Minto Skating Club has called the facility on Lancaster Road its home since 1987 but is looking for a new location for its more than 400 members to call home. The current facility is in the process of being sold and the club will have to relocate but existing programs will continue unchanged for the next few months. In the club's more than 110 years of operation, it has occupied several locations within the city and this move signifies the start of a new chapter in the club's long history.
"The privately owned Minto Skating Centre has been our home for more than 30 years and has served the club's needs well", said Darryl VanLuven, Minto Skating Club's Executive Director of Skating. "In addition to allowing us to meet the training needs of our own skaters, the facility made it possible for the club to host the annual Minto Summer Skate competition which attracts skaters from across Canada and around the world". Minto Summer Skate grew to be the largest figure skating competition in Canada and outgrew the facility in 2017 before being suspended due to the pandemic.
The Minto Skating Centre has always worked closely with the club to make ice affordable for lessons and for special club events such as skating shows and competitions. At the start of the pandemic, when almost every other rink shut down, the management of the Minto Skating Centre kept one ice pad ready for when skating could resume and, when restrictions first lifted, the centre became temporary home to figure skaters from clubs around the region as it offered the only ice available. The centre worked cooperatively with our club to keep the price to skaters affordable as the number of skaters allowed on the ice kept changing during restrictions. Their continued support of figure skating in Ottawa was greatly appreciated by all the skaters who benefited from getting back on the ice sooner than otherwise possible.
The sale of the Minto Skating Centre marks the end of an era for the Minto Skating Club and the end of a long and successful partnership. While we are saddened to be leaving our current home, we're looking forward to finding a new home for our skaters to continue their pursuit of enjoyment and achievement on ice.