Jeff Humphrey, Media Content Coordinator, 509.625.6308
Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 2:35 p.m.
Matt Taylor can now say he has one of the coolest jobs in Spokane. He’s Riverfront Park’s official ice resurfacing specialist.
“Oh, it’s exciting. It’s a little nerve racking but it’s exciting. People are coming up and yelling at me, wanting my job, so it’s a good feeling,” Taylor said from behind the wheel of his Olympia ice resurfacing machine.
For all the bells and whistles that come with a system that keeps the Ice Ribbon between 15 and 18 degrees,
what it took to make the course’s two-inch base was surprisingly simple.
“It’s rudimentary. It’s just a matter of putting water down. Letting it freeze and adding more water and just building up your ice sheets until we can get the machine on there and be able to smooth it out,” Taylor explained.
So now it’s up to Taylor and the Olympia ice resurfacing machine to keep you from catching an edge.
“Basically it’s got a blade underneath, with an auger that’s catching the snow as I go along. It goes into our hopper here. Behind us is a conditioner that will leave behind a nice bead of warm water all over the surface to create a nice sheet of ice,” said Taylor.
And so this winter, skaters will be gliding along on the Ribbon’s silky ice and they’ll have Riverfront Park’s Matt Taylor to thank for it.
