Community · Volunteer
Two groups wanted the same rink. Now they share it.
A free booking calendar for the Conestogo community park, built and run by volunteers.
Visit conestogoparkbookings.caAt a glance
- Live since30 July 2026
- First bookingsWithin 48 hours
- CostFree to use
- AccountsNone needed
- AreasThree rink zones, one court
The situation
What this is
Conestogo is a small rural neighbourhood of about 1,300 people in Woolwich Township, just north of Waterloo. Its community park has a hockey rink that becomes a dry pad in summer, and a full-sized tennis court running alongside it. Both surfaces are open to anyone in the neighbourhood, first come, no fees.
The step everyone was waiting on
Pickleball players had started using the rink as their courts. Hockey players would arrive to shoot pucks and find pickleball already set up. Posting times in the community Facebook group did not work, because a post scrolls away and not everyone is on it. The township was asked for a booking system and declined.
The build
What we built
Three pickleball courts fit on a hockey rink, so the rink is split into three zones and the tennis court is a fourth area. A booking claims one, two or all three zones rather than the whole surface. Residents pick a time, tap the areas they want on a top-down map of the park, and enter a name and email. Two groups at opposite ends stopped being a conflict and became a normal booking. Working out how to split the surface took longer than building it. Once that was settled the rules were simple enough to write in a day.
- A top-down map of the rink and court, so people tap the surface they want.
- Booking without an account: pick a time, pick your areas, enter a name and email.
- A database constraint that makes double booking impossible, not just unlikely.
- A reminder email an hour before, prompting cancellation so unused time reopens.
The outcome
Where it stands
It went live on 30 July and had real bookings on both the rink and the court within two days, from residents with no connection to the build. Nobody emailed to ask how it worked. For a tool used outdoors, by people across a wide age range, with no accounts and no instructions, that silence is the signal.
Honest fit
What it doesn't do
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