Peter Martell from the Ice Skating Institute stated that the

majority of ISI rinks are seeing an increase in public skating and learn-to-skate participation. Peter also announced his retirement as ISI executive director. He will be a difficult person to replace. Matt Herr from the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex

reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins purchased three utility trailers that will be stocked with loaner hockey equipment that can be delivered to local rinks to borrow for Try Hockey for Free days or anytime there is a need for equipment. Tey are also working on a program with local school districts that would provide transportation for physical educational classes to ice rinks. Our meeting concluded with a lively roundtable discussion

on assorted topics, including ice painting equipment, Zamboni repairs, feasibility studies, adult league referee payments, generators, ice maintenance, staffing, and pricing on rink supplies. Following the meeting, the Pittsburg Penguins invited the

managers council to a box suite to watch a Pens game — a great way to end a meeting, especially with a Pens’ win! Our next meeting, to be announced shortly, will be held at the UPMC Lemieux Complex in Cranberry, Pa.

Association (MIAMA) by Dean Mulso, MIAMA Administrative Assistant; Secretary/Treasurer

Minnesota Ice Arena Managers

MIAMA elects new board members each September, so we use an October to September calendar year. With that said, what follows is MIAMA’s snapshot in review from 2015 to present. In October 2015, the board held its first meeting at the Rosemount Community

Center in Rosemount, Minn. At this meeting all conference and committee chairs and assignments were made. We voted on all fees for the next calendar year and reviewed the 2015 fall conference. We discussed the importance of continuing to offer full iAIM courses throughout the week for attendees. Te website committee reported on plans to upgrade

rinkfinder.com’s main page to be more visually appealing and to continue to encourage members to use miama.org for all their needs. Te board was reorganized, districts were eliminated and “outstate reps” and “metro reps” are now considered board member titles. In February, the board met at the Waconia Ice Arena,

in Waconia, Minn. Te spring workshop is being planned and will be held May 3 at the Beilenberg Sport Center in Woodbury, Minn. Most of the 2016 fall conference was planned and fine-

tuning continues through June. Te CAM course through iAIM will be offered. Te conference will take place Sept. 6-9 at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minn. All items, such as conference grants, the Padgett award and conference and workshop registrations, will only be available online at miama. org. We continue to mass email as well to the addresses provided by members.

ISI EDGE SUMMER 2016

Te by-law committee presented changes to the by-laws to

update them to reflect the current culture — email addresses, websites and revised language. In May, the board will meet at Beilenberg Sport Center in

Woodbury, Minn., the evening before the spring workshop. We will discuss final items for the workshop, stuff packets and set up any necessary items. We had 144 attendees and 31 booths for the 2015 spring workshop at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. In May, the board also will receive the “final” layout of the

fall conference. Te beanbag tournament sponsored by the vendors, following the trade show, was a great success and will continue for 2016. Te iAIM online piece was worked out and all attendees will be able to network on Tursday afternoon. Te board will meet in June at Becker Arena Products in

Savage, Minn., where we will conduct the spring conference wrap-up discussion and review the final fall conference layout. Troy Ciernia and I will attend the ISI board meeting and

conference in Las Vegas at the end of the month. We will be meeting with ISI’s Peter Martell and Rob McBride to go over items pertaining to the 2017 joint conference in Minneapolis. Te board will begin to work on the annual MIAMA

report and each committee will submit their report to the communications director. Te next board meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 6. At that time, we’ll be completing tasks for the fall conference and electing the new president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Have a great summer at your rinks and as MIAMA says,

“Have an Ice Day.”

Association (NEISMA) by Ben Ruggles, President

North East Ice Skating Managers

Te NEISMA Board of Directors has had a busy spring hosting our annual Spring Conference and Trade Show in April at the MassMutual Center and Sheraton Hotel in Springfield, Mass. We expanded it to four days, included certification courses – including ISI’s iAIM Certified Arena

Operator-Part 1 — and added a couple more networking events. One highlight was our keynote speaker, Ray Bourque, who not only shared some of his experiences in ice hockey but also gave his perspective on how we, as rink professionals, can impact our customers’ experiences. We also hosted popular sports psychologist Adam Naylor,

who spent the day trying to convince rink managers to “raise the bar,” and Ty Newberry, who led a session on “Tricks and Tools” of ice facility maintenance trade. Looking ahead, NEISMA will continue to reach out to

rinks in our region to continue providing educational and networking opportunities. In addition, we will continue to work cooperatively with ISI in helping to promote your efforts in doing the same — rather than “reinventing the wheel!”

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