EDITORIAL – Skating can be dangerous, so take sensible precautions

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

WAY BACK WHEN, us kids used to go skating on a frozen oxbow river pond in our small town. We’d bang pieces of plywood onto the ends of two by fours to clear the snow, lace up our skates and off we went.

No helmets, no pads, no protection at all. They didn’t even wear helmets in the NHL in those days (the goalies didn’t wear protective masks, either), so the very thought of it would have seemed silly. There was nowhere to buy them even if we’d wanted to.

Since I was a lousy skater, I cut pieces of cardboard to insert into my skates to try to keep my ankles from giving out. I fell down a lot. Got a few bruises. It’s a miracle nobody was seriously hurt, at least that I can remember.

Now, people are ending up in hospital after taking spills at the new skating pond in Riverside Park. Head injuries are the main concern of unhelmeted skaters but some have fallen, reached out to brace themselves and ended up with broken wrists.

Skating in a pond environment is much different than inside a rink, where you can steer yourself to the boards if need be. Down at the park, there are no boards. Many people are wearing helmets, others are not.

Sure as can be, somebody is going to sue the City, alleging negligence of some sort. It’s happened on other occasions in other circumstances. Some kid fell off the roof of a public building years ago. Somebody else fell into a rock fountain at the arena. And somebody fell into a garbage dumpster before guard rails were installed.

Last year, a civil claim was filed against the City and school district after a student was hurt during a skating field trip at a City facility.

Life involves risks. Sometimes, people put themselves into unnecessarily risky situations. In the case of the new outdoor skating facility, the public has been thoroughly warned by the City and Interior Health to be careful. Signage is posted, and information about the pond on the City’s website outlines all the precautions people should take.

Those include wearing helmets, using objects for stability, skating in the designated direction, keeping kids close to adults. No sticks, pucks or rough play. Beware of rough ice surfaces and potential collisions with other skaters. No pets, bicycles or strollers on the ice. It’s also pointed out that the new pond is unsupervised.

And the big one: “Skate at your own risk.”

I suppose the City could step up its messaging but sanctioned public activity involves a joint responsibility between the sponsor and the user. Be careful out there.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.