MV Arena
2022-23 at the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena was a rigorous, successful and unique season to navigate. The facility continues to be a central point for the local community providing a space for a variety of ice-activities for all ages. MV Figure Skating Club is a staple program that begins with fostering the youngest skaters. They conduct the Learn to Skate Program for children 3.5 to 12 years old, and the youth served continues to grow and lays a great foundation for skill-building. Many of the instructors are youth members of the Figure Skating Club and MVRHS hockey programs. The MVFSC Bridge Program offers an opportunity for skaters to build skills to advance to freestyle figure skating. Additionally, MVFSC provides the Freesetyle Program for dedicated skaters who train hard to compete and test with the US Figure Skating. Both Bridge and Freestyle have had growth in participants this season and look forward to hosting the Vineyard Cup in fall 2024, where over 100 skaters comprised of local and regional skaters will convene for a 2-day competition. The largest youth-serving program run through the Ice Arena is MV Youth Hockey, that offers House Mites, Girls Ospreys, and multiple travel teams at the U8, U10, U12 level and one team at U14. This year they introduced a Learn to Play program for beginners to grow the program reach. This program typically feeds into the House Mite Program which includes over 50 children under the age of 8. In the Winter, the House Mites play games on Friday Nights, and is a must watch event. In addition to the House Program, MVYH also boasts two U8 Travel Teams, so the future for the program is strong. The high school teams at the MVRHS continued their strong form. The MVRHS Girls qualified for the state tournament, in a season that included the first victories over Barnstable High & Falmouth High in MV school’s history. As for the Boys, they again qualified for the state tournament, making it to the final eight.
MV Arena
The YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena has the privilege of serving as the facility host-home for Island youth serving organizations MV Figure Skating Club, MV Youth Hockey, MV Regional High School Girls & Boys JV & varsity teams.
The MV Figure Skating Club, navigating the skating world throughout Covid-19, has provided unique opportunities, such as virtual testing, which many of the skaters participated in. Through the virtual testing process, Ryan Giordano became MVFSC second US Figure Skating Double Gold Medalist in January 2022. Spring 2022, MVFSC annual Ice Show production returned, Live, Love, Skate. The annual Ice Show is the culmination of the skater’s skating season highlighting their achievements. Over 100 skaters perform with a full audience for both performances.
The MV Youth Hockey program continued its strong numbers in 2022 and had significant post season success in the U8, U10C, U14A and U18A programs all winning the league championships in Spring 2022. The start of the 2022-23 season saw an increase in the number of teams offered by the program. In addition to the traditional House Mites and instructional programs, MVYH added two Under 8 Travel Teams and an Under 12 and 14 Girls Travel Teams.
The MVRHS girls program found new life in the 2021-22 season. After not recording a win the previous season, the girls finished in the Spring of 2022 with a 7-10 season with great promise for the coming season. The Fall of 2022 saw a number of freshman enter the high school from the youth hockey program, and the future of the program looks bright.
The boys MVRHS team closed out the 2021-2022 season with another Cape and Islands Lighthouse League Championship with an invitation to the MIAA State Tournament following a 13-3-1 Season. The 2022-23 season started slow with a 0-3 start, but a buzz was created after 3 wins in a tournament to end the year.
MV Arena
While the start of 2021 was still mired in pandemic restrictions, the YMCA Ice Arena had a familiar sense of normalcy within our youth programs. The MV Youth Hockey and MVRHS Boys & Girls Varsity and Varsity Prep Teams began playing against traditional rivals within their leagues building skills and team comaraderie. The MV Figure Skating Club continued working on their craft through the Bridge, Freestyle and Learn To Skate Programs with skaters excelling and participating in competitions again. The YMCA After School and summer camp children were able to skate again as an enrichment activity. Many Island youth also took advantage of public skating as a way to safely recreate with friends and family.
This past summer we continued our collaboration with, The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, to produce the Vineyard’s ‘pay-what-you-can’ Drive-In. The movie screen is hosted on the back of the Ice Arena building and the parking lot was transformed into the Drive-In for another successful season. The Drive-In provided a vital resource by allowing families to feel connected in an experience, while following social distancing protocols. We were especially thankful to partner with the Island Disability Coalition to host the community’s first Disability Film Festival.
The legacy of the Ice Arena is one that is deeply engrained in the Island’s ice-sports community.Thanks to the generosity of MVYouth, the Ice Arena can continue to deliver on the mission to fulfill the skating needs of our Island community.
MV Arena
While January marked a new year, activities at the Arena were already in full swing for the MV Figure Skating Club (MVFSC), MV Youth Hockey (MVYH), and the MVRHS Boys & Girls Hockey teams. Thanks to the now sustainable facility these programs will continue to grow and serve more Island youth. Before the season officially came to an end, the Arena was closed on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindful that advancing our mission during these challenging times requires financial support, we collaborated with The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, to create the Vineyard’s first “pay-what-you-can” Drive-in . The movie screen was displayed on the back of the Arena building and the parking lot was transformed into the Drive In! The drive-in provided a vital resource by allowing families to feel connected in an experience, while following social distancing protocols. In August the Arena was able to reopen to youth groups. The Arena safely hosted skills and drills hockey clinics and the MV Skating School, providing a summer exercise outlet for youth. MVYH and MVFSC kicked off another season in the fall. Despite restrictions in place due to the pandemic, these programs have been resilient continuing to provide ice activities to the Island youth. The legacy of the Arena is one that is deeply engrained in the Island’s ice-loving community and the Y is grateful to have merged with the Arena to continue that tradition into the future. Thanks to the generosity of MVYouth, the Ice Arena can continue to deliver on the mission to fulfill the skating needs of our Island community.
