Закрытие катка Университета Виктории поставит под угрозу развитие фигурного катания и хоккея в регионе

For nearly three decades, Deena Beacom has watched young skaters take their first strides on the ice at the Ian Stewart Complex. Now, as the University of Victoria prepares to close the rink, she worries about where those skaters will go next. “There’s some great skaters out here,” said Beacom, the Victoria Racquet Club’s director of skating and Skate Canada’s 2026 Coach of the Year. Beacom has run the Racquet Club’s skating programs for 28 years, working with everyone from beginners taking their first strides to athletes landing jumps on the international stage. But keeping those programs going could become much more difficult when the rink on the corner of Mckenzie Avenue and Gordon Head Road closes. UVic confirmed Tuesday that its plans to close the rink in the spring remain unchanged. The complex is slated to close in March 2027. The closure comes as Greater Victoria continues to face a shortage of ice time. Watch the story below: Loading the player... The Ian Stewart rink is already shared by a variety of users, including UVic’s men’s hockey team, Victoria Minor Hockey, public skating and the Victoria Racquet Club’s programs. “Victoria has a lack of ice,” Beacom said. She says the region’s other rinks are already heavily booked, leaving little room for programs displaced by the closure. “All the other rinks are already overbooked as it is,” she said. “We want to help carry on this program for these kids who are doing so phenomenally.” The loss of the facility will affect more than figure skating. UVic’s hockey program and Racquet Club youth hockey programs also use the ice, continuing a tradition of skating and hockey at the complex that dates back to the 1970s. For Beacom and her colleagues, the concern is straightforward. “We just need ice,” said Matt Willis, the Victoria Racquet Club’s assistant director of skating. The future could eventually include a new multi-sheet ice facility at Lambrick Park. A proposal for the property was discussed publicly last year, and Gordon Head residents have said there is an appetite for additional ice in the region. But even if a new facility moves forward, it could be years before it is built and available to skaters. Beacom hopes the Ian Stewart Complex can remain open until a replacement is ready. “I would hope that they keep this facility around until there’s something to replace it,” she said. The aging rink may have limited seating, small change rooms and few amenities, but Beacom says it has provided something much more important: a place where generations of athletes could develop. “I’m so proud of what’s been built here,” she said. For now, the skaters will dig in and focus while their future is far from figured out. Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said the ice rink was slated to be demolished. On Sept. 11, UVic clarified the ice rink will close in March 2027 but there are no plans for demolition at this time.