九色视频

Local hockey teams and figure skaters in the Delmarva region are facing the first fall and winter seasons without the Centre Ice Rink, a facility formerly located on the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, around 45 minutes from Easton. It closed in May due to funding issues.

Many have turned to the Easton ice rink, operated by Talbot County Parks and Recreation inside of the community center on Route 50.

Jonny Brown, assistant facilities manager, said teams and clubs rushed to contact the Easton facility when the Harrington rink announced its closure in January.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 phone was ringing with, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 available?鈥欌�� Brown recalled.

Now, as temperatures dip and hockey season begins, Easton鈥檚 rink 鈥� the only full-year rink on the Eastern Shore of Maryland 鈥� is ready for one of its busiest years yet.

Talbot Parks and Recreation Director Emily Gilmer said it was a 鈥渢ime-consuming鈥� process to piece together a schedule that accommodated returning groups, new teams, open skate sessions and more.

鈥淣ormally, ice schedule鈥檚 pretty much set,鈥� Gilmer said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got the same user groups, they鈥檝e got the same time. This year, it was like, let鈥檚 just throw the entire ice schedule into a pot and just completely redo it almost.鈥�

Luckily, Gilmer said they鈥檝e been able to mix and match schedules, welcoming in new teams and groups including the and ice hockey team.

The rink will also host an adult hockey league made up of 10 teams across two divisions, mostly playing games on weekend and Monday nights.

鈥淲e really didn鈥檛 think we were going to be able to do it at first because we did not have a consistent time available for them,鈥� Gilmer said. But ice rink staff made it work by slightly modifying public skate times, she said.

are still available for the public throughout the week: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 3 p.m.; Fridays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m; Saturdays from 7 to 9 p.m.; and Sundays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Brown said there will be more ice maintenance and staffing required throughout the coming weeks to handle the increased usage of the rink. He said he鈥檚 started to go from once-a-week maintenance to three days a week.

In addition to his role with the parks and recreation department, Brown is president of the nonprofit , or Easton Ice Hawks. Made up of many teams at different age levels, the group relies on Easton鈥檚 ice rink for practices.

And with the Harrington closure earlier this year, many kids left teams in Delaware to join the Ice Hawks. Brown said there鈥檚 around 40 or 50 kids on the team this year that came from Harrington teams or clubs.

鈥淎s an organization, we didn鈥檛 want to turn anyone away,鈥� Brown said, adding that ESHA was largely able to prevent from having to make new teams. Instead, most teams are closer to the 20-member limit with the influx of kids from Delaware.

Gilmer and Brown each recognized the idea of expanding the ice rink, though they acknowledged it鈥檚 a significant financial commitment.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been talks about, 鈥極h we should get a second sheet of ice,鈥欌�� Gilmer said. 鈥淲hile we would love to, I鈥檓 sure that鈥檚 a decent expense. I could almost guarantee that we could probably fill it, especially from September, October all the way to February.鈥�

In the meantime, Gilmer said she鈥檚 excited for the busy season on the ice. She and others at the parks and recreation department will be monitoring to see how the schedule pans out in the coming months.

鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna really take the numbers this year and compare to other ice rinks and what they do,鈥� Gilmer said.