The City of Swift Current is getting ready to make use of the cold weather with its outdoor rinks.

The outdoor rinks (ODRs) can be found in parks all around the city, and will soon be ready for skating, hockey, and crokicurl. 

Michael Newell, the parks manager for the City of Swift Current, says that this year the ODRs will be ready sooner than in previous years.

"Weather during the last couple of weeks has started turning nicely for us to get ready to start flooding the outdoor rinks," said Newell. "So we have staff out there right now starting the flooding process."

While they won't be ready overnight, as flooding takes time to get right without any bubbles or slopes, they expect to be able to announce opening day fairly soon.

"The cold weather helps us, that's what we're looking for," said Newell. "This year has been a little bit better than probably the last four years for flooding. We had an earlier start to the winter season, which is great for the outdoor rink season."

Outdoor rinks do have a schedule, for things like hockey and other ice-bound activities. That list will be posted and available, with some smaller rinks being devoted to free skating during those other events.

There is a brief period in the morning, where a staff member maintains the surface of the ice, scraping it and fixing any issues. Afterwards, the schedule resumes.

A list of rinks in Swift Current for public use is as follows.

-Sheldon Kennedy rink at Riverdene Park
-Westside Park rink
-North Hill Park rink, located at ACT Park
-Southside rink
-Highland Park rink

Folks interested in playing crokicurl will need to allow for a little more time for the lines to be painted on the ice, as that takes an additional layer.