“Faculty Brat” Yosef Spear tried out the ice on New Year’s Eve. (Photo: provided)
Northwood school is currently making an addition to the campus athletic facilities: an outdoor skating area or “hockey box”. It will be located on top of the outdoor tennis courts and will be for recreational use. The rink has been assembled with basic lumber around the perimeter and filled with water that will turn into ice when temperatures drop. The hockey box creates an opportunity to have fun during free time in the winter and is easily accessible to everyone.
The first outdoor skating rink at the school was built in 1939. Back then, the box was built next to the gymnasium and had dimensions of 100 by 215 feet “Olympic size.” It was used mainly for practices, along with extra ice during the Northwood Invitational Tournament. The current hockey box will have smaller dimensions of 107x 58 feet and will be open to everyone. The addition of floodlights will allow for the box to be used when it gets dark out.
As for the timeline, Head of maintenance Joey Burnah remarks “We need a solid week of cold weather for the ice to start to take shape. Only mother nature knows what our weather brings but I am hoping by the time holiday break is over the rink will be ready.”
An article about the 1939 Hockey box is featured below.
