As someone who has spent time in many communities and towns living and working all over much of western Canada, it is hard to believe that there are only two indoor ice surfaces/arenas for all of Sea to Sky country: Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, namely.
Certainly, this promotes alternative sports more, which this area is fondly noted for, but when adult recreational hockey players simply quit the sport they grew up playing because there is no more ice time available at normal times of day, it must be a little disappointing.
What’s even more surprising, is that a town the size of Pemberton has no indoor ice rink at all. That’s unheard of for just about any town that size anywhere in Canada.
That’s a heck of a lot of driving to go all the way to Whistler and back for one game or one practice, if you can get the ice time, that is.
Hockey can certainly be at the heart of it all. The mountain town of Kimberly in the east Kootenays, for example, boasts multiple arenas and is not nearly the size and population of Squamish.
A gathering in a big, old, beautiful arena there is pretty special for the local Junior B hockey team and community.
All within walking distance.
In the heart of the town, many of the town's folks gather for the weekend hockey game.
The adult leagues don’t have to squabble for ice time.
Another ice surface sure wouldn’t hurt in the super fast-growing communities of the Sea to Sky corridor.
Shawn Trudel
Valleycliffe
