Skaters vie for summer ice

Chad Goodwin envisions Whitefish as a year-round ice skating destination. A place where elite skaters come to train in the off-season while other ice rinks in the region are closed.

There’s just one problem. There is no ice at Whitefish’s Stumptown Ice Den during the summer. Goodwin wants to change that.

“This ice rink is a hidden treasure. If we use it correctly, it has great potential,” said Goodwin, Whitefish Figure Skating Club’s head coach.

Goodwin believes that if the Ice Den had the ability to offer summer ice, top skaters from across the region would travel here for special training seminars and critical ice time.

“We could create an elite training center,” he said.

Currently, there are no ice rinks open in the summer in Montana, while ice time in Canada is typically booked. Whitefish could fill a niche with summer ice and cater to both Canadian and regional skaters, he said.

Goodwin recently tested this theory by hosting a two-day figure skating seminar at the Ice Den. He invited elite coaches and anticipated that 20 participants might sign up — the seminar drew 55 skaters.

While turn-out far exceeded expectations, even better news was that most of the skaters were from out of state. More than 30 came down from Canada alone.

“It was a good test to see if a summer program would work,” Goodwin said. “I think it could.”

Part of the draw for the recent seminar was guest coach Scott Davis, a two-time U.S. mens figure skating national champion. Davis, who skated in the 1994 Olympics, has a home in Eureka and coaches in Calgary.

Davis is currently coaching Olympic-level skaters and has a difficult time finding ample ice time in Calgary. He would be interested in bringing some of his skaters to Whitefish in the off-season and hosting more summer seminars.

Summer training is crucial for serious skaters, Goodwin said.

“If you’re training to go to Nationals, you need to skate all the time,” Goodwin said.

The economic benefit of offering summer ice is far reaching, he said. A survey he conducted during the recent seminar showed that about $6,700 was spent per day, and 24 hotel rooms were booked.

“Imagine that over a six-week seminar,” Goodwin noted. “To offer ice here would be a huge draw for skaters from out of town and it would draw in money to Whitefish. People travel eight or nine hours to go skating and spend boat loads of money. All that could be spent here if we had the ice time.”

The Ice Den, however, can’t handle summer ice as it’s currently built.

“The system we have is not designed to operate in the warmer months,” Parks director Karl Cozad said. “May to August are not months to operate that system. It’d be like running a car at 7,000 rpm all the time.”

The Parks Department invited a consultant to the rink last month to provide a full analysis of the rink’s system and what upgrades are needed. Cozad is hesitant to peg a price on a system capable for summer skating and will wait for the consultant’s written analysis. He does note, however, that it could be a “very substantial number.”

Cozad says operation of the rink is the city’s liability and that they try to work on a break-even basis. Should year-round ice be a viable option with a new system, the city would need a guarantee it could pay for itself.

The city is also considering a second sheet of ice for the winter months only. Demand in the winter is tight with youth and adult hockey, figure skaters, public skaters and curling all vying for ice time.

“There’s lots of demand for the Ice Den,” Cozad said.

This year the rink will extend the season through April 29, giving three more weeks than planned for.

“Because of demand, we had groups willing to rent that ice time,” Cozad explained.