Rink

Do you know of any rink that was recently built that is LEED certified? 1. First LEED is an acronym for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. This was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and provides standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The Utah Olympic Oval is a certified LEED building. We were a part of the original pilot program that helped kick LEED off, and we earned a bronze-level award. The facility opened in March of 2001 and, of course, hosted the Olympics in February of 2002. The architect for the facility was GSBSA out of Salt Lake City. David Brems was the principal architect, and Kevin Miller was also involved. They can both be reached at 801-521-8600. One of the biggest benefits that working with LEED brought to the facility was to lower the energy volume inside the arena. This design resulted in lower energy use, which is where LEED came into play, but it also allowed the facility to control space better than any typical oval. That in turn has contributed to the oval's unofficial title as "the Fastest Ice On Earth," with more than 60 world records having been set at the facility since its opening in 2001. Many other items from the LEED program have proven to be beneficial, and the program has and continues to benefit the facility. In fact, management is looking at alternative energies such as solar and wind to help further reduce energy usage. — Information submitted by Marc Norman, Director of the Utah Olympic Oval 2. Although I am not entertaining the LEED certification in the near term, we are working on a ten-year plan of retrofitting our facility with the following: energy-efficient T8 light fixtures throughout (replacing metal halide fixtures and older fluorescents); external lighting using solar and LED technology; instituting a recycling program for plastic/metal, cardboard and paper; installing timed showers, automated flush and shower valves to limit water consumption; and further integrating our energy management software into the building itself. I ran across a number of ice rinks which were working on energy-efficiency components, so that would run parallel with your observations that most skating facilities are always working on ways to save energy. Since we're all energy hogs, we know the value of savings. Thanks for directing me to TFM magazine (Today's Facility Manager) and its guidance through a number of facility-related processes. — Tom Cline, General Manager, Sylvania Sports and Exhibition Center at Tam-O-Shanter Why are player benches on the same side of the ice in some arenas and on opposite sides of the rink in others? Is there some kind of legislation at youth, collegiate, pro levels to mandate where the benches are located? There may still be some facilities that have the player benches on opposite sides, but this gives an advantage to the team with the penalty box on the same side. You will find that the recommended location is for both player benches to be on the same side of the rink with the scorekeeper and for penalty boxes to be on the opposite side of the rink. The NCAA rulebook is the only one that mentions benches being on opposite sides. This is mostly because of the older rinks still being used. You will note that the NHL rules use words like "must" and "shall." The USA Hockey and NCAA rulebooks use words like "maybe" or "should." This allows any configuration to be used because of all the older rinks and also what makes sense for the rink owners and operators. For more information check out these rules and documents: USA Hockey Rulebook - Rule 109(a), NHL Rulebook - Rule 3.1, NCAA Rulebook - Section 9.a, ASTM Document F-1703-04 Standard Guide for Ice Hockey Playing Facilities. ★ ask dave 58 R INK MAGAZ INE may/June 2008 ■ You have rink questions. Dave has rink answers. Send your questions to AskDave@rinkmagazine.com. STAR PHOTO Low E-ceiling STAR PHOTO

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