The Last Word

Last Word

With Matt Major

ZAMBONI DRIVER AND ICE RINKS AND FACILITIES DIRECTOR AT SKANEATELES YMCA & COMMUNITY CENTER

Major with the rink’s ice resurfacer.

PHOTO COURTESY MATT MAJOR

BY MJ KRAVEC

Who doesn’t love to say the word Zamboni? Well, technically it’s an ice resurfacer, points out Matt Major, word killjoy and ice rinks and facilities director at the Skaneateles YMCA. Major has been driving the ice resurfacers, making ice and providing ice maintenance for 40 years. He also happens to be the “Voice of the Lakers,” the announcer for Skaneateles Boys and Girls Varsity Hockey home games. We thought he’d be cool to feature in our January edition of Last Word.

What time do you get up in the morning and how do you

take your coffee? I get up at 5:30 a.m. every morning and start my workday with my coffee, “high test” with nothing in it.

What do you like most about your job? I like working with people. I get a chance to meet so many people with so many interesting life experiences and of all ages. Through my career, I have witnessed little toddlers grow up into adults. I have been blessed to know so many nice people that walked through our doors that have now passed away. It’s nice knowing that I may have made a difference in their lives and realizing that they have made a difference in my life.

Anything interesting worth noting? I remember back in the early ‘90s when (Former SU and NFL Football Player) Tim Green asked me about learning to ice skate. He had never skated before but wanted to be able to skate with his family. I set him up with one of our Learn to Skate Instructors where he started to skate using a “skate aid” (ice walker used for balance) until he gained the confidence to get rid of it and skate on his own. For Tim as a natural athlete it didn’t take him long before he was skating like a pro. I always say that it’s never too late to learn. Today, we have a wonderful learn-to-play hockey program for adults.

About the Zamboni, er, ice resurfacer… We currently have two ice resurfacers and they are both manufactured by a Canadian based company called Olympia, not the brand Zamboni. There are other manufacturers of ice resurfacing machines today. People still use the term Zamboni. It is a bit like how people used to refer to all paper copiers as Xerox machines.

What’s it like to drive one of those? It’s like clockwork. Very seldom do you ever drive in a counterclockwise direction and you are always on a tight schedule to keep the practices and games on time each and every day. It’s pretty cool for about the first 40 years then it starts to get old.

What’s your favorite season in CNY and why? I enjoy all the seasons for one reason or another. I love winter because it is when most everyone comes to the rinks. I love summer because it is when not everyone comes to the rinks. Although shoveling and snow blowing is getting to be a little much here at the Y. I might start a synchronized snow-shoveling class here at the Y for members and non-members alike. The class would be free to all!