Cambridge Bay residents lend a hand — and a Bobcat — to create ice rink on the sea

There might not be an available arena in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, right now, but the community isn't without a rink this winter, thanks to some helpful residents.

Keith Lear started plowing out a rink on the sea ice in front of the community, inspired by another resident, Naikak Hakongak, who has been shovelling out a place to skate in recent years.

Lear, who owns the local hardware store, and a Bobcat, decided to help out with clearing the makeshift rink on sea ice 

"[Hakongak] made a fairly good-sized rink, but then we had blowing snow here so I decided to go down there and help him out and use the Bobcat that we have and made the rink really big," Lear said. 

"So it's there for families and community members and kids to enjoy."

The community of about 1,800 lies on the western entrance to the Northwest Passage. Right now, Lear said the makeshift skating rink is the only way for residents to go skating.

"The old arena is not even being used. So really, kids have nowhere to go skate and, and play hockey like they have in the past," Lear said.

"At least it gets them out and hopefully out playing and enjoying the cold temperatures."

Lear said he's seen as many as 10 kids at a time on the sea ice rink so far. He said, as the days get longer, use of the rink will only increase.

"I'm sure as the days get brighter, there's gonna be more and more kids out skating around on the ocean."

If there's a blizzard or storm, Lear said they'll go back out to clear the make-shift rink.

"We've kind of pushed the snow in a way that it will protect the rink from blowing snow, but every time there is snow or anything, we'll go down with our Bobcat and clear it out and make sure it's usable," Lear said.

Cambridge Bay's old arena complex was closed in 2018, according to Hala Duale, a spokesperson from Nunavut's department of community and government services, in an email. That was due to air quality concerns from mould throughout the building.

The territory issued a remediation contract in the fall of 2018, Duale said, the work of which was finished in February 2019. The arena was opened to the public "briefly," in the spring of 2019, and then again in the following years up to 2021, she said.