Some finals were delayed and moved.
Mr. Graham, the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville’s director of leisure services, said the incident was a case of bad luck.
To prevent such mishaps, Mr. Graham said upgrading and maintenance work is carried out each summer at the rink.
It could have happened anywhere.
“It was really nothing,” Mr. Graham said. “Every arena crew has mechanical issues at some time. Even an office building could have problems with their heating or air conditioning. We had our company (Cimco Refrigeration) come in and they fixed the problem in five to six hours. This could have happened at any time. Unfortunately, this happened during the tournament. It was a blip in our system.”
One month ago, the arena experienced ice-making difficulties and some games were played in puddles of water.
Fortunately, no contests were lost during that period, minor hockey administrator Charlene Mason said.
The town incidents were unrelated, Mr. Graham said.
Above-normal early fall temperatures affected ice-making conditions in the first incident.
The town will compensate the association, Mr. Graham said.
“Every year we have something happen like the glass breaking or a power failure in the arena. We will sort something out with the association,” Mr. Graham said.
Minor hockey president Mike Humphreys said the town acted in an expedient and professional manner.
“They called us right away and we worked out a fair ice time settlement. They went above and beyond,” he said. “That’s all we can ask for. They advised us of what was going on. Unfortunately with machines you can’t get a part as quickly as you would like. We did some changes here and there with our tournament schedule. Fortunately, it was done and everyone was happy with the result.”