Dawson City finds itself with a brand new lease on winter sports life this year – artificial ice has come to town. Considering how much ice there is in the north, the need for artificial ice sounds odd, but for those who partake in hockey and curling, the arrival of fake ice is what they have been waiting for.

“I found it ironic that in Toronto, I could play hockey year round, then when I moved to within 500 clicks of the Arctic Circle, my hockey season runs from December to March,” says Danny Dowhal, a player with the Oldtimers hockey league. “Now that we have artificial ice, I’m thrilled to be playing more hockey.”

Before the fake ice was installed at the Art and Margaret Fry Recreation Centre, Dawsonites had to wait until it was cold enough outside to freeze the ice inside. Once it got too warm outside, the games were over.

But technology has solved that problem. The new system uses a series of pipes laid out on top of a gravel pad, along with a chilling unit outside the curling rink that pumps glycol through the pipes, keeping the ice consistently cold.

“We’re now on the same footing as any other arena in Canada,” says Paul Robitaille, marketing and events manager for the Klondike Visitors Association (KVA).

Robitaille is not sad to see natural ice disappear. “Real ice has its limitations,” he says. “It takes longer to freeze and it doesn’t work with warmer temperatures.”

He recounts how one year, his hockey team had to skate over dirt patches during a tournament because of above zero temperatures outside and melting ice inside.

Artificial ice, says Robitaille, is more consistent and the quality is better. And with the new ice, the season can now start as early as Oct. 1st, says Robitaille, who also sits on the board of directors for both the Dawson City Curling Club and the Dawson City Hockey Association.

The extended season allows the players – and organizers of tournaments and events – to plan for fall to spring participation rather than a narrow window of only three months.

“We couldn’t bid on some curling events because we couldn’t guarantee there would be ice come the time,” says Robitaille. “A quality ice is a quality product. With a guarantee of ice, we can now host events throughout the winter and diversify our offer to visitors.”

Dawson City typically hosts seven to eight tournaments and bonspiels annually. Robitaille is hoping that, along with more teams from outside being encouraged to come for tournaments, if there is a guarantee of ice, Dawson can now bid for other events that were usually scheduled during a time when the old ice was unavailable.

“There were certain age groups that we could never get because we just couldn’t host a tournament at that time of year. It just opens up those possibilities.”

This, he says, creates opportunities for tourism that the community didn’t have before.

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