Fort St. John athletes gain summer ice training at Hard Edge Sports

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Ice athletes in the North Peace now have an edge in preparing for the next figure skating or ice hockey season, thanks to a local entrepreneur.

Hal Holden, owner of Hard Edge Sports located within the Pomeroy Sports Centre, has installed a new synthetic ice surface in his business located at 9324 96th Street in Fort St. John.

Synthetic ice is a surface made of polyethylene plastic designed to give the material a slippery feel, with the first commercially successful product released in the late 1970s. 

The long-time Fort St. John resident took over the ice sharpening business in late 2015 with what he described as “frustration” with the lack of a quality service in Fort St. John.  

Since then, he’s seen an incredible amount of traffic from all over the region.

“The company installed here would just take skates to sharpen and simply leave,” said Holden. “Meanwhile, a kid is sitting on the bench in tears because he can’t get on the ice due to his skates being behind a locked door.”

“My business has seen clients from Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, and even Hudson’s Hope come weekly during the hockey season to get their children’s skates sharpened.”

Holden says he conceived the idea of adding synthetic ice back in 2018. Although the clientele was there, the economics weren’t workable.

“I looked into it, and the price was very high,” said Holden. “Last year, the price dropped drastically when I got a little more serious.”

The 20-by-40-foot surface opened in May, at a price one-sixth of the cost compared to when he first became interested. 

Holden feels having the surface certainly helps local hockey players and figure skaters, with the lack of ice surfaces around town in the summer.

“From the middle of April to August there is zero ice available,” said Holden. “People may have to drive to Grande Prairie or Prince George to get ice time.”

“If I can minimize the travel, people don’t have to take the chance of driving.”

Hockey players home from the summer, including former Prince George Cougars centre Connor Bowie, have stopped by to train.  

Bowie played with Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson) in Canadian University hockey last season.

For more information or to book time on the synthetic ice, visit Hard Edge Sports’ Facebook page or website.