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Why
have I included this issue on my website?
Victoria has had a shortage of ice sport facilities for many years. I have been skating for 12 years and it has been a issue in the whole time I have been skating. I personally find it very frustrating as a person who loves the sport of skating that we cannot develop our ice sports due to our lack of facilities. And the Victorian State Government has sat on the proposal of a rink for the Docklands area (near the city centre) for many years now. Unfortunately Victoria now only has two ice skating rinks for the whole of the state. However it used to have many more. I have endeavoured to write here a brief potted history of what I know, but I am sure there are others out there who would have a much greater knowledge. If you have any information that you could add to my limited knowledge I would greatly appreciate it. Please email me to help me out�click here. I would love to get hold of any links or articles relating to this issue that I could include on this website in future. There also does not appear to be any one out there doing a webpage about this issue. That is why I am putting one on this site to at least have a resource (even if it does have many gaps) for people to access. Update as at 13 March 2006 - I have had people contact
me through this website asking about the proposed Docklands rink which
I appreciate - it shows there is definate interest in this issue.
And I can report that there has been an announcement which was published
as a story in the Herald Sun. See below for the link to the
Victoria's Rink Dilemma website link.
Also last year Channel
7 Sportsworld Programme ran a story about the rink situation.
I have copy of this story on DVD available. If you would like
a copy please contact me. The cost of the disk is $3 plus postage.
There
has also been some development regarding a new rink at Bendigo.
Again go the Rink Dilemma website for further updates.
My Brief Potted History In the 80�s Melbourne had rinks at St Kilda, Footscray, Dandenong and Ringwood. These all closed down for one reason or another. That left only Oakleigh. The Ringwood rink was re-opened in 1995 but closed about 2002. However it found a new home in the suburb of Bayswater. There was also a rink at the Myer Music Bowl which ran for 10 years every winter and was extremely popular. However when renovations at the Music Bowl were carried out a few years ago it was decided that the rink would not continue. Also two years ago a temporary rink was set up at Southbank. This was very popular but only ever intended to be temporary (on a potential building site). In March and April 2005, two rinks closed. There was a rink at Geelong that ran for about 2-3 years and the latest closure was the rink at Bayswater. The closures of all these rinks has meant that ice sports have lost many participants and clubs for figure skating, ice hockey and synchronized skating have been left without homes. So now we are down to just one rink for a city of over 3 million people (compared to Sydney�s 5 or 6 rinks) and our main hope for skating in Victoria is the potential of a rink at the Docklands area. And we are still waiting and waiting and �.. This issue now has it�s own website I have developed a website for the issue of Victoria�s Rink Dilemma. I have put copies of the Hansard with references to ice sports on this website. Also there is a list of politician�s addresses that you can write letters to asking about the Docklands issue or generally about our need for more ice skating rinks. Click here to be directed to the website. And
for anyone who wants to build a rink .....
We are desperate for a new rink in Melbourne, particularly in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. With only one rink in Melbourne, there is definately a golden opportunity for someone to set up a facility to help develop ice sports in Melbourne and develop a business. And there are people like myself who are willing to help do anything to get it happening. Please contact me if you are thinking about this. |