SAULT STE. MARIE -- As Sault Ste. Marie moves the John Rhodes community centre into Phase 3 of reopening, some organizations say they still have concerns about getting enough ice time.

Phase 3 reopening allows two arenas to open, with games and scrimmages now allowed to be played. A maximum of 50 skaters are allowed on the ice and 50 visitors are allowed to attend, remaining physically distanced.

"Normally, we skate four, five hours a day and now we're sharing with other user groups," said Kerry Bain, Lake Superior Figure Skating Club coach. "We're certainly happy to be back out on the ice, of course, but the restrictions make it a little more difficult to train."

Bain said the club is limited to one hour of ice time per day, because it has to share two rinks with 25 other groups.

"Managing that task can be incredibly difficult," said Brent Lamming, of the City of Sault Ste. Marie. "Demand is really high right now. We usually have about 60 groups, but 25 have committed to this phase."

Asked if reopening other arenas was a possibility, Lamming said before than can happen, it's up to those facilities to notify the city when they're ready.

In some cases, facilities may not even be in safe condition to reopen.

"McMeeken arena is scheduled potentially for a replacement from a twin pad, so it's an aged facility and would be very hard to put the ice in at this time of year," he said.