HANOVER — A lone skater glided in circles around an ice rink on the Dartmouth Green mid-Sunday morning as temperatures hovered around 10 degrees, despite the shining sun.
Fire pits, Adirondack chairs and heaters added to the cozy winter scene.
But while that and another rink on the Green are set up in a central location in downtown Hanover, they’re open only to Dartmouth College students, faculty and staff who have been approved to be on campus and are participating in the college’s COVID-19 surveillance testing program, spokeswoman Diana Lawrence wrote in an email.
That’s upsetting some Hanover-area residents used to ice skating on Occom Pond, which is also not an option this year.
The pond — which is maintained by the Dartmouth Outing Club — is closed for ice skating this year as the Outing Club house is being renovated.
The restrictions on who can use the rinks on the Green are part of a larger policy that was created along with Michael Hinsley, Hanover’s health officer, to maintain separation between the college and town population.
“Our campus is closed right now to guests and visitors,” Lawrence wrote. “We know this is disappointing, but this policy is designed with the safety and well-being of the community in mind.”
It’s equally disappointing for parents like Sabrina Billings, who watched the rinks go up with her two children, didn’t know access would be restricted, and said the lack of public access conflicts with Hanover’s marketing on a Main Street banner as a winter wonderland.
“They also don’t address the fact that it leaves us with no ice skating as a community also struggling through COVID and having to look longingly at skating rinks that aren’t for us. It just kind of feels bad,” said Billings, a senior lecturer of anthropology at Dartmouth.
It’s also unclear whether Occom Pond will be an option next year.
“The usable days for skating on the pond are few and far between because of weather,” Lawrence wrote. “I can’t speculate on whether it will be open for skating next year.”
There is an outdoor rink near the Hanover Fire Department’s Etna Station on Etna Road.
People can also go to the James W. Campion III Rink in West Lebanon, which is run by the Hanover Improvement Society, the nonprofit that also runs Storrs Pond Recreation Area in Hanover. There is no ice skating on Storrs Pond.
The Dartmouth Skiway is open to people outside the Dartmouth community, but there are restrictions in place for all who use the facilities.
During the pandemic, Dartmouth College is trying to operate as a cohort, albeit much larger than the ones put in place by area school districts, Hinsley said.
“Rightfully so there’s been a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety and concerns (that) have been shared by the residents in the town of Hanover during the summer and the fall about the return of Dartmouth students,” he said. “(College officials) have listened to the complaints, they’re reacting to the fear and they have worked closely with the town and they’re following the guidelines and the requests and they’re maintaining the separation of the cohorts.”
The rinks on the Green, Hinsley said, were created under New Hampshire state guidelines for hockey and indoor ice arenas and working with town officials in Hanover.
Due to the pandemic, there are fewer activities for students to take part in.
“In this they’re trying to do something for these kids,” Hinsley said.
That’s something that Billings understands, as well as the need for COVID-19 protocols.
She spoke of how, prior to the pandemic, community members and students alike visited the Hood Museum of Art and the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
But there’s also potential for a middle ground, she said, that would allow residents and Dartmouth students to share the rinks.
“It can’t be that difficult to have a signup sheet or designated times,” Billings said. “I’m sure Dartmouth students aren’t skating from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday morning.”
Billings has taken her two children — who are in fourth and sixth grades — to Mascoma Lake to use the ice skating loop.
Due to regulations put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic, they cannot cross the river to go to Norwich’s outdoor ice rink.
“Of course there’s other places to ice skate: It’s more the connection between Dartmouth and the town,” she said. “It seems not in keeping with the spirit of mutual reliance where having a vibrant community is in the best interest, and a vibrant campus is in the best interest, of the campus and the community. We can help each other.”
Hinsley said he is unaware of any plans for Hanover to erect an outdoor rink this winter because of the current situation.
“The challenge of running an outdoor skating rink which is so weather dependent is one of the reasons why” Campion rink was built, said Hinsley, noting that maintaining an outdoor rink “is a significant undertaking.”
Hinsley stressed that people looking for other ice skating options should stay away from rivers, especially the Connecticut, because powerful currents can disrupt the ice cover and make it unsafe.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
