HANLEY—The Hanley Artificial Ice project celebrated the end of its first big fund-raising initiative with a free public skate in Hanley’s rink Dec. 26.
After the skate, a crowd gathered for the Lottery Draw where thousands of dollars worth of prizes, including a grand prize of $25,000, were up for grabs.
Mark Deford won the grand prize, but the real winner will some day be current and future children of Hanley for whom the Artificial Ice Project was created last year.
The project needs about $1.5 million to install an artificial ice making plant in the current rink.
Built in 1981, Hanley’s arena relies on the weather for its current ice making capabilities. Ice is made naturally and only when it is cold enough, which means the skating season in Hanley is a short one, some times, depending on the conditions, can last a mere two months.
Temperatures this December were mild, making it difficult to make ice.
The Dec. 26 free public skate that coincided with the Lottery Draw was the first skate of the season in Hanley.
Cindy Prosofsky, a member of the Hanley Artificial Ice Project, said organizers had to work hard to get the ice ready in time for the Dec. 26 event.
She said the lottery went well and it is something the project intends to build upon.
“We’d like to see the lottery come back. It was a learning experience and we know what to do better next time,” she said.
The lottery did help bring awareness of the initiative.
This weekend the Artificial Ice Project is having Hockey Days in Hanley.
“We’re trying to bring all the hockey kids home so they can play at home,” Prosofsky said.
The only team that plays out of the Hanley arena is the initiation team. All other minor hockey-aged players from Hanley and area play for out of town teams. Bantam and midget-aged players play for Clavet and players in peewee, atom and novice age divisions play for Dundurn.
Profosky said they hope to have 10 to 12 teams taking part in Hockey Days in Hanley, which should start at about 9 a.m. Saturday with the initiation team.
Friday, Hanley’s women’s hockey team the Hooters will play a game, followed by the Dundurn Wheat Kings, who are coming to Hanley to play a league game against the Kinistino Tigers.
Profosky said there are 24 students in Hanley’s Kindergarten class this year and the hope is that within a few years, and with the help of artificial ice, most of Hanley’s minor hockey players will again sport Hanley Hawks jerseys and be able to wear them while playing in their home rink.