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Nonstop fun, games and hard work at UD’s ice arenas
“On an average night, I’m trying to be a jack-of-all trades: I’ll answer phones, work the front desk and cut ice when it needs to be cut,” Jeff Cousin, service supervisor and hockey director, said. “It’s a source of pride.” Located on the south campus on South College Avenue, the complex, which also includes the Gold Ice Arena and Outdoor Swimming Pool, averages 100,000 customer visits every year, Jim Kaden, manager, said. The Rust Ice Arena is an Olympic-size rink, and the Gold Ice Arena is built to National Hockey League specifications. “We have many activities going on so we try to cross-train everybody,” Kaden said. “Between the ice arenas and the Outdoor Pool, we are just as busy during the summer as we are during the school year. Pool membership sold out for the third year in a row. We now have 990 memberships with more than 3,500 people. Last year 30,000 persons used the pool. It’s one of the busiest places on campus.”
“The place really can’t operate without the students,” Kaden said. “Since we are open all year, it’s a good job for them because we are flexible. Their class schedules come first and then any other activities they have, and then we put the work schedule together. “The students are part of the entire operation. They are here so much, and they represent the University while they are working,” Kaden said. Melissa Humphrey, a UD alumnus who teaches in Wilmington and works in the complex during the summer, agrees. “It’s a lot of fun. You get to meet all kinds of people from different countries and from all over the U.S.,” Humphrey, who worked in the complex for four years before she graduated in 2003 with a degree in health and physical education, said.
Kaden explained that the positive attitude and enthusiasm among the student workers and staff make it easier to handle the nonstop activity and the challenges that can come from dealing with various customers. Besides providing facilities for UD teams to train and play, at least 20 different groups, including 12 teams in the Junior Blue Hens hockey program, Caravel Academy, A.I. du Pont High School, Middletown and Avon Grove high schools, synchronized skating teams and Phoenix, a women’s hockey team from Newark, rent the ice on a regular basis, Kaden said. Added to the hectic schedule that runs from 5:30 a.m. to midnight are rentals for parties or hockey games, ice skating and ice hockey classes, as well as regular public sessions on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Kaitlyn DeRoy, a sophomore English major, said working in the arena is more than just a job. “It’s cool to know people here and make friends. I feel like I know the place better,” DeRoy, a figure skater who got her first skates at the age of 8, said. “There are a lot more people here than at other rinks I’ve used before. A lot of really good, well-known skaters trained here.” DeRoy’s primary job as a skating guard during public sessions requires her to make sure skaters follow the rules and to help people who fall, but she also works at the skate rental counter and front office and puts on an occasional show. “Sometimes in the summer, when it’s not too crowded, I’ll do a spin, and people will go, ‘Oh! That’s so cool. Can you do it again?’”
“On any given Saturday, we have many different events going on so we have to treat each rental as a special event. Each client has different needs and wants. We are always getting ready for one event while the other event is going on. That’s why customer service is so important down here,” Kaden said. At the end of the day, Kaden said, the greatest beneficiaries are the student workers. “They are getting skills that an employer will be looking for in a college graduate. They are not just making copies and running errands. It’s a lot of responsibility, and we do a lot of training. It’s a real job.” Article by Martin Mbugua To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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