It's big day for aspiring hockey players in Saskatoon's Fairhaven neighbourhood as they celebrate the opening of a new outdoor skating rink.

It's the first rink the area has had in close to 15 years. It was built with money from the city, mining company Areva, and other local businesses and organizations.

"It's really great," said Desiree Carter, the president of the Fairhaven Community Association. "The school that is right here — the Fairhaven Elementary school — has been a fantastic partner."

"The grade sevens and eights come to clean the snow during the day. They're using it to teach the kids how to play broomball, they're teaching them all how to skate," she added.

Carter said the community rallied for months to get the rink finished, with kids building the boards themselves.

Until the opening of this rink, kids had to walk about 30 minutes if they wanted to go skating.

The rink will get a lot of use in the neighbourhood, especially with younger families moving in, said Carter.

"This area was built in '77, so a lot of original homeowners," she said. "They're starting to move out, newer families are starting to come in so we definitely have the need."