The West Coast of the U.S. and Canada obtained hit with sub-zero temperatures over the weekend as a chilly entrance swept by the Midwest. Northern California and Southern Oregon reported uncommon seasonal lows round -5 and -10 C, leading to excessive chilly that even froze over Hayward Subject on the College of Oregon, reworking probably the most well-known tracks on the planet right into a skating rink.
As a substitute of sporting spikes for his or her Monday morning exercise, the Oregon Geese observe and subject workforce was seen skating on the observe, turning their normal follow into extra of a speed-skating session.
You don’t see ice skating at Hayward Subject every single day.
🎥 Simeon Birnbaum’s IG pic.twitter.com/Wif8SlWi0J
— chris nickinson (@chrisnickinson) January 16, 2024
The video was posted to Oregon freshman Simeon Birnbaum’s Instagram story on Monday, the place he was additionally seen sporting a Crew Canada package T-shirt. Though Birnbaum is from South Dakota, he has Canadian roots, having spent his early years in Alberta, the place he realized to skate, in keeping with Runnerspace. He transitioned from hockey to trace in his early teenage years and is now a sub-four-minute miler with the College of Oregon observe and subject workforce underneath coach Jerry Schumacher.
The sight of individuals skating on Hayward Subject has sparked a couple of concepts. First, envision an epic NHL Winter Traditional recreation in that stadium. With a capability of as much as 25,000 followers and oval-shaped grandstands harking back to an NHL area, the venue may present a great setting and environment for a recreation.
I do know the latest Winter Traditional between the Seattle Kraken and Las Vegas Golden Knights at MLB stadium T-Cellular Park in Seattle on Jan. 1 accommodated far more followers than Hayward, however let’s get NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the cellphone to rearrange a future Winter Traditional matchup between the Seattle Kraken and L.A. Kings at Hayward.
The second concept includes Hayward Subject internet hosting a long-track pace skating World Cup occasion in January or February. This cross-up between two of the preferred summer time and winter Olympic occasions could be unreal. Whereas I’m no skilled on pace skating, I might solely suppose that having track-meet-style races could possibly be extremely entertaining, particularly if wind or snow turns into an element. Although the College of Oregon won’t allow both occasion, it doesn’t harm to begin the excitement.