Respect for volunteers as deadline looms for new ice rink details

13 January 2026

As the process towards breaking ground at the new twin-sheet ice sports site in Tuggeranong nears another important milestone, the ACT Ice Sports Federation (ACTISF) today paid tribute to the hundreds of volunteer coaches, trainers, judges, administrators, referees/linespeople, managers and family supporters whose commitment has been integral to the near decade-long rink campaign. 

The 13 January deadline set by Sports Minister Yvette Berry for developers Pelligra Group and facilitator Cruachan Investments to complete and submit an updated detailed double ice-rink proposal has expectations running high that compliance with the government’s requirements will get the process back on track. 

“But without the many volunteers over the past 45 years in all of the ice sports, and who we absolutely respect, we’d have no skaters, no players, no coaches – we’d essentially have no ice sports at all in the national capital,” ACTISF spokesman Sandi Logan said today. 

“And a new community facility designed and constructed not just for today, but for tomorrow and beyond, will meet local residents’ needs on and off the ice, as well as draw visitors and tourists to the ACT.” 

The government’s demand for more detail arose after the proponents’ response to a draft project agreement was found to be lacking sufficient detail. 

As with all sports, it comes down to the volunteers who turn up as early as 6am each morning, often every day of the working week and twice on weekends, to lace up their skates in order to take to the ice to coach young, and sometimes not so young Canberrans. 

“Learning new skills such as ice skating takes time, commitment and safe, modern facilities in which to practice and improve,” Logan said. 

“But it also requires parents to drive participants to and from the rink; it requires volunteer officiating staff and judges to organise, test and enforce the rules of their respective ice sport; and it needs the cooperation of all of the volunteer administrators working with the facility’s management to ensure a fair distribution of the available ice time across existing ice sports and new ones such as curling, ice racing and para hockey. 

“In short, it’s never one person or even one entity which grows any sport; it takes the proverbial village,” he said. 

The federation’s petition calling on the government and developers to speed up the process to build the new facility, launched in November 2025, is approaching 1000 signatures – electronically, and on hard-copies. 

It remains available online (Deliver an Ice Sports Venue in Tuggeranong ACT Legislative Assembly), at the Phillip Ice Rink, and through ice hockey, figure skating and broomball representatives until late February 2026.