Metro Vancouver dad with long-term dream of backyard rink finally made it happen, but he started working on it in April
When Metro Vancouver is not in a middle of a cold snap the idea of a backyard rink seems unlikely. But a North Delta man has finally managed to make his backyard rink dreams come true, and he's figured out how to make it last long after the sub-zero temperatures are gone.
It was a labour of love from Warren Appleton, in part to cheer up his son who was missing hockey due to the pandemic.
And it worked. Eight-year-old Russell has been spending hours every single day in his backyard, skating and practicing his hockey skills.
"It's really fun,” said Russell, showing off the small skating area.
The backyard ice rink that made it all possible was years in the making, something Warren's wife, Johnna, can attest to.
“We moved into our house eight years ago and he has been trying to flood various surfaces to build an ice rink every winter,” she said.
Until this year, his numerous attempts haven’t been successful.
Backyard rinks may not seem as special in some parts of Canada, but in the Appletons' area, it's rarely cold enough.
While Metro Vancouver is currently experiencing unseasonably cold temperatures, it's actually not the weather that helped the rink succeed this year.
“Finally got a recipe to build them properly,” Warren said.
The secret is irrigation pipes underneath the layer of ice maintaining the rinks ideal temperature.
“I call it an ice sandwich cause there’s ice then there is a tarp and then there is more ice with pipes then another tarp” said Russell.
“I did some research on the internet and have been tinkering with it all year,” said Warren.
“I told everybody it was an experiment because I didn’t know if it would work so its seems pretty cool to see it all come together."
According to Johnna, “The kids love it, and he may not say so, but he is having a blast being able to go out there every day with them.”
It has been fun for the whole family but especially for Russell, whose hockey team's tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. Being able to play has been comforting for the boy.
“This is really special and I don’t know many people who their parents made them their very own ice rink,” said Russell.
And Russell isn’t the only one honing new skills on the home ice. His six-year-old sister has been getting better at skating every single day.
The rink has been up and running since November and Warren says it's here to stay for a little while longer.
“I’m not sure when it gets above eight degrees but imagine he will have a few more months use out of it,” he said.
But getting the rink up and running has not been a quick endeavour. Warren's work actually began back in April and he worked on it every chance he could.
“Might be 80 hours or 100 hours something like that,” Warren estimated of how long he's spent in total.
It’s thanks to that determination that he now gets to enjoy the fruits of his labour with his own kids.
“I am very proud of him. I know from the time he was a kid he has been trying to build himself an ice rink to shoot on,” said Johnna.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
A look back on Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season: Preparing for potential challenges in 2024
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.
Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
Craig Berube is the next head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.