For the second year in a row, the Collingwood Blues Junior 'A' hockey team is giving away prizes for the best local backyard rinks.
Chris Potts, events coordinator for the Blues, said last year the contest inspired more than 100 entries from people within Collingwood and surrounding communities who built their own backyard rinks.
This year, the contest is geared to local hockey spirit with two categories for entries: Collingwood Blues theme, and Collingwood Lightning theme.
The contest opens Jan. 19 and will close Feb. 21 with public voting on the entries starting Feb. 23. Winners will be announced Feb. 28 and the prize list is still growing.
Anyone interested in entering the contest can do so via this website.
Local businesses interested in sponsoring the event or donating a prize can email Kristine Caroline at [email protected].
For those who haven't built a backyard rink but have the space to do so, there's also a chance for you to win a prize.
In a new contest from the Blues, the team has partnered with Collingwood Home Hardware Building Centre to giveaway a 24-foot by 48-foot backyard ice rink kit.
To participate, residents of Collingwood and the surrounding area can send a photo of their backyard along with a short pitch on why they would like to be the winner of a new backyard rink to [email protected] to the attention of Chris Potts.
The contest for a new backyard rink will be open Jan. 18 to Jan. 28. The winner will be announced Jan. 28, and the kit will be delivered in the first week of February with help from the Collingwood Blues and Home Hardware staff to set up the rink.
Potts said the Collingwood Blues players will also come out to officially open the winner's backyard rink with skating and hot drinks later in February.
