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You don't need a driver's license to drive the Zamboni, although it helps. When operating the machine, think about steering and driving on ice from the trunk of your car. Most Zamboni drivers are taught by their predecessors; many have had to experiment and learn by trial and error. Resurfacing the ice is known in the industry as doing an "ice job." There are about 1,700 ice rinks in the United States. Zamboni drivers are mostly men, making anywhere from $6-12 an hour in the smaller rinks. NHL arena employees are union operators paid union wages of $15-20 an hour. Because of the seasonal nature of the job in many locales, the part-time drivers often have other jobs throughout the year-- Zamboni drivers are often students, park maintenance workers or food-service employees. Some go on public assistance. Are the Zamboni operators former hockey players, devoted fans of the game, or is it just another job? Drivers fall into all three categories. Frankie Reynolds, Ice Crew foreman at Madison Square Garden, says of his hockey knowledge, "The guy with the fat stick? That's the goalie." The official name of the machine is the ice resurfacer, but all over the world the resurfacer is called the Zamboni. Zamboni has produced about 6,000 machines, currently found in about 60 countries. There are other ice resurfacers made by different manufacturers; the main Zamboni rival is the Olympia. Even Richard Zamboni, son of the founder and president of the company, refers to the machine as an ice resurfacer, but to most, its brand recognition surpasses its function. Zamboni it is. Says a representative at Olympia, "We don't appreciate the machine being called a Zamboni. It's like drinking a Coke and calling it a Pepsi." |
  
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