November 2016 treated Edmonton with excellent weather for ice-making. We officially opened on November 28. The McCauley Rink was the third community rink to open in the city. We were two days off from placing first.

From November 28 to December 31 the rink was open for 23 days, closed for nine due to the weather, and closed two days for Christmas. We’ve seen a whopping 660 people who came out and used the rink. We look forward to continuing building community and having the same success in 2017.

On December 27, we held the 8th annual McCauley Cup. The weather was perfect and we had a huge number of kids come down to play the downtown beat police in a fun game of shinny hockey. As soon as we opened in November, the kids were already asking, “When is the McCauley Cup?” which shows just how popular this event has become.

This year we had a special guest from the Edmonton Oilers come out to the game. Todd McLellan, head coach of the Oilers, came out and signed autographs and stood for many a great pictures with the kids and families. Thank you, Todd, for coming out.

Our community couldn’t be more proud of hosting this event, together with the Edmonton Police, who put in a ton of work to make this happen. We would like to thank the following people from the EPS Downtown Division: Superintendent Ed McIsaac, Inspector Randy Wickins, Const. Andrew Melney, and Const. Terrance Jakubowski. Thanks also to the additional senior officers who attended and continue to show support: Deputy Chief Tony Harder (who did the official puck drop), Superintendent Terry Rocchio, Inspector Graham Hogg, Inspector Malcom Allan, and EPS Downtown Beat Division, and the Edmonton Police Foundation. We would also like to thank the Edmonton Police Foundation for the generous donation of three portable heaters.

We are also very grateful for the ongoing support of the following people, organizations, and businesses, whose support through time and donations have helped make this one of the best events at the rink: Sports Central, United Cycle, ATB Financial, Elite Sportswear & Awards, Challenge Insurance Group, Italian Bakery, McCauley Community League, KIDS organization, Al Hamilton, Lyle Kulchisky, Joan Kirillo, Nick Magis (the official referee for the game), Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, Edmonton Oilers Alumni, City of Edmonton, Cheerific, and everyone else who helped.

On December 31 the McCauley Community League held the third annual New Year’s Eve skating party. Over 50 kids, parents, families, and friends came out for a fun evening of skating. There was a wiener roast, marshmallows, and hot chocolate for everyone. We had a nice surprise at 8:30 p.m.: the rink had a great view for the early fireworks that were held at City Hall. A big thank you to our following volunteers who helped make this event happen: Elizabeth McEwan, Grace Kuipers, Rosalie Gelderman, and Khalid Khan.

The next big event will be the 11th annual Family Day skate on Monday, February 20, 12 p.m-5 p.m. There will be free horse -wagon rides, hotdogs, marshmallows, hot chocolate, and prizes.

A reminder about the learn-to-skate free drop-in program for all ages: run by the City of Edmonton, every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. until February 22. For more information, or current updates on the rink, please check the McCauley Community League Facebook page.