November 21, 2014
The City of Toronto is opening 15 outdoor rinks tomorrow, including Nathan Phillips Square, the new, covered rink and skating path at Greenwood Park, and the ice-skating trail at Colonel Samuel Smith Park. It's time for Torontonians to lace up their skates and enjoy a outdoor skating season.
Weather permitting, 15 outdoor rinks will open on Saturday, November 22 and operate until the season ends on March 22.
The 36 other outdoor rinks will open Saturday, November 29 and operate until February 22.
More information about Toronto's outdoor artificial ice rinks, including a map of rink locations, schedules for each location, closures, learn-to-skate programs and helmet/equipment requirements, is available at
http://bit.ly/1gBZ6kX.
City of Toronto skating programs include:
- hockey skills, power skate
- learn-to-skate for adults and children
- scheduled public skates and shinny, including adult, caregiver and child, child, women, and more.
All children under the age of six must wear a Canadian Standards Association/CSA-approved hockey helmet on the ice. Helmets are also mandatory for people of all ages participating in supervised shinny hockey and learn-to-skate programs.
Media activity at designated rinks:
Prior to visiting one of the designated locations listed below for media coverage, media outlets should contact the Parks, Forestry and Recreation media line at 416-560-8726 and/or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday.
At the rink, staff will make people aware of the presence of media before the commencement of filming or photography. Close-up shots of participants are not allowed without the subjects' permission.
The following four rink locations across the city are designated for media to film or photograph long shots:
• Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St. W. (near Queen Street West and Bay Street) • Colonel Samuel Smith Park, 3145 Lake Shore Blvd. W. (near Kipling Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West) • Joseph Bannon Park, 65 Mary Chapman Blvd. (near Weston Road and Sheppard Avenue West) • Kew Gardens, 2075 Queen St. E. (near Woodbine Avenue and Queen Street East)
The City's outdoor rinks are compressor cooled, which makes it possible for them to operate in a range of weather conditions. However, closures during the skating season are sometimes necessary due to unseasonably warm temperatures or following a heavy snowfall. Rinks are maintained by staff teams that circulate through the city every day. The public can check on ice availability after a major weather event by calling 311.
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit
http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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Media contact: Parks, Forestry and Recreation media line, 416-560-8726, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
