Skate Lending
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Skate lending programs at
neighbourhood outdoor ice rinks
When Dufferin Rink began loaning out skates in 2004, the number of skaters nearly doubled.
How to run a skate loan program at your rink:
Suggested donation amounts should be affordable:
Hockey or figure skates $2
Bob-skates $1
Sticks or gloves $1
Helmets - free
A skate loan program brings people together in interesting ways.
For more information:
publiccommons.ca
Campbell
City Hall
Skate lending programs make
neighbourhood outdoor ice rinks more lively.
They attract all kinds of new people
who don’t have their own skates.
Small children try skating for the first time.
Families bring visiting relatives.
Kids whose feet are growing quickly don’t have to buy a new pair.
Newcomers to Canada go skating in their first winter.
Pleasure skaters try out shinny.
The same thing happened at Wallace and Campbell a few years later.
Wallace
Campbell
People were excited to borrow skates in exchange for cheap pay-what-you-can donations.
Unlike City Hall and Harbourfront, a neighbourhood skate loan program works more like a noisy library than a business.
The first thing you need is dedicated staff who care about taking care of the equipment and about the big picture of the rink.
Next you need equipment.
Ward 18 skate programs bought skates, gloves, and helmets with a start-up grant from the NHLPA.
Rink friends donated second hand skates in good condition to add to the collection.
Sell basic supplies at cost, like pucks, hockey tape, and skate laces.
Have extra tools on hand: papertowel, wax, a lace-tightener, scissors, a lighter, and a file for skate blades.
Number skates according to size.
Spray paint patches of fluorescent colours on your equipment so it’s easy to spot and less appealing to steal.
Store your equipment in a secure, lockable room with lots of shelves and bins.
Record each loan in a log book with the borrower's name and phone number and keep a piece of their ID.
When they return the skates, check off
the entry and return the ID.
Keep a $100 float for making change in a secure spot behind the counter or in a money belt.
Donations can go towards:
repairing or replacing
damaged equipment
adding to your collection
as your rink becomes
more popular
sharpening skates
At first, Ward 18 staff took bags of skates to sporting goods stores once or twice a week for sharpening.
Over time, enough donations were collected to buy a portable skate sharpener.
Skates should be available whenever your rink is open, seven days a week.
Staff get to know people.
Youth are friendlier because they know that staff don’t lend skates to people who are too rowdy or disruptive.
Neighbours donate equipment and get free loans or some food at the snack bar in return.
School groups and non-profit youth programs skate for free.
Kids help out with clean-up
in exchange for free loaners.
Your rink becomes a livelier, more social place.