Q: My child wants to start skating and has never skated before. Where do we start?
A: It depends on the age of your child. We start as early as 3 in the Pre-CanSkate Program. If your child is 7 years or older, he or she may feel more comfortable in the CanSkate program as PreCanSkate classes are typically younger, smaller children. Skaters are constantly assessed by the coaching staff and will be moved through the programming groups as the class objectives are met.
Q: How is my child evaluated?
A: Skaters are constantly being evaluated by the coaches each lesson. If a Coach feels your child has the skating abilities and skills to move to a different level, you will be contacted. Therefore, your child may not be kept in the same program for the entire session (or season). Skaters receive badges as they progress and report cards at the end of the Fall session (at the last class in December), the end of the Winter session (at the last class in March) and again the end of the Spring session (at the last class in May).
Q: What if I have concerns about the coaching of my child?
A: Please talk to one of our Coaches directly. While we have Program Assistants on the ice helping out, the Coaches should be consulted for any concerns. Our Coaches want to make skating a very positive experience for your child(ren), so if you have concerns, please don’t hesitate to approach them. Alternatively, you can us at mhskate1959@gmail.com.
Q: My child wants to play hockey. They have never skated before, but I want to put him in CanPowerSkate.
A: If your child has never skated before, we recommend they begin in the CanSkate program and moved up to CanPowerSkate when the coach(es) feels they are ready. Skaters in the CanPowerSkate program are typically skaters who have already played at least one season in their desired sport like hockey or ringette, for example.
Q: When do lessons start?
A: MHSC offers classes all year. All our winter programming begins in October with the exception of our STARSkate program that starts mid/late September. Please see the PROGRAMS section of the website for more detailed information.
Q: What equipment does my child need?
A: All CanSkate skaters need skates (either figure skates or hockey skates depending on their preference), a proper fitting CSA approved hockey helmet (masks strongly encouraged), ski pants, a warm jacket and gloves that won’t stick to the ice. We recommend warm clothing as the rink can be quite cold; however, the helmet, skates, and gloves are mandatory. All CanPowerSkate skaters need full hockey gear and their stick.
Q: Can parents go on the ice?
A: No, parents are not allowed on the ice unless they are registered with Skate Canada and have the permission of the Coach. We have several Program Assistants to help with each session.
Q: What forms of payment do you accept?
A: Credit Card, E-transfer or Cash
Q: What if I missed the registration dates?
A: Our online registration system is up-to-date with registration dates for each class with the cutoff set of the middle of the session. Once the program has passed mid-session joining is not optimal as the skater will be several sessions behind. Once the registration dates are passes, we are unable to bypass the system.
Wait Lists: If there are no openings available at that time, your Skater will be added to the waiting list automatically as long as registration cut-offs have not been passes. Once the season is well underway and should a spot open up, we can look at prorating the cost for classes missed.
Q: What if a class is cancelled?
A: The PreCanSkate and CanSkate program sessions (Fall, Winter, Spring) are based on 10 (once a week) or 20 (twice a week) with the option to register for both Fall and Winter at the beginning of the session. The STARSkate program is dictated by the skater’s goals and budget; MHSC and Coaching staff recommend at least two ice sessions per week.
There are often more weeks throughout the season than we need, so very often, when a class is cancelled, it will not be rescheduled as it does not affect the total sessions we guarantee, and you paid for. However, on the odd occasion that it does affect the total sessions guaranteed, we will reschedule that specific class somewhere throughout the season. The day of the week and class time may have to be changed to accommodate the missed class.
Should a class get cancelled, you will receive an email from the Club office and will be posted on our Facebook group page and on the monthly calendar in the registration program, Uplifter.
Q: Where do I find the latest Club information or contact the Club?
A: Make sure that you are part of our Facebook group if you are not already. Log into your Facebook page and search for Medicine Hat Skating Club, and you will find the Club quickly (https://www.facebook.com/MedicineHatSkatingClub). We try very hard to share all the latest information on our group page. Any very important information will also be sent out via email and posted.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us via Facebook messenger, send an email to mhskate1959@gmail.com or call the club office. Club volunteers are diligent to answering Facebook messages and emails