MV Arena
Two years after its renovation, the Ice Arena continues to be essential to the fabric of the year-round Island community, impacting over a thousand local youth through regular ice activities all four seasons, and thousands of youth visitors. 2019 was the first year the Ice Arena was fully integrated into the operations of the YMCA of Martha's Vineyard. We continue to provide quality ice and programs for infants to college age youth, including hockey; figure skating and learn to skate programs; collaborations with the MV Public and Charter Schools, Island Preschools and non-profit organizations; birthday parties; events; public skating; and public stick and puck. To increase youth impact and sustainability, collaborations are important to our mission, starting from birth. MVCS continues to hold a Stroller Skate program for infants. The MV Figure Skating Club holds a Preschool Skating program. The Charter School and the whole Chilmark School had field trips to the Arena. Additionally, while the Tisbury Middle School students were relocated to the High School, the Y was happy to help by hosting 140 students for 30 hours a week for the semester to accommodate their Unified Arts classes, including Physical Education at the Ice Arena. In collaboration with the West Tisbury Library this summer, we offered another Skate and Read Day with Bruins Mascot Blades free to the community. The Y After School and Summer Camp programs utilize the Arena ongoing throughout the year. We hosted the Bruins Alumni team for a hockey game fundraiser against the local adult league that we hope to make into an annual event, and the Youth Hockey House Mites were given a chance to play against their mentors. We also continue to employ teens and young adults as the primary workforce at the Arena. Thanks to your incredible generosity providing a first-class ice skating facility, we are able to continue an important Island legacy of providing ice activities to our community and impact more people as we grow our organization.
MV Arena
Visit the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena during a hockey game or figure skating show and you might find yourself in a packed house of up to 400 people. One year after its renovation, the "Barnes - Swartz Rink" is thriving, impacting more Island youth through ice activities. Visitors and users continue to give enthusiastic reviews about how much they love the renovation and are enjoying the ice.
This year, following a three-year partnership, the Ice Arena and YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard merged organizations, establishing increased sustainability for the future. We increased ice activities for infants to college ages, including youth and high school hockey, figure skating, learn to skate programs, stroller skating, birthday parties, school field trips, drop-in hockey and skating. We now have four part-time positions for teens in the Pro Shop, and three full-time positions for young adults. This summer, we added a youth hockey league, five hockey camps, and a hockey skills night with Cape Cod Hockey, providing positive activities for youth and high school boys and girls. We have increased our collaborations with other Island non-profits as well. In collaboration with the West Tisbury Library, this summer we offered a Skate and Read Day free to the community with Bruins Mascot Blades.
Thanks to your incredible generosity providing a first-class ice skating facility, we are able to continue an important Island legacy of providing ice activities to our community and impacting more people as we expand our organization.
MV Arena
The Martha's Vineyard Ice Arena re-opened to big smiles and lots of eager skaters in September following the seven month, near total renovation. The Arena organization, users, and guests are thrilled with the renovation's outcome, and eternally grateful for the amazing support of MVYouth. Since reopening, the Arena has hosted hockey and skating activities for youth ranging from infant to college. These activities include youth hockey, high school boys and girls hockey, NCAA DIII men's hockey, figure skating, learn to skate programs, stroller skating, birthday parties, school field trips, drop-in hockey, and public ice skating. In addition, four new part-time jobs have been created for teens and young adults at the Arena. The upgraded playing surface, of the “Barnes - Swartz Ice Rink” is performing wonderfully. The rink is surrounded by new hockey boards and glass, and is kept frozen by a state of the art Ice3 heat pump cube system. The cubes produce refrigeration which freezes the ice, and as a byproduct simultaneously produces waste heat which is captured and used to heat the warm areas of the facility. Thank you for your support and help in providing a first-class ice skating facility for our Island community.
MV Arena
PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT: The Arena was awarded $1,000,000 to complete a $3.7 million capital campaign to fully restore the aging facility. Funding from MVYouth will enable the ice making compressor and sub-ice slab to be replaced as well as the dasher boards and glass around the rink. Flooring to cover the rink area during non-skating months will also be purchased, enabling other indoor sport usage and community events. The entry vestibule, lobby and bleachers will be renovated and modernized to improve the hospitality and ADA compliance of the facility. A new pro-shop and offices will be added, as well as a commercial kitchen and concession stand. A 2,500 square foot multipurpose room will be added to the back of the facility.
In the last two years, the Arena has made considerable progress to strengthen the organization. They hired a General Manager, Peter Lambos; developed an “Administrative Support Agreement” with the Y; participated in a “Sports Alliance” committee to analyze indoor space needs; hired an accountant; installed software to streamline scheduling, financial management, and website content; replaced the roof of the facility; and raised $2.6 million for the project from private donors, foundations and the community.
According to the Arena, renovating and expanding the facility will increase the numbers they serve by 20%. They will accomplish this by: attracting the community to a more hospitable and attractive facility; offering indoor space to other sports groups; offering indoor space for parties and other community gatherings and hosting more community fundraising events. In the spring and summer when the ice is drained, the facility will be available to host concerts, trade shows and dances which will generate revenue.