For the past five years Oakville resident Case Feenstra and a small, but dedicated group of volunteers, have utilized the freezing temperatures of winter to build what has been dubbed Oakville's largest outdoor ice rink.

"We've really made three rinks in essence," said Feenstra.

"One we split in half so they're about 65-feet wide by about 140-feet long and the other one will be about 65-feet wide by about 70-feet long."

Skating enthusiasts get a wide variety of activities from Feenstra's rink as each section is used for a different purpose with one section for hockey playing, one section for free skating and one section for younger children and people who prefer a slower pace.

Set up inside the tennis courts of Old Abbey Park the rink got off to an early start this year when December's cold weather gave Feenstra what he needed to get going.

"We just had it open for a few days because the beginning of December was nice and cool and about a week and a half ago after the big snow storm we cleaned it up and we had some good ice," said Feenstra.

"But, it only lasted for two days and then it was gone again. We'll start building it up again when the weather turns in January. (At that time) It will only take about three or four days to have it up and running again."

As the rink was only open for a short period in December only a few neighbourhood people had the opportunity to enjoy it, however, if the turnout during the rink's regular season is anything like last year's a lack of attention will not be a problem.

"This past year we had a great long spell, we had about seven weeks of straight skating and during that time we had between 3,000-4,000 people use the rink," said Feenstra.

"We'd open up in the morning (at 8 a.m.) and at night we'd turn the lights on so people can skate until 9 p.m."

Building and maintaining such a large outdoor ice rink has not been easy or cheap with Feenstra paying some of the expenses of keeping the rink open, including the cost of lights and the generator to fuel them, out of his own pocket.

The rink also needs constant care to keep it operational, but fortunately Feenstra has help in this area.

"Every night at 9 p.m. I go there with a bunch of neighbours and we clean up the ice and spray on new water," he said.

"We have to spray water every night to keep surface area."

Why go through all the trouble of spraying water on a rink for hours while enduring the subzero temperatures of a winter night?

Feenstra said it started out as a way to stop kids from partying and vandalizing the Old Abbey Park.

"The community wanted more policing to deal with the troubles in the park and I was like, 'Okay, if we don't use the park the kids will use it for their own purposes,'" he said.

"That's why we started this as a way to give the kids something to do in the winter time."

Feenstra said he also gets great pleasure in seeing the joy the rink brings to so many people despite the fact that he rarely uses it himself.

"I'm not really an ice hockey person and I don't skate as often as I used to because I have weak ankles, but I enjoy seeing the people on it," he said.

"Especially the kids, they make up their own little games and the interesting thing is I've never seen anyone fighting on it or hitting each other. I also like how no one is excluded, it's a place where young and old can gather and enjoy their time together."

Anyone who is interested in helping Feenstra maintain the rink can call him at 905-330-0727.