Researchers, public track whether climate change impacting backyard rinks

CTV Winnipeg: Does climate change threaten rinks? Josh Crabb on a new website that tracks the effect of climate change on Canada's backyard skating rinks.

Cooper Nairn and Connor Van Horne spend hours shooting, passing and skating on outdoor ice in Westwood.

Not even the bitter cold keeps the two boys off Paul Nairn's backyard rink. Paul is Cooper’s dad.

"The boys get their ski pants on at school with the idea of being able to go on the rink directly, as soon as they get home," said Paul Nairn.

Outdoor skaters saw an early start to the season in Winnipeg before a warm spell in December turned some rinks into splash pads.

In 2012, scientists warned conditions like this could become more common.

"A few years ago, we were reading reports done by scientists suggesting that with global warming and climate change that the outdoor rink or the backyard rink might become an endangered species in Canada,” said Robert McLeman, a geography professor at Ontario’s Wilfrid Laurier University.

Those reports prompted McLeman and his colleagues to launch a website called RinkWatch.

The online tool tracks ice conditions on backyard and community rinks across North America.

"The very first winter we did it was a terrible winter for outdoor rinks,” McLeman said.

“Then, you had last year which was a fantastic winter. Nice and long and cold.”

McLeman encouraged people from across the continent to sign up for free and share information about ice conditions on their own backyard rink.

Fort Whyte Alive special projects interpreter Barret Miller became a rinkwatcher two seasons ago.

He wants to help scientists monitor climate change.

"The winter before we started RinkWatch there were days where we had puddles forming on our rink because it was raining - raining in February,” Miller said.

“That's not normal and we'll be keeping track of that from now on."

Backyard rink builders said with recent bitter cold temperatures in Winnipeg, it's hard to imagine building an outdoor rink being an issue.

Paul Nairn said it seems to be more of a problem in other parts of the continent.

"Maybe in southern Ontario,” Nairn said.

He said he got his rink going early on in December.

“We were able to get it in pretty early this year.”

The scientists said they'll have a better understanding in 10 years how climate change is affecting outdoor rinks.