Ashley Chally thinks the next Kristi Yamaguchi or Mario Lemieux could come from Bend.
It makes sense. Already, Central Oregon is the high-desert home to a healthy collection of the country’s strongest athletes—from runners, to snowboarders, rock climbers, cyclists (road, mountain and cyclocross), nordic skiers and whitewater kayakers. And with an ice rink befitting the National Hockey League in the works, why wouldn’t Bend add hockey and figure skating?
Chally, 26, is a former international-level competitive figure skater and current skating instructor at Seventh Mountain Resort’s modest ice rink. Her students range in age from 2 to 62.
Recently, Chally helped a 13-year-old Bend boy go from novice to expert in a matter of weeks. The young athlete, who attends an east coast school, wanted to make the hockey team, despite having never been on ice. After just a couple weeks of focused instruction, the boy returned to his prep school and did just that.
“We have a lot of kids interested in hockey,” said Chally. “If we had a real program, I know many who would be successful if they could skate year round.”
By next winter, that scenario will be a reality, as a seasonal ice rink will open, the crown jewel of the Simpson Avenue Site & Pavilion, a $11.3 million project funded by the $29 million Bend Park and Recreation District bond approved by voters last November. Located on a 11-acre parcel between Colorado Avenue and Simpson Avenue (in an area best known for the Mt. Bachelor Park n’ Ride lot) the Simpson site improvements will also include multi-sport playing courts, locker rooms, lobby, equipment concessions, office space and parking. There even has been talk of hosting farmer’s markets onsite. One thing is certain, however. The ice rink—which will be outdoors, covered and regulation size—will greatly expand the region’s ice skating options, which are currently only two fun, but pint-sized offerings.
“You won’t feel like you’re on a hamster wheel,” Chally said of the new rink.
The Simpson Avenue ice rink, which will be much larger than the rinks in Sunriver and Seventh Mountain Resort—the only other rinks in the area—will be sheltered from above by a 120-foot-wide by 240-foot-long catenary roof. And though open air, a transparent membrane sheet strung from floor to ceiling will shield the ice from sun, wind, snow and rain. Preserving the ice, Chally said, should be a top priority.
“If it’s over 45 degrees, ice melts and there’s not much you can do to salvage it,” Chally said. “Covering it to keep the sun off will help.”
Ryan Mejaski, a long-time area youth ice hockey coach, agrees.
Eight years ago, Mejaski started coaching 5-to-13-year-olds, but so few kids signed up that parents often had to skate with the youngsters just to help field scrimmage squads. Since then, the program has exploded. Last year Mejaski had 55 kids sign up. And this year, when the park district took over the program, demand was even higher—so much that kids were being turned away, something a bigger rink will solve.
Though park district recreation directors are unsure exactly how the new programs will work, from November to March there should be robust ice hockey and figure skating programs, as well as open skate time. It is unclear if there will be a cost associated with using the rink on a drop-in basis. ,
Go here:
New this season at Mt. Bachelor is a groomed, get-back trail for Nordic skiers that leads from Emil’s Clearing to the Nordic lodge. Tentatively called Easy Up, the roughly quarter-mile long trail is a less-steep alternative to Screamer, and offers uninhibited views of Broken Top and the Three Sisters, thanks to its side-hill nature. Bring a camera.
Or here:
New Maston Trail. As the temps hit the low 50s, reaching past the skis and grabbing the mountain bike may be the wisest move (our scouts report the Tumalo trails are in top form). Try this ride (from the Juniper trailhead on Newcomb Road): Ride/run up a steep hill out of the parking lot and hang a right on a newly flagged trail and follow it until it joins the well-used canal trail. Go left and keep exploring.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2014.
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Actually, Ashley’s oldest student is 65. That would be me.
I certainly agree that it would be nice to have a full size rink in town. I also think the proposed design is totally foolish and I fear it will fail so badly that it will and up being abandoned. They have a roof directly above the ice to provide shade. That would work if the sun was directly overhead. Of course, that’s not the reality in the winter. I suspect the southern most 20 or 30% of the ice surface will be unusably soft on sunny days.
What we really need is a rink inside a real insulated building that could be used for more than just three months in the winter. I’d be perfectly happy with a plain old (cheap) steel warehouse that could be insulated and chilled inside. Instead I see my tax money being squandered on a flashy looking but impractical tourist attraction.
I am a former figure skater and instructor and I went to the different rinks in the area and i looked and said to my self how can I teach a axel there is not enough room. I am very glad to see a full size rink going in. There ia a lot of talent in our area but not enough ice so they can show it off.
It’s a little unrealistic to think an outdoor rink that will be able to be used 3 months out of the year is going to create hockey or figure skating superstars.
This town has the money to build an actual insulated ice rink and if there is an interest like people are saying, then do that and don’t waste money on a future year round puddle, especially tax money.
Growing up on the east coast and playing ice hockey my whole life, I understand the concept of ice time but if parks and rec is going to have a “robust ice hockey and figure skating programs”, I hope they understand ice time should probably start at 3 am in order to fulfill this robust program.
“Recently, Chally helped a 13-year-old Bend boy go from novice to expert in a matter of weeks. The young athlete, who attends an east coast school, wanted to make the hockey team, despite having never been on ice. After just a couple weeks of focused instruction, the boy returned to his prep school and did just that.”
Maybe true but he most likely will never make a hockey team at an east coast prep school. Those kids are skating from 2 years old and usually start hockey a year later. To play high caliber ice hockey, skating must be second nature, not learned in 3 weeks. But cool story.
I was thinking of moving to Bend but moved back home to Buffalo, NY. There are more ice rinks within 10 miles of my home than the whole state of Oregon and much of southern Washington. My son started skating in Oct 2012. He made a weak tier II travel team in the spring of 2014. This is unusual. Most kids would have needed to skate at least 2-3 years longer but he had a personal coach(me) and was skating all the time. I had him on the ice 2-4 times a week EVERY week of the year. He is ~the best skater on the team but not the best hockey player(I am finding playing hockey takes longer to develop). There is no way Bend will produce anything but a house league level player. Not only would Bend need a year round rink but they would need to play other good teams around the country (i.e. have a developed hockey program). this would take at least 5 years AFTER the full time DOUBLE rink building is completed. Oregon is essentially a hockey/ice skating vacuum compared to other states. I like ice skating too much to move to Bend full time. I lived in Oregon for 10 years and now realize how much I missed ice skating. Sounds like the people in charge of Bend reluctantly built an ice rink they really didn’t want in the first place.
Robert here again, I can say that for Central Oregon to have quality skaters either hockey or figure will need more than 3 months out of a year to produce. I can take a student from beginer to basic school figures in a year. With 3 months at a time it will take 15 years. Do the math people, lets build an indoor rink or put insulated walls on the rink you have planed and make it a year round rink.