Bridgewater Retirement Community resident Dianne Hartley describes her love of ice skating as “the feeling of the running blade on the ice is heaven to me.” At 73 years old, Dianne still has the urge to skate. When Dianne moved to Bridgewater 2 ½ years ago, she was delighted to learn of Generations Park and the fact it’s an outdoor rink. She especially loves seeing the kids on the rink and enjoys watching them learn how to skate and witness firsthand their improvements.
Dianne was born in England and spent her early years learning to dance. Her family eventually moved to Montreal and her parents thought it would be nice for Dianne to learn a winter sport since Canada had numerous rinks and curling clubs. She joined a figure skating club and quickly won an award for most improved beginner.
Dianne reminisces about the ice skates made of leather and buckskin that were kept clean with chalk, which inevitably got everywhere. Her favorite memories of ice skating include club shows where she was able to choreograph her routines. Her father, who traveled a lot for work, would always make it back to watch her perform. Dianne served as an ice skating judge throughout her life and competed in Singles and Ice Dance for several years. Dianne has always found a way to integrate ice skating into her life.
Generations Park is living up to the name of bringing generations of people together.