How should I prepare for storms with heavy rain/snow?

Proper assembly: Every grommet should have a cable tie securely connecting the tarp to the link of the panel. Every straight panel should have a stake inserted at its intersection with another panel, and the stake should be hammered flush with the top of the panels, with its top tilting toward the rink.

If your rink is on a sport court and stakes are not utilized, you may want to add additional bracing and support during high winds using sand bags or other weights.

For rain water: While the grommets in your YardRink tarp allow rainwater to exit the rink once it reaches significant depth, very heavy precipitation can over-fill your rink and place excessive pressure on your panels. To prevent this, you can cut a few cable ties and fold down the tarp to allow excess water to flow out of the rink. Replace the cable ties with new ones after the storm.

For snow removal: In cases where you have ice that is thick enough to stand on, shovel the snow off the rink as soon as you can. If your ice is too thin to stand on, it is possible that the weight of the snow will push your ice block down, bringing water up around the edges and turning the snow into slush that can then freeze into terrific ice. If you end up with non-melted snow on top of ice that is too thin to walk on, some users report that roof snow rakes are helpful to remove it. Ensuring your YardRink is assembled correctly, and taking these proper precautions can help prevent the unexpected during inclement weather.