Angelica Haggert
As the southernmost city in Canada, one
with winters that are usually mild, thoughts
of Windsor-Essex don’t usually call typical
winter sports to mind. You’d be hard-pressed
to find snowshoe rentals, and if you’re
looking for downhill skiing, you’ll have to
drive at least an hour. Sure, there are some
diehards that will cross-country ski at
Ojibway Park when the snow permits, but
we’re not exactly a cold-sport mecca.
What we can do here in Windsor-Essex,
however, is ice skate. Long before Jennifer
Robinson brought local figure skating onto
the world stage, locals of all ages have been
lacing up and hitting the ice, indoors and out,
in our region.
Many of us first encountered the ice at a
local arena, shuffling across the ice on
bobskates or pushing a wooden chair across
the rink for balance. Family photo albums are
filled with gap-toothed, helmeted toddlers on
wobbly ankles, smiling for the camera at
Adstoll, Riverside or Adie Knox arenas. Those
that missed that rite of passage laced up for
the first time when their own kids were small
– perhaps with everyone wearing their
Christmas-present skates, bundling up and
heading to a public skating session during the
school break.
The popularity of recreational ice skating
in our area has grown i