2004 Best Backyard Rink Contest Winners

Every year it gets more difficult to pick the three top rinks from the dozens of outstanding entries we receive. Each of these rinks is a winner in it's own way and deserves our recognition. From beginner to old pro, every one of these rinks serve as an inspiration to us all. Thanks for sharing your backyard rink with us. Once again, my sincere thanks to you all. Jim Stoller, President NiceRink™ Back to Best Backyard Rink Contest Home

Entries

Michelle Carnago	Michelle Carnago	David Cole	David Cole
Joe Cosmano	Joe Cosmano	Don Forstrom	John Furey
John Furey	John Furey	Murray Hassard	Murray Hassard
Greg Kemper	Greg Kemper	John Keogh	John Keogh
Brad Kreidle	Brad Kreidle	Brad Kreidle	Brad Kreidle
Brad Kreidle	Eric Offerness	Eric Offerness	Steve Romund
Steve Romund	Steve Romund	Terry Shuttle	Terry Shuttle
Howard Stotland	Howard Stotland	Michael Tachynski	Michael Tachynski
Craig Bartlett	Craig Bartlett	Craig Bartlett	Brian Berkowitz
Brian Berkowitz	Brian Berkowitz	Joe Wettlaufer	Joe Wettlaufer
Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st
Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st
Pat Ross 1st	Pat Ross 1st	Steve Falconer 2nd	Steve Falconer 2nd
Steve Falconer 2nd	Steve Falconer 2nd	Steve Falconer 2nd	Steve Falconer 2nd
David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd
David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd	David Seoane 3rd

First Place

Pat and Shelly Ross

This year's winner is a 60' X 100' rink

" I have been building backyard rinks for just 6 years. This year's rink took longer than it will going forward. The boards are 40 inches above the ice level. Because of the grade, the actual board height varies. Last year's rink had 34 inches of ice at one end. I chose to do a little bit of landscaping. Since I was going to level the yard, I decided I might as well move a couple of trees and make the rink bigger. Because the rink was bigger, the lighting had to be upgraded. Because the lighting was upgraded, dedicated wiring was needed to supply the proper power.

I think that a testament to the use of the liner and how I constructed the rink is that I do not leave the rink up in the summer. I disassemble the entire rink and store it at the back of my lot. In the summer it is impossible to tell that I have a rink there in the winter. Having the rink in the winter does not take away from enjoying a grassy back yard in the summer.

Thanks for all your help over the past two years. It has been a learning experience. It is pretty easy to justify when, at any given time, I can look in my back yard and see 10 to 15 little kids buzzing around the rink. I could not have pulled this off without your help.

Using the NiceRink liner has not damaged the lawn and makes taking down the rink in the spring easy. 

2nd Place

Steve Falconer  Kohler, WI

This rink is 50 X 140 feet.

Steve wrote:

"We have a large backyard rink (140 X 50) feet with lights, very solid fiberglass covered boards, NiceRink kick plates, 10 Ft. fencing behind ends, regulation goals, flooded path to large dedicated section of heated garage with benches, sink, and bathroom. Our rink and home are located on 5.5 acres of land on the Sheboygan River adjacent to a wildlife preserve. We have a private drive with a large parking area to accommodate a great number of skater's cars. I grew up in Minnesota where ourdoor rinks were part of my life. We have six kids and moved to Kohler, WI where there are no outdoor hockey rinks. The ice is done daily using a 52" NiceIce Resurfacer."

3rd Place

David Seoane - Norwell, MA

This rink is 50 X 80 feet

Dave  wrote:

"This is the 4th year that we have had our outdoor rink and we fill it the day after Thanksgiving every year. We use actual hockey boards that we obtained when a local rink decided to replace theirs. The only assembly for our ice rink is the placement of the NiceRink III liner. Assembly is approximately 4 men, 3 hours. The rink holds approximately 12,000 gallons of water at a 6 inch depth."