NCC to close Rideau Canal Saturday for 150 games of shinny hockey

_ (Via National Capital Commission) _ To welcome thousands of young hockey players to CIBC’s Shinny Hockey Day, the National Capital Commission will temporarily close all 7.8 kilometres of the Rideau Canal Skateway, from downtown to Hartwells Locks, on Saturday, February 18, from 7 am to 9:15 am.

On Saturday, February 18, the ice surface of the Rideau Canal Skateway will be transformed into 150 rinks, where minor teams (Novice to Peewee age categories) from Canada’s Capital Region will have the chance of a lifetime to play a fun game of shinny hockey.

The shinny games will last 60 minutes. Teams will play a five-on-five game with no goalies, and players substituting as needed.

As soon as the shinny hockey games are over, the Rideau Canal Skateway teams will reopen the ice rink to the public.

The NCC also wishes to remind the public that the Queen Elizabeth Driveway will be closed to motorists on Saturday, February 18, from 7 am to 8:30 pm; on Sunday, February 19, from 9:30 am to 6 pm; and on Monday, February 20, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Managed by the NCC since the 1970–1971 season, the 7.8-kilometre Rideau Canal Skateway receives, on average, close to one million visits every year, with an average of 20,000 visits each day that it is open.

The 47th season of the Rideau Canal Skateway was officially launched on Saturday, January 14, 2017. ** PARTNERS AND SPONSORS ** The NCC thanks the organizers and sponsors of CIBC’s Shinny Hockey Day: CIBC, the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club, Canadian Heritage, Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Outaouais.

The NCC would also like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the Rideau Canal Skateway: CIBC, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), Nokia, Pepsi, BeaverTails

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pastry, CEECAM, Access Storage Canada, and Cubeit.

The NCC also thanks Parks Canada, which maintains and operates the Rideau Canal. ** LINKS ** CIBC’s Shinny Hockey Day Rideau Canal Skateway: The World’s Largest Skating Rink National Capital Commission