So I bit the bullet and built my first rink this weekend. I used 4x8 sheathing split in half at Home Depot and got a bunch of 2 foot long stakes, sunk them six inches or so into the ground and attached them to the boards. The space is pretty flat all around. I will probably flood it about 4/5 inches once my liner comes. Will I have to further support the boards or will the stakes do the job?

if your pretty level (did you measure?) and only looking at 4 or 5 inches in the deepest part, you should be just fine as is with the stakes IMO. If you've got a slope and are looking at deeper you may want to put some bracing in the deep areas.

Looks great. fill it up. let it freeze and have fun.

and if is deeper than 5 inches more bracing will be needed. maybe some angle braces in the deep end.

Yep, double-check your slope with a string and line-level (I do it all the time at customer rinks once the frame is built, just to confirm my laser findings).

http://www.backyard-hockey.com/2011/10/ ... yard-rink/

If it's north of about 6-7", be safe and add some more bracing.

I'll re-check before I fill. We are about to have a pretty good snow storm tomorrow night so I won't be able to fill this thing until at least the weekend.

Thanks for the replies everyone.