Zack Akin has been playing hockey at the Falleti Ice Arena since he has been three years old.
The Notre Dame High School Senior was watching the Winter Classic Hockey Game on TV on New Years Day, when he noticed an advertisement for the Kraft Hockeyville competition for a chance to win $150,000 in rink upgrades.
Akin decided to nominate Falleti Ice Arena on Evans street.
“Now that I am older, I see little kids coming in and starting to grow up here too, and I think it would be great just to make it a better environment,” says Akin.
“$150,000 in improvements would do miracles for this place, and I thought it would be great to get this going. Everything costs money, so if the Zamboni breaks, depending on the part, it can be a lot, the locker rooms can be improved and everything could be updated, it would be great for the community and the rink.”
Akin told his business teacher about nominating the rink, his teacher was looking for a final project for Akin, and now his good intentions have become his final project for a grade in his business class.
“I made a Twitter page right off the bat. You can find updates here:
After the Twitter page went up, Akin received a text from Sam Call, she informed him a committee had been created and they want you to be part of the the committee.
The Genesee Amateur Hockey Association jumped in and the hockey community is now rallying behind what Akin started.
Sunday night they held their first rally to gather community support.
“We wanted to get everybody that spends time here, that skates here, that is part of the hockey community and as many players here with their jerseys to show support,” says Sarah Rosenbeck, Director of Sponsorship and Marketing for GAHA.
The group had a skate and created some videos, did some interviews and did a cheer to submit for rally points.
The rink will be judged by a panel on their story submissions.
Judging will begin March 11 and all story submissions must be entered by March 10, 2018.
Here is the way the rink can earn Rally points:
Rally Points account for 10% of the judging criteria. Additionally, your chance to earn Rally Points will last only through the nomination phase of the contest. Once the Judging Phase begins on March 11, 2018, you will no longer be able to earn Rally Points for your community rink. To keep track of the Rally Points your community earns, a Rally Score Board will be visible and will dynamically update to show the community’s Rally Point total.
WAYS TO EARN RALLY POINTS
- Submit a story – 10 Rally Points
- Story Submissions must comply with the Official Rules and Submission Guidelines outlined in the Official Rules the Storytelling Tips section in order for the Story Submission to be judged. The answer to each of the three (3) essay questions for the Story Submission must have a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) characters (including spaces) and must not exceed one thousand (1,000) characters (including spaces). The answer to each essay question for the Story Submission must be in English. Limit: One (1) approved Story Submission per person, per arena, however a rink can have multiple approved Story Submissions from separate unique entrants.
- Share Kraft Hockeyville via Twitter – 5 Rally Points
- Click on the Twitter icon to tweet a pre-populated message about the Competition. Limit: One (1) share via Twitter per person, per rink.
- Add a photograph or video – 3 Rally Points
- Add a photograph or video by uploading a photograph or video or adding a link to your YouTube video. Videos posted to YouTube must comply with YouTube’s Community Guidelines. The optional video must be in avi, dv, mov, qt, mpg, mpg2, mpg4, 3gp, 3g2, asf, or wmv format or a format accepted by YouTube. The optional video must not exceed one hundred (100) MB in size. The optional video must not exceed two (2) minutes in length. The optional photograph must be in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, or .png format. The optional photograph must not exceed one hundred (100) MB in size. Limit: Five (5) photographs or videos per person, per rink.
- “React” to a Photograph, Video, or Story – 1 Rally Point
- “React” to a photograph, video, or story by selecting a “reaction” emoji. Limit: Fifteen (15) reactions per person, per rink.
- Add a note – 1 Rally Point
- Add a note to the community note board. The optional community note must not exceed one hundred forty (140) characters (including spaces). Limit: One (1) note per person, per rink.
Link https://www.krafthockeyville.com/#community/11E7E6A98531B2D6BCD2BB3AEA662A63
After the judging period, 4 finalist will be announced and then voting begins April 13, 2018 at 12a.m. ET and ends April 14, 2018 at 11a.m. ET.
The Grand Prize winner will be announced Saturday April 14, 2018 during the 3p.m. NHL hockey game.
There is also a second prize of $30,000 in rink upgrades and a 3and 4th prize of $10,000 in rink upgrades.
According to GAHA Treasurer, Stephanie Call, the rink is in need of a new Zamboni, a new one cost’s $94,000. The current Zamboni is 10 years old and has broken down a few times this year causing some games and practices to be cancelled. The Zamboni is used about 8 times a day to refinish the ice surface, which is necessary for an ice rink.
Also on the list is new heating in the stands, the old heaters are not working, updating the bathrooms, which are not always working, locker room improvements, especially to the women’s locker room which is not heated and very small. The pro shop and snack bar are also in need of upgrades along with the party room.
“We need to provide these amenities for the teams that come in from out of the area,” says Rosenbeck.
GAHA says the City owned rink was left out of the City of Batavia grant process and that has forced the group to move forward and try for funds through a contest for needed upgrades. Firland Management operates the rink for the City of Batavia.
“This is important to the kids, just as it is for us as parents and families and those who have been through the program the last 40 years.”