I am compelled to write after what I witnessed this morning at the Ridgeland Common Ice Arena. Ten children and young adults ranging in age from 11 to 17 showed up at 6 a.m. on a Monday for a Power Skating class. There was no instructor there to teach the scheduled class. This is yet another snafu in the long list of problems encountered on a continual basis by clients of the Ice Rink. The management of the rink is absolutely abysmal.
For example, a whole block of classes was scheduled for experienced skaters (years-long customers of the park district) for which they could not find an instructor and the management was still scrambling to find someone weeks into the session with much misinformation and confusion along the way about the status of the class. When they can find an instructor to staff a class and an instructor actually does show up, there are chronic tardiness issues (but some do manage to have time to swing by Starbucks before they hit work).
It is so frustrating to have a small but very dedicated band of kids and parents who get up at the crack of dawn to run into problems literally every week. For instance, staff not answering the door, thereby leaving students stranded outside in the cold and dark, no staff at all when ice time is scheduled, and no way to actually get through to a person at the rink before business hours-just a round-robin on an automated phone system.
The rink opens three hours before “business hours” for figure skating or hockey and a skater may need to be contacted or someone may want to find out about the schedule. Also, a wonderful (volunteer) student teaching program which allowed more personalized instruction time for the 3- to 8-year-old crowd and an opportunity for the older kids to volunteer for their community, has been completely abandoned. How hard could that program possibly be to manage? This is extra free staffing to help keep kids who may be struggling just a little bit to stay in the system and by retaining these students, hold onto years of a potential revenue stream. The sound system is a dicey propostion on any given day. As of today, there are no seats where the parents can sit in the lobby of the rink. Do not even get me started on the physical plant, what with the holes in the ice from the leaky ceiling.
We have a vicious cycle in place now. Due to the lack of management and leadership in recent years of the current rink staff and specifically the Skate School, some skaters who show promise and dedication choose to leave Ridgeland to follow quality coaches and facilities. In years past, we had a large and vibrant high school population of skaters-this has dwindled markedly and without those role models and exposure to the more varied band of coaches they utilize, many middle level skaters quit. In addition, some parents I’ve spoken with are unwilling to encourage their children to continue, given the unpredictable nature of the services provided. What a lose-lose situation, individually for the chilren involved and collectively for the community!
As decisions are made, elections held or referenda considered in future months and years regarding the park district in general, the board and/or employees, I encourage my neighbors to seek out the actual consumers of the services provided by the park district to evaluate their success or failure.