If while walking through Brewer Park this winter, you stumble across a lone figure standing on a frozen pond, shovelling during a snowstorm, don’t be alarmed.
Bryan Gormley is a full-time economist who enjoys shovelling snow on a frozen pond during Ottawa winters.
A proud hockey parent, coach, and former president of the Ottawa Centre Minor Hockey Association, Gormley recognized the local need for outdoor activities in a time when many of us are glued to our computer screens indoors.
Shinny is another word for pick-up hockey. It is essentially when a group of people come together at a local rink and get an informal game of hockey going.
Since most sports leagues are halted this year due to COVID-19, Gormley created and maintains a handful of rinks on the Brewer Park Pond to allow community members a space for physical activity.
This year, public skating rinks require skaters to reserve spaces to limit capacity, sometimes days in advance. Many outdoor hockey rinks remain closed and unflooded.
Gormley’s rinks provide a safe solution to that problem.
The Brewer Park rinks were a popular spot for skating before the Rideau Canal briefly opened in February, and still receive regular visits from those looking to play pick-up hockey.
Situated across from Carleton University near Bronson Avenue, Carleton students living in residence have used the rinks as a break from staying indoors. Earlier in the year, it was rare to not see a gaggle of students enjoying their time outdoors on the ice.
Taylynn Painter, a first-year Carleton student living in residence, was one of them. She said getting outdoors is helping students’ mental health.
“Getting outside is absolutely important. It’s good for you, not only physically, but mentally. It is a big morale boost to be able to be outside and around others,” Painter said.
As a father, Gormley said he is conscious of the effect the pandemic can have on children and youth’s growth and development. He said he is actively thinking of ways to make sure they still have access to outdoor activities.
“The pandemic has made it so hard on the kids to have a balanced life,” he said. “Having a couple of shinny hockey spots they can walk to I think helps them feel not so isolated and gives them a safe [alternative] to just sitting indoors in front of a computer screen.”
Bundled in layers of heavy clothing, he can often be found clearing the ice mid-snowstorm, often alone but sometimes with the help of family members.
He calls it “made-in-Canada exercise.”
He is systematic and efficient, shovelling the rinks into near-perfect rectangles and connecting them with small paths. These paths through the snow allow skaters easy access to all of the rinks without having to trek through the snow.
It is a process that has been honed over the winter and has not come without obstacles. His broad portfolio of innovations includes renting a water pump from Home Depot to “macro flood the ice.”
Gormley also created his own Zamboni.
“I cobbled together a sort of Zamboni out of an old Rubbermaid storage box and an old piece of garden hose and a snow sled I had sitting around,” he said.
Gormley said it allows him to transport water from his house to the pond. It helps flood the ice better and fill in the pressure cracks that often develop on natural rinks which make the surface less playable.
“It seems to work fairly well,” he said.
While the bulk of the hard work has been done by Gormley and his family, he said he is happy with the help community members have given him.
Not only have people in the neighbourhood frequently helped with shovelling, but people have been happy to contribute to the cause in other ways.
“I left our old road hockey net there and someone else did the same, so that gives the kids something to shoot at,” he said.
He said he is proud of the small community he has encountered on and around the ice, and how they have thrived despite the pandemic.
“A community is a living thing. You need to feed and nurture it,” he said. “I think having spots to play some shinny hockey on the pond helps our community thrive and makes it a healthier place for all of us.”
Gormley’s parting words are true to form and apply to everyone considering skating on the Brewer Park Pond.
“Remember, if you’re coming to the pond to play, bring a shovel and give it a scrape when you are done. It makes it better for all of us.”
Featured image by Benjamin Ralph.
