Ice-making: The coolest job to have during a heat wave

Even when there are heat warnings outside, Russ Gronick has to bundle up at work.

While hockey season won’t be in full swing until the fall — barring more COVID-19-related shutdowns, that is — someone still has to get the ice ready in August.

Gronick, the manager of program operations at Regina’s Co-operators Centre, leads the team that maintains the ice at the facility.

While it might seem obvious, he thinks there is no better place to beat the heat than at the rink.

“In rinks, what you see is what you get,” he said. “It’s like your air-conditioned house. Then all of a sudden, it turns into ice and we’re skating in the middle of the summer.

“Most people come away from their hot house to come have a skate and get out of the elements … Not so much everybody enjoys it in winter when it’s -30 degrees, but I see a lot more smiling faces when it’s 30 degrees out.”

The Co-operators Centre, located at Evraz Place just by Mosaic Stadium and the Brandt Centre, hosts hockey and other ice sports for many different leagues.

The building features six different arenas, meaning Gronick and his team need to make six sheets of ice.

The facility is home to a number of sports and teams, including the University of Regina Cougars men’s and women’s hockey teams and the Regina Pat Canadians midget AAA squad.

Regina has been under a heat warning since Tuesday, with record-setting temperatures in the mid-30s.

Gronick isn’t a fan of the heat, so making ice at the Co-operators is the perfect job for him.

“For us, it can never be too cold … I don’t think a lot of people want to hear that, but at the end of the day, the colder, the better,” he said.

Even with short Saskatchewan summers, he still prefers working a job where he can stay chilly at all times.

“My jacket goes in the back of my truck, and I try to get cool when I get home,” he said. “(I also) flip the air conditioner on.”

He’s also not afraid to have a sense of humour on the job.

“The biggest thing about my job — it’s cool,” Gronick said.