Bigger dressing rooms. New flooring. Working heaters.
There really isn’t a lot in the old Pat Duke Memorial Arena in Lumby that couldn’t use being upgraded.
So, the citizens are rallying behind the heartbeat of its village.
Nominations are flying in to have Lumby earn a spot in the top-10 of the Kraft Hockeyville 2016 contest, which sees the winning entry get to host an NHL pre-season game and $100,000 in upgrades for the local arena.
“We are a country passionate about hockey,” writes Kraft on its contest website (www.khv2016.ca). “It brings us together as fans, friends, family and, ultimately, as a community.”
And Lumby is a perfect example of that.
The arena is used for many community gatherings and functions, but mainly hockey.
Peter Catt, for example, grew up playing minor hockey in Lumby and, after he married and had kids, continued to give back by coaching.
Catt died suddenly late in 2015, leaving a wife and two young sons.
“Peter was always involved in hockey and the community has stepped up to remember him by putting together a crest in his memory and putting it on the peewee team’s sweater,” said Stephanie Davyduke, a member of Lumby Minor Hockey’s board of directors.
The facility itself, though, needs some work.
The Pat Duke Memorial Arena has two decent size dressing rooms and two that are tiny, which is a hinderance to the organization when it comes to hosting tournaments.
“Girls can’t change with guys, obviously, so the girls are squeezed into an itty-bitty room that can hold, maybe, six girls, all their gear and there’s only one shower,” said Davyduke.
The referee’s room was made by slapping up some plywood. Same goes for the skate sharpening and rental office.
The online nomination competition is underway, and runs until midnight, Feb. 7.
From all eligible entries received, judges will select a top-10 which will be announced on a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on Sportsnet TV Saturday, March 5.
When the top-10 is announced, legal residents of Canada 13 and over can begin voting for their favourite entry.
The two entries with the most votes will be finalists for the title of Kraft Hockeyville 2016.
You can view the nominations on the website. There are already several nominating the Pat Duke Memorial Arena for consideration.