Social skate nights were once a popular Canadian activity for couples and people of all ages and a group of seniors from the Silver Seven Skaters are working to keep the tradition alive.
“There were seven seniors back in 1971 who decided there should be a good Saturday night skate and they got it going,” said promoter Sharon O’Sullivan. “All of those people have since passed on but people have kept it going and next year will be our 50th anniversary if we make it.”
The skaters meet every Saturday evening during the winter from November to the end of March and once a month there is live music.
“The Fergus Brass Band has been coming here faithfully for a long time and it’s great,” said O’Sullivan. “They play in the centre ice and we skate around them. As the tempo picks up the skaters get going. It is really fun. The next time they are here is Feb 29, our leap year day. ”
O’Sullivan, is 70 years old and lives in Arthur but she has been driving to Guelph to work the door and help out with the Saturday skate nights for 10 years.
“We have people coming from all over because it is one of the few places that still do this,” she said. “Apparently, there used to be this kind of skate on a Saturday night at all different places in Southern Ontario.”
Nevertheless they are not getting the level of attendance they need to cover their costs.
“Not as many people are skating these days so, that is what we are struggling with,” she said. “Remember the old fashioned date night when you’d go out for a skate? We have hot chocolate and we visit and socialize.”
Georgetown couple, Jim and Stella Stewart are both 80 years old. They have been organizing the Silver Seven Skaters night since 2000 and have been enjoying date-night skating for decades.
“We’ve been skating since we were kids,” said Jim. “We’ve been coming here since '87.”
Stella looks for any opportunity to lace up her blades.
“I skated anywhere I could find,” she said. “I skated on the river. I skated on the pond. We used to go to Markham on Sunday night. They used to have skating there but that is all closed now.”
They meet up with friends from Hamilton every Saturday night and remember a time when people would come by the busload.
“We still have people come here from Niagara Falls and Toronto but we used to get busloads from Toronto,” she said. “This is the only place now that has the band once a month.”
Many of the skaters this past Saturday were from out of town such as Andy Ness who lives in New York City.
“I am here for a bonspiel with my brother,” said Ness. “We have been curling all day.”
He was born in Toronto but his brother John Ness has lived in Guelph for 40 years.
“He taught me how to skate on a swamp so, if I fall down it’s his fault,” he said. “He’s here with his girlfriend Chris. This is a great venue. I have come here at least half a dozen times. If I am here in the winter time we come here.”
The Adult Skate Night has been sponsored by the Guelph Wellington Seniors Association since 2009 and was geared specifically toward seniors but they have opened it up to younger adults in hopes of raising attendance.
“We welcome students and basically anyone 18 or older,” said O’Sullivan. “When children are around it makes a difference. It makes the skating less safe for the older people.”
It is ideal for adults learning to skate such as Moe Chep from Kitchener.
“This is my first time skating,” said Chep. “I have wanted to skate for a while and my friend Linda found this place.”
Dan and Monica Brown are seniors from Hamilton.
“We’ve been coming here for years,” said Monica. “At the time I couldn’t skate. I was just here to observe. From that day on I said I want to skate like these people. Dan taught me. Now I come here every week.”
Wendy Thompson is a senior from Guelph.
“I grew up in Guelph a block away from here,” she said. “My maiden name was Reeve and I was one of six kids. I used to skate here when I was young. They had an outdoor rink in the ball diamond.”
Her motto is, “use it or lose it” and she has been a regular with the Silver Seven Skaters for many years.
“It is better than sitting at home on your butt on a Saturday night,” she said. “I have talked to people who haven’t kept it up and they aren’t going to start in their 70s.”
The youngest adults on the ice Saturday were Megan Moore, 26 and Samantha Trimble, 27.
“A friend of mine at work gave me a ticket for this so, that’s how we found it,” said Moore.
It was a skating date night for the couple who have been together for three years.
“This is our second time,” said Trimble. “I love skating. This is my happiest place.”
It seemed the perfect location for Moore to surprise her life and skating partner. With Anne Murray’s song, Can I Have This Dance for the Rest of My Life, playing over the p.a. Moore invited Trimble to sit on the bleacher and proposed.
“We just got engaged,” said Trimble with an ear to ear grin. “She just asked me two minutes ago.”
The couple said they plan on being regulars until they become official members of the Silver Seven Skaters.
“We have to now,” said Trimble. “When we pass the age requirement.”
To learn more about the Adult Skate Night and other Guelph Wellington Seniors Association activities visit https://gwsa-guelph.ca/googlecalendar/
