Grant, left, and Bob Komarnisky volunteer to keep the ice in Nacmine prepped for local skaters to enjoy. Above, the team work on cleaning the ice before they flood.
There is nothing more Canadian than touching blade to ice and gliding across a fresh rink. Thanks to a father-son team in Nacmine, residents have been able to enjoy this quintessential winter activity.
Bob Komarnisky of Nacmine has had a second winter job for the last 15 years. He and his son Grant, and often George Harder volunteer to make sure there is smooth skating on the Nacmine ice ink.
Before Christmas, The Mail caught up to Bob and Grant. They were busy doing their second flood on the rink. They had lost one already because of a Chinook and while the ice was fresh, it was well used.
Bob explains the whole process takes about three hours. They clean and sweep the ice and use a snow blower to make a clean edge along the boards. The team typically does about three floods to smooth out the daily wear and tear. Because the ice is new, they are working to smooth out air pockets. They do a hot flood.
“I don’t know if we are experts or not, but we have our routine anyway,” chuckles Bob. The crew is out there often two or three times a week working on the ice
The Nacmine community Association built the rink and shelter and provides the equipment including brooms, snow blower and a water wand to spread the water.
