Centre Wellington’s ball hockey rink has found a new home in the south-end of the township.
A group of dedicated shinny players, known as the Friends of CW Ball Hockey, had bought the rink after the previous owners had to close and sell the property it sat on outside of Salem.
Blake Cudmore, a member of the group, announced the rink has found a new home at the non-profit Ponsonby Recreation Park which until now has been more of a baseball and softball facility.
“We’re very happy that we’re partnering with a group that is as dedicated with keeping our community members active as we are, so that was exciting,” Cudmore said. “Now we’re putting hockey and baseball together in one venue.”
Cudmore said after struggling to find a site for the rink, a member of the group suggested the Ponsonby park as his children played baseball there and made the proper introductions.
The new location may even work out better as Cudmore said it doesn’t change a lot for those in the township but is also closer for those in Guelph who want to play at an outdoor rink, which are somewhat uncommon.
“When there wasn’t the Guelph ball hockey, we had a lot of membership from Guelph,” Cudmore said, adding the former owners of the Centre Wellington rink also opened an indoor spot in Guelph.
“A lot of people made the comment that they really liked playing outside but it’s convenient to play inside at Guelph. The fact that we’ve moved 10 or 15 minutes closer to Guelph on an easily accessible route, we believe a lot of that Guelph enthusiasm for outdoor ball hockey will return.”
Now that the rink has been donated to the organization, Cudmore said they need Grand River Conservation Area approvals to make changes to the property but he doesn’t see much of an issue because the rink isn’t a permanent structure.
Over the next few months, they are planning a big fundraising campaign to support the costs of expanding parking infrastructure but there have been many corporate donors, who Cudmore said prefer to remain unnamed, who have been supporting the group’s efforts.
Ultimately, the goal is to start work on installing the rink as soon as GRCA approvals are received and to have leagues running in spring 2022.
