Volunteers keep ice rink running

Dedicated and tireless volunteers make the sometimes “monstrous job” of running Woodland Ice Center smooth skating every winter.

They show up to drive the Zamboni, clean bathrooms and run the concession stand. And they’re pretty good at getting people young and old into hockey, too.

“So many people provide so much time,” said Kim Morisaki, president of the Flathead Valley Hockey Association. “They just give and give and give.”

The association owns and runs the outdoor ice rink in Kalispell’s Woodland Park. The rink opened for the season several weeks ago and celebrates its sixth year of operation this January.

The association’s half-dozen boys, girls and coed youth hockey teams have been out practicing and starting their games. Including a league for adult women, 125 people and counting have signed up to play hockey so far this year.

“It’s growing phenomenally. This last year we’ve really seen a spurt of new people coming to try [hockey],” Morisaki said.

And that’s just what the Flathead Valley Hockey Association wants: People of all ages getting into hockey.

Forty-four kids came out for a free hockey clinic a few weeks ago.

“You don’t even have to bring skates,” Morisaki said of the clinics. “We’ll lend you skates, give you the gear and get you out on the ice.”

Hockey teams, programs and regularly scheduled men’s, women’s and coed drop-in scrimmages keep people out on the rink most every weekday evening and throughout the weekend.

The association also tries to hold popular community open skate sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The open skates can draw as many as 100 people a session. But sometimes they need to be moved to other times so the rink is available for games and jamborees that bring visiting teams and dozens of hockey players to Kalispell for as many as four days at a time.

THE ASSOCIATION took out a $380,000 mortgage for the ice rink five years ago, and worked with Kalispell to install it at the old Bruckhauser Pool at Woodland Park.

Money from an anonymous donor and a local youth foundation quickly helped knock that debt down to about $180,000.

“We’d like to get that mortgage paid off,” Morisaki said.

Money the association raises from its hockey teams, programs and equipment rentals goes to pay that mortgage and the $10,000 in electricity bills the rink generates every winter.

Other donations have provided a Zamboni for the rink, a sound system and dozens of sets of hockey skates and equipment that help keep the gear-intensive sport an affordable activity for local families.

“We will take any kid that wants to come learn to play hockey. We will find a way to make that possible,” Morisaki said.

Donations also have let the Flathead Valley Hockey Association look to the future.

Montana Creative Architecture and Design helped prepare plans and blueprints for improvements being targeted for years to come.

The building’s electrical system and bathrooms need to be improved. It would be nice to have a new shed for hockey gear and a garage for the Zamboni.

“Then we’ve talked about eventually putting a roof over [the rink]. Not over the sides, but a roof to keep the rain and snow off and keep the sun off in March so maybe we can go a little longer each year, but that’s a big project,” Morisaki said.

For now, the association and its volunteers will continue to build on the progress they have made over five years and work to keep the ice rink running smoothly every day for another good hockey season.

“We have a long-term plan, a medium-term plan and a what-are-we-going-to-do-tomorrow plan,” Morisaki said.

Information about joining a hockey team and a constantly updated calendar of clinics, events and open skates is available online at www.FlatheadFlames.org.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.