Every winter, thousands of blue and gold-clad spectators gather in Thunderbird Arena to watch the beloved Winter Classic hockey game, fostering a strong sense of school spirit. But the Winter Classic, and the regular hockey games played by the Thunderbirds, are enjoyable because of the many people working behind the scenes to make them possible.
I spoke with Jenna Holm, who has, arguably, the coolest role — an ice resurfacer, also known as a Zamboni driver.
Holm graduated from UBC with a kinesiology degree in 2018. Passionate about movement skills in children, she worked in youth recreational programs out of school. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, shutting down all recreational programs. When they began to start back up, she found her way to a facility in which she worked under the supervision of the ice rink’s chief engineer.
“Through him, he said, ‘we're kind of looking for some more people to work in the ice rink. We'd be willing to put you through some training. Are you interested?’” Holm said.
“About three years later, here I am. I have just continued to follow the doors that have opened.”
Now working at UBC, Holm said a regular shift for her consists of getting the arena ready for the teams that play there in the mornings and then cleaning the ice from rink to rink.
“I’m FAQ ready,” she said when asked about the reactions of others to her job. “Usually people have so many questions and [are] so curious about how it works. I definitely felt the same way too, when I was first getting into it.”
Holm said her favourite things about the job are the relationships she has forged.
“When you work in a rec facility — at least this is important to me — when people come to visit, they're choosing to spend their time here — their time off, their later time, their time to have fun," Holm said. "So it’s important to me that when people come into our facility, I'm a familiar face for them. [Someone to say], 'how’s it going, how’s your weekend,' that kind of deal. I try to build those relationships with our regular groups.”
Another one of her favourite things about her job is the wide range of amenities and activities available at UBC. Coming from a high performance background, Holm loves seeing the different levels of sport played in her workplace.
“I think a lively facility is a good facility,” she said. “The diversity of what we offer here is really appealing to me as someone who works in the facility day-in and day-out. [It's] not so much of the mundane because [UBC does] so many different things.”
Though much of her work is done behind the scenes, Holm’s unseen duties ensure safety on the ice and are the backbone of UBC sports and recreation.
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