Organizers of a special peewee hockey tournament on Parliament Hill ran up against a distinctly Canadian problem early Wednesday as extreme cold forced them to move several games indoors.
The sun was shining brightly in Ottawa as the Bell Capital Cup got underway, but with the temperature hovering around -25 C, it was simply too cold to allow the players, aged 9 to 12, out onto the ice.
WATCH: Peewee team gets set for hockey on the Hill
All of Wednesday’s games were eventually moved indoors, although at least one did go ahead as planned before officials realized that in addition to the risk of frostbite and hypothermia, the ice was too brittle.
“We got through a period of the first game and it became apparent that safety became an issue,” said Aaron Robinson, director for fan and community development with the Ottawa Senators and general manager of the Bell Capital Cup.
“It’s too cold not for the players but for the ice, actually, so the ice became really brittle. As the players were cutting into the ice, large chunks would start coming out of it, so we decided to move the games later on today to a different facility indoors.”
The hockey rink set up on Parliament Hill will cost taxpayers at least $5.6 million, and has been open to public skating since Dec. 7. This week, the ice time was set to be partly devoted to the tournament. A total of 32 peewee teams from across Canada — 16 girls teams and 16 boys teams — were invited to play.
The pieces that came flying out of the ice early Wednesday were an inch wide in some cases, which presents a serious risk of tripping the players up as they skate, Robinson explained. The extreme cold is one of the only problems that rink officials just can’t fight. Contingency plans were in place for things like snow and too-warm temperatures.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so that’s why we kind of started playing the games just to see … we thought we might be able to have the games played,” Robinson said.
Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning early Wednesday, noting that the risk of hypothermia, frostbite and other cold-related health issues are “greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter.”
Ottawa Public Health also issued a frostbite warning. Frostbite can develop within minutes on any exposed skin, especially when you factor in wind chill.
The rest of this week isn’t looking much more promising for the peewee players. Environment Canada is predicting several more days of extreme cold in the nation’s capital, with highs of -19 C and -20 C on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
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