A machine resurfaces the ice at the Sun Bowl Arena in this file photo. (Richard McGuire file photo)
It’s no surprise that the Sun Bowl Arena in Osoyoos is a very busy place once the ice is put back every July.
“It’s pretty nice to be able to come to town for one of our camps and then get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather,” said Gerald Davis, the town’s director of community services.
As has become custom in Osoyoos, the Sun Bowl Arena gets shut down for six to eight weeks after hockey season ends so crews can perform maintenance on the arena.
“We usually shut down near the end of April for six to eight weeks, so we can complete our annual maintenance, which is done at pretty much every arena,” said Davis. “We have two main compressors, so one gets completely overhauled every second year and the top end on the second compressor is looked at and fixed up as needed.”
Any additional interior and exterior maintenance is also performed during this time by the small town crew that works full-time at the Sun Bowl, said Davis.
“This is the time we do things like painting or fixing up the floors … whatever small jobs have to be done,” he said. “This is also the time to fix up the green space surrounding the arena.”
The Sun Bowl Arena opened on October 11, 1974 and has been home to the Osoyoos Coyotes of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League for numerous years.
There have been different variations of Junior A hockey in Osoyoos for the past 20 years, but all of those teams have played out of the Sun Bowl Arena.
The arena is also home base for numerous teams that belong to the South Okanagan Minor Hockey and the Sun Bowl Figure Skating Club.
Once the ice is put back in following summer maintenance, the Sun Bowl springs to life with numerous summer camps that last until the beginning of training camp for the Coyotes in late August, said Davis.
The annual Hammer Hockey Camp just finished last week, while the Bradford Goaltender Camp took over the arena this past weekend.
The annual Osoyoos Hockey Camp begins this Wednesday and continues until Sunday.
In August, the annual British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association Referee Camp returns from Aug. 6-9, while the Osoyoos Ringette Camp returns from Aug. 7-12.
The Sun Bowl Figure Skating Club Summer School finishes off the busy summer schedule over two weeks from Aug. 15-19 and Aug. 22-25.
The Coyotes’ main training camp begins on Aug. 25 and continues through Aug. 28. The Coyotes will play their first home exhibition game on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 3:30 p.m. against the Princeton Posse.
They play another exhibition game on home ice on Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. against the Grand Forks Border Bruins.
Several of these summer camps, such as the hockey officials camp and summer ringette camp, have been returning to Osoyoos for many years, said Davis.
“These camps are very popular and they want to return year after year,” he said. “The ringette camp is interesting because virtually none of the players is local and they almost come entirely from Alberta,” he said. “They not only get to get back on the ice, but the players come with their families and they turn it into a family vacation.
“A big part of the reason the arena is so busy during the summer months is because people want to come to Osoyoos to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and amazing weather.”
Ice time is also available to local groups who want to book ice time for pickup hockey throughout the summer months.
For a building that is more than 40 years old, the Sun Bowl Arena remains in remarkably good shape, said Davis.
A staff report last year indicated the Sun Bowl Arena likely has a life of at least another 10 years, he said.
“Overall, the arena is in pretty good shape considering it’s been around more than 40 years,” he said. “But it’s getting to the point where we’re (town) going to have to start looking long term at replacing it.
“We still have a few good years left, but this building isn’t going to be around forever and will need to be replaced one day.”
For information on ice rentals, please contact the Sonora Community Centre at 250-495-6562. Rates range from $50.00 to $98.00 per hour.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
