Donate towards Our New Rink!

Reedsburg Youth Hockey got its start in the early 1980’s. The first rink was located in the park now known as Sorom Park (Willow Park) on South Willow Street. The kids at that time would typically only play Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells. Between 1983 and 1985 a group of parents got together to create a nonprofit organization and join USA Hockey. During this time on the way back from games in Waupun, Mike Welch and Jim Gerlach discussed how to improve the Reedsburg program. Jim said, “If Waupun can have an indoor rink so can Reedsburg”. Within a few weeks they had large supporters on board. The first donation of $2,500 came from Skinner Transfer, which kicked the fundraising off. From there donations started to pour in from other Businesses, Individuals, and even kids would donate what they could. Each of the donors would then be recognized in the weekly paper. A few of the most notable donation came from Hankscraft and Gredes, who got into a challenge with each other, and ended up donating $25,000 each (today would be roughly $75,000). After these initial donations the City then contributed $50,000 towards the new building. By the end of the fundraising just about every business in the City had contributed something.

For the first few years the rink was set up on a gravel floor in RACA, Skinner semi trailers served as locker rooms, and semi-trailer tarps were hung around the sides of the building to block the wind and snow. At this time the hockey season was still dependent on the weather. So, after a few years it was apparent that the association needed to do something to help lengthen the season to be competitive with other teams. It was decided that we needed to have refrigerated ice. Which, after more fundraisers and many donations, the refrigeration system was installed in 1992. Since then there have been many different upgrades and improvements to the rink to make it what it is today.

When the association first began we mainly only played other local teams, with similar facilities. In the early 1990’s we joined the Dane County league, and began playing a lot higher caliber teams. Over the years the youth teams have brought home multiple Tournament and State trophies. After years of growth the High school aged players joined the WIAA in 1996 and have since made multiple State playoff appearances. Currently the High School Team has the most Conference Titles of any other sport in the Reedsburg High School.

Hockey provides an opportunity for our youth to learn many life skills. As one of the more difficult sports to play, hockey requires hard work, dedication, the ability to skate, handle a puck, and keep track of everything else that is happening at a very fast pace. Our program helps teach youth how to do all of these things, while staying in control. Which, then benefits the players as they grow through life.

Throughout the year we host multiple tournaments that bring hundreds of families to town to participate in. Not to mention the games every weekend. On a typical weekend there are at least 16 different teams that travel to play here. Our season typically begins in November and runs until mid March currently.

Currently we have multiple fundraisers that help keep registration fees manageable, maintain equipment, and fund operations.

Some of the fundraisers are:

- Pizza Sales – $5,000 per year

- Sportsman’s Raffle – $11,900 per year

- Golf Outing - $14,800 per year

- Concession Stand - $32,400 per year

- Open Skate - $4,000 per year

As with any sport there are many costs that are associated with hockey. Our previous year costs for USA Hockey registration, tournaments fees, ice rentals, equipment and ice maintenance, and Referees were $110,635.

In order to keep providing the community with the opportunity for a safe place to skate, play hockey, teach life skills, and compete at a competitive level we need an update! Our refrigeration system is past it's life expectancy by at least 10 years. Our building is also aging with roof leaks, block walls that need repointing, and the pull barn just isn't working anymore with unseasonably warm weather in the fall and winter. When it's warm, condensation drips all over the ice making ice hills all over the ice, creating a safety hazard to our skaters. We also have to completely take out the boards and glass in the spring and reset them up in the fall, which wears on the aging boards, and takes a lot more manpower for set up and tear down.

Now is the time to build a new rink, to create a safe place for our skaters. This would help extend our ice availability throughout the year. This can open us up to saving money on pre-season practices, being able to host camps (much needed in our area), and other on ice activities. The new building would also give us more flexibility for future expansion.