From pucks to pebbles; preparing ice for Scotties tournament
North Battleford’s Wayne Cubbon has travelled the world creating curling ice, including for the women’s provincial championships at Melfort’s Northern Lights Palace.
Normally home to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Mustangs, the best nine women’s curling teams from across Saskatchewan have moved in for the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts that began Tuesday. Cubbon said the local arena staff did a great job preparing the ice for the transformation.
“The ice was really level when we got here. It saves us a lot of time when it comes to flooding,” Cubbon said.
The crew sealed the hockey arena ice with treated water to not allow any of the untreated water used everyday to tarnish the curling surface. Once that’s accomplished, the ice makers then paint the ice white. After roughly 12 floods, the crew will then carve out the houses with a router before the rings are painted. That step is followed by about 12 more floods. The team of workers will then lay decals for the six-day event.