Remembering Ravi: Cherry Hill to dedicate new roller hockey rink in memory of the young player.

One activity that Ravi Bloom relished was the weekly pick-up roller hockey game on Sunday mornings, played on the rough surface and decrepit rink at Cherry Hill's DeCou Park on Evesham Road.

The games were casual, fun and a blend of tight-knit players from middle-school age to older guys in their 50s or 60s, recalled Craig Bloom, father of the Cherry Hill East High School junior who also loved playing ice hockey for the East team.

Ravi, who also was a history buff, was 17 when he died in a car accident in 2021 while vacationing with his family in Virginia as they visited the homes of former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Today the decrepit rink at DeCou has given way to a new outdoor college-regulation-sized rink with a pristine surface, player benches, penalty boxes and a chain-link fence to keep the puck in bounds.

And, on Sunday, Ravi's father, mother Jayne Feld, brothers Lee and Cary, former teammates and others will join Cherry Hill officials in a ceremonial puck drop at the rink as it officially reopens and is dedicated as "Ravi's Rink" in his memory.

"When we saw it for the first time, I called it Ravi's Rink and Spa," Feld said of the high-quality rink.

The four years since the accident have been hard, Feld said, and the new rink "helps us to know how much the community has helped to lift us...and support us."

Feld, a journalist who grew up in Cherry Hill, said Mayor David Fleisher was president of the East Class of 1987 when Feld was editor of the high school's Eastside newspaper. She credited Fleisher as "really a driving force behind making this happen."

"The Township completely rebuilt Ravi's Rink from the ground up, and today it is a first-class facility that rivals others in our region," Fleisher said in a statement on Thursday. "This project reflects our commitment to improving our parks Township-wide, and while Ravi is deeply missed, his spirit will live on in every player who picks up a stick and takes a shot in this new rink." 

Craig Bloom — who has played goaltender mainly, he said, because of his weak skating skills — said the new rink in his son's name is a great honor.

"We're really happy it's something that is going to be long-lasting in Cherry Hill in the community in Ravi's name," he told 70and73.com in an interview.

 Ravi's brother Lee, 20, will be a junior in the fall at the University of Delaware. Younger brother Cary, 17, will be a senior at Cherry Hill East.

If You Go

The ceremonial opening of Ravi's Rink including sign unveiling and a pick-up game will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday at DeCou Park, 498 Evesham Road, Cherry Hill.