OUTLOOK - The Jim Kook Rec Plex is trying its hand in a popular Canada-wide online contest designed to rally up populations across the country to get behind their beloved community rinks.
The annual Kraft Hockeyville contest pits village and town rinks against each other in a voting competition to see which facility tallies up the most ballots.
The nomination period ran until March 2 and the Outlook rink managed to get itself in the running just under the gun, with the Jim Kook Rec Plex's contest page shared on social media and people encouraged to share their rink stories and photos on the page to drive up rally points, which will help organizers narrow down the list to the top four nominees.
When those nominees are selected, a Top Four announcement will be made on March 15. After that, voting begins for the four contending rinks starting on April 4 at 9:00 am and running for 32 hours, concluding on April 5 at 5:00 pm. This voting period allows communities to get creative with the ways in which they collect votes for their rinks, with some examples being voting marathons that are held at local schools and community centres, as well as dedicated social media campaigns that encourage visitors to make their daily votes.
In the end, the community with the highest numbers after that 32-hour marathon voting period will win a grand prize of $250,000 dedicated towards arena upgrades as well as an opportunity to host an NHL pre-season hockey game. Three runner-up prizes consisting of $25,000 each for arena upgrades will also be awarded.
Readers can check out the Jim Kook Rec Plex's contest submission page by going to
