Nineteen families submitted their backyard rinks to showcase on The Rink Live and readers had an opportunity to vote for their favorite. Out of 2,290 votes, the winner was decided by a shaving of ice — one vote.
- Mar 12, 2018 A Love Letter to Backyard Baseball feat. Nick Mirkovich. March 12, 2018 January 7, 2019 tippingpitchespod. 33 — Inspired by an article by Zach Kram at the Ringer last year, Bobby and Alex take a deep dive into the history of “Backyard Baseball,” the kids-video-game-turned-cult-classic that they grew up with. They bring on Nick.
- Imagine a game where the players play for the love of the game, not the money. A game where multi-million dollar contracts are unknown. A game where everyone gets to play. Imagine a game just like it was with the youthful innocence of a child. This, my friends, is Backyard Baseball.
Three rinks lead the pack, including “The Love Big Rink,” submitted by Chad Kurtyka of Grand Forks. He described his rink, which features festive lighting, an iced walkout directly from the back porch, a fire pit and sitting area for s’mores and warmth and a bar for the adults.
As I grew older, I became a certifiable nerd, and baseball was a strange outlier among my interests. I was more well known for my love of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and guys in my high school approached me with utter shock when they saw my name printed in a letter to the editor in Sports Illustrated. But I took time away from baseball.
“After the passing of my father last year, we realized he really 'loved big' and also learned how important those memories and moments are, so I created this rink as a Christmas gift to my children to capture that spirit,” Kurtyka said.
The 14-foot-by-32-foot rink was a Christmas gift to his children.
“This rink has brought immense joy to our entire family. Even those who are unable to participate in the on-ice festivities benefited from the laughter and joy that came from the rink and everyone on it,” he said.
Next year he plans to add curling targets for those who don’t skate.
“We're happy that people could feel the joy and connection of the rink through the photos that we submitted. There's no doubt that my dad was smiling down on us as we enjoyed The Love Big Rink,' Kurtyka said.
The second top-three finalist was called The Crew Arena, submitted by Drew Peterson of Baxter, Minn. His 95-by-70 rink just west of Brainerd is about 10 feet from the house and expanded this winter.
Anytime the rink lights are on, neighborhood kids are welcome to stop by and play, he said.
The rink is home to the annual “Jake Haapajoki Memorial Cup,” a tournament held for his step-son who died by suicide at age 16 two years ago. The money raised goes to suicide awareness and local academic and sports scholarships.
“I have no way to show or describe the enjoyment that this backyard rink has brought to our family and community,” Peterson said. “Every piece was built by myself, sons and with the help of family and some volunteers, from the cemented posts, to the wiring and lights, to the paint. The only part not hand done was the asphalt surface. It is truly a hand-built backyard rink.”
The rink is permanent and features a 16-by-18 locker room in the house that is filled with hockey memorabilia. Next year he plans to add a 10-by-30 addition for viewing.
“I would not say we are as proud as we are excited to have created an environment for so many to enjoy,” he said.
The final top-three rink had a unique situation to remedy before the first layer of ice was put down. Kevin Anderson, who lives about 30 miles east of Worthington in Jackson, Minn., submitted the Wild West Rink. He said his yard had a 2-foot fall so he put pallets underneath for fill.
In its third year, he says the rink is about as big as it can get. One of the reasons why Anderson built a backyard rink is because his 14-year-old son’s home rink is 22 miles away. He is hoping to use his rink-building knowledge to help the city of Jackson build a municipal rink next year.
“I bring out pictures of the rink in meetings, at school events, blast it on Instagram and Snapchat and I imagine most are sick of reading my rink posts,” Anderson said. “My oldest daughter who is in college named it ‘the favorite child’ but I also like how people in the neighborhood talk about it.”
Anderson said his family hosted a gathering New Year’s Eve where they created a modified game of ice bocce on the 31-by-42 rink where 5-pound kettle weights were used as the stones and the puck as the bocce.
“It works pretty well and we’ve had a couple of evenings of adult beverages and ice bocce and hope for one more. One of my favorite moments from this winter was when a handful of my Bantam players came for a Sunday afternoon of shinny … pretty much skated it for six hours straight,” he said.
A Love Letter To Backyard Baseball League
Next year he plans to convert a playhouse into a warming house and offer skate sharpening.
With all that, the Wild West Rink, named for the Minnesota Wild and the rink’s location on West Street in Jackson, was the top vote-getter for The Rink Live’s favorite rink. It got 15.8% of the votes. Second place, again by a single vote, was The Crew Arena (15.7%) with The Love Big Rink coming in third with 12.9%.
“There are so many cool rinks and I would imagine that my friends were voting on mine because they knew how much work we put into it and the pride that we have in it,” Anderson said. “My wife seems like she is a rink widow, but I think deep down she enjoys it as well.”