rink – The Concordian

The activity may gain prominence with public outdoor hockey on hold

Blizzards, icy roads, power outages, and howling winds are some of the many struggles that characterize the cold winter season. Additionally, the prominence of the pandemic and the evolving restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus will make an already rough season for some even more difficult.

While Canadian winters are undoubtedly ruthless, the burdens that plague the season can sometimes overshadow the positive aspects that are unique to these times. For one, hockey becomes considerably more accessible with the opening of city-operated outdoor rinks, enabling kids and adults alike to better indulge in Canada’s prideful tradition.

This winter, public rinks will be open, but hockey games will not be allowed. Fortunately for winter sports fans, physical activities that have limited contact amongst individuals such as free skating and skiing will be permitted.

While the news comes to the dismay of hockey enthusiasts, hope is not entirely lost. The uniquely Canadian hobby of making a backyard rink lends itself well to today’s circumstances. Unlike the city rinks and indoor arenas, these personal rinks can offer intimacy that is difficult to replicate in organized hockey.

Stacey Elissa Anne, a mother of two who lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, said that growing up with two older siblings who played hockey meant her family was often busy splitting time between organized teams and outdoor rinks.

“Living in Winnipeg, my dad made sure to build us an outdoor rink every single winter,” Elissa Anne said. “It’s safe to say our lives revolved around the sport.”

Elissa Anne learned about the work involved in making a personal rink and the dedication it required when her family took to creating one of their own in 2019.

“We couldn’t have enjoyed it more,” Elissa Anne said. “The kids and their neighbourhood friends used it every single day.”

Some individuals continue to build an annual backyard rink in an effort to pay their childhood debts forward. The Tecumseh, Ontario-native Jason Bain has made building a rink a personal tradition that he has upheld for over a decade, but credits his late father for inspiring him to pass on the generous ritual. Bain believed it was his father’s way of connecting with the local kids.

Growing up, my family couldn’t afford to play hockey,” Bain said. “My dad would build an old-school rink out of snow every year, standing outside for hours even after working strenuously long work shifts.”

Nowadays, the time he spends alone outside maintaining a backyard rink for his own children is Bain’s way of connecting with his father, who would go out of his way to do the same for him as a child. Bain added that last season was the first year in which he did not build a rink in over 10 years, something that does not sit well with the Ontario-native to this day.

“Last year just didn’t seem right,” Bain said. “Even if the kids only get to skate on it once or twice, when they get older it would be immeasurably rewarding to see them do the same for their kids.”

Jeff Baer grew up in Stockbridge, Manitoba, skating on local ponds. As a child, Baer always dreamed of building his own rink one day to avoid having to trek through rough terrain and private property to find a place to skate.

This year will be the sixth in which Baer builds a backyard rink for his children, in hopes of forging unforgettable memories. While his two kids are passionate about hockey, his son is particularly fond of everything Canada’s sport has to offer.

“My 14-year-old son was born with cerebral palsy,” Baer said. “For him, hockey is everything and its tremendously helped him overcome his impairment.”

The father of two added that his son would skate at five in the morning before heading to school in past years. While his 10-year-old daughter’s team and their season are uncertain due to the pandemic, Baer has offered to host practice if the situation ever presents itself and is permitted.

“The rink may not be an ideal size to accommodate a full team,” Baer said. “However, it’s plenty large enough to host small skating workouts and drills.”

Rebecca Podniesinski’s family in Keene has resorted to making her yearly rink larger to better accommodate members of the local New Hampshire hockey club.“If we have ice that we can safely share,” Podniesinski said, “it’s just the right thing to do with the weekly shutdowns preventing kids from exercising and doing what they love.”

Graphic by Carleen Loney

Student-athlete Kalena Korbiak is a three-time vice Canadian figure skating champion

Did you know that Concordia University’s psychology program holds a second-year student who is also a figure skating sensation?

At just 21-years-old, Kalena Korbiak is a three-time vice Canadian figure skating champion with her Montreal-based synchronized skating team, Les Suprêmes. In this context, “vice” means that the team stood second on the podium at the national level.

Korbiak has been an avid skater since she was four, when she was introduced to the sport by a family friend at the Aréna de Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in the Laurentians.

“We were just sitting there at the arena, watching, and she said ‘Oh mommy, mommy! I wanna go shkate too. I wanna go shkate,’” said Vera Korbiak, humoristically imitating her then-four-year-old daughter.

“It’s something I connected with. It automatically became part of my identity since I was placed in it at such a young age,” said Korbiak.

From that day on, Korbiak joined the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts skating club as a freestyle skater, and competed regionally in that category from the age of nine until she joined her elite synchronised skating team at 17.

Her loyalty to the sport was tested numerous times as she enrolled in other disciplines throughout the years, like downhill skiing, horseback riding, and even Ukrainian dancing. However, none could compete with the feeling she got once strapped in those skates.

“I was always placed into something else in order to help me with figure skating, particularly ballet,” said Korbiak . “Me and my mom decided that I was going to be doing ballet and I did so for six years until the end of high school to improve my core and skating skills.”

As a child, Korbiak would head to skating practice right after school. Korbiak and her mom would then drive from their hometown of Sainte-Adèle to Montreal for karate lessons; a Ukrainian dance class followed. If that isn’t exhausting enough, she would sleep at her grandmother’s in the east end of Montreal so that she could attend Ukrainian school on Saturday mornings, and Girl Guides later.

That lasted for three years until ballet replaced karate. Two years later, she stopped Ukrainian dancing.

During her last year of high school, in 2016, her devotion to figure skating finally paid off. After obtaining the highest regional score in her different freestyle elements, she earned an eight-minute solo at the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts 2016 Fantaisie sur Glace Gala.

“The people there were saying ‘Oh my god she’s such a beautiful skater,’” said Vera. “I always told them the secret is ballet because that really brings out the beauty in a skater.”

This was Korbiak’s first year with Les Suprêmes.

“I found out about Les Suprêmes when I was about to go to Dawson and was staying with my grandparents in the east end,” Korbiak said. “So, I did my research and found out they were doing synchro in Saint-Leonard, and that the team was looking for skaters, so I tried it out.”

At that point, Korbiak had only been doing freestyle and was completely new to synchro. The audition period had already ended, but the team had still not found the number of skaters they required. When Korbiak showed up, she was thrown right into a practice to see if she could keep up with the choreography.

“We were and are always looking for skaters that can show different technical skills and are well rounded,” said Geneviève Rougeau, the team’s head coach for the last two years. “I think Korbiak fit in that category perfectly.”

Rougeau explained that right out of the gate, Korbiak demonstrated exemplary skills, executional versatility, and quick adaptation, which is exactly what they were looking for.

Not only was she quick to adjust, but she was quick to make new friends.

“I am actually pretty shy, so I don’t usually talk much to new people, but I noticed right away that [Korbiak] was super bubbly. She came up and started talking to me right away. I learned very quickly that she is a really nice and friendly person,” said Aly Bernardo, a fellow Les Suprêmes skater who has been on the team for 15 years.

Ultimately, Korbiak aspires to become a renowned national figure skating freestyle coach. As for synchro, she wants to take it up a notch and enter the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships (WSSC) in the senior division and become an international Canadian champion.

Photos courtesy of Kalena Korbiak