Ottawa’s 7.8-kilometre-long Rideau Canal will not welcome skaters for the first time in its history because the ice does not have the minimum thickness to be considered safe.

For the first time in his 53 years of historyhe Ottawa’s Rideau Canal will be closed to skateboarders. This 7.8 kilometer course – the longest for the practice of winter sports in the world – covers a large part of the main attractions of the Canadian capital.

However, higher temperatures than usual they endanger the safety of visitors, since the ice does not have the established minimum thickness.

The National Capital Commission made the decision on Friday following the latest tests carried out on said surface.

The local press has been speculating for several weeks on the opening date of this attraction. However, its administrators have indicated that it will be closed throughout the season.

“We share the general disappointment with this decision”, they commented, specifying that the objective is to ensure its opening next winter. The Rideau Canal, completed in 1832, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007.

The commission explained that the ice on the rink must be at least 30 centimeters thick to support both the number of skaters and the maintenance machines.

Temperatures must hover between -10 and -20 degrees for 10 to 14 consecutive days for conditions to be conducive to ice thickness.

The tests were carried out by a team made up of commission members and researchers from Carleton University. This winter has been the coldest in decades in the Canadian capital; the average temperature last January was -5.2 degrees.