Re: Veterans Memorial Skating Rink

I saw the post written on March 6, 2013 by Janet Fournier, entitled "Veterans Memorial Skating Rink." I was extremely impressed by the content of this post, and commend Janet Fournier on her efforts. I was inspired by this piece to write as someone who utilizes the rink as well. 

Upon hearing of the potential for the Town of West Hartford to privatize the operations of the Veterans Memorial Skating Rink, I was very upset. As a resident of West Hartford, I began taking skating lessons in the Learn to Skate Program at Veterans when I was four. That was back in 1995. Today is March 14, 2014, and I just a few hours ago closed the zamboni doors on another successful learn to skate class. I left the rink waving good-bye to the office staff and Rink Manager, whose presence has made a lasting impact on the past eighteen years of my life. I spent my childhood at Veterans growing to love the sport of skating, enjoying countless birthday parties, graduating through the highest levels of the learn to skate program, proudly competing on behalf of the West Hartford Figure Skating Club, and attaining my first job as a coach in the program that trained me. This may be my story, but it resonates with the experiences of many other local skaters, hockey players, and families that have enjoyed the services and programming offered by the town rink.

The staff at Veterans Memorial Skating Rink is a family, and a welcoming one to new and old faces alike. Great joy is had by staff in being present for the moments when first-timers take their tentative initial steps, in watching students smile when they accomplish tricky elements, and in spending time with Vacation and Buena Vista summer campers as they skate. Part of the rink’s current activities include making it possible for students to skate Friday night public sessions with friends, for campers to skate during school vacations and over the summer, and for families to spend quality time together. Such activities also include opportunities for adult skaters to practice in the mid-morning hours, as they have done for years, and the making of fond memories at special holiday skating sessions. There is great pride for the rink’s staff in watching skaters perform in the biannual skating shows and in supporting the local high school hockey teams. The rink’s current programming caters to the needs and desires of all skating enthusiasts at a wide range of levels. It would be a great loss to the Town of West Hartford to do away with a set of healthy community-based activities and a staff that strives for positive recreational experiences for all those who come through the doors of this rink.

Veterans rink also caters to West Hartford students with the opportunity to attain a first job. Duties may include monitoring public sessions, working the snack bar, and working the front desk. If a private company comes in and hires their own people to staff such positions, the opportunities for attaining valuable work experience for West Hartford teens will likely diminish.

 If the rink’s operations are privatized, there is the potential for some individuals and families to be financially unable to continue making use of the rink’s programs and services. Will rates for skate rental, sessions, lessons, camps, pro-shop services, and other services increase? Will ice time for programs that cater to specialty interests like adult skating, figure skating, and speed skating be cut? These changes would go against the rink’s mission in providing programs that afford the greatest numbers of users the opportunities to skate.

 The town of West Hartford should not privatize operations of the Veterans Memorial Rink. The significant meaning that the current programs and staff have to members of this community must not be forgotten. I strongly encourage the Town to consider the primary purpose of the rink in providing a wholesome and enriching service to its community.

Sincerely,

Sarah Schnitman

Hall High School Class of 2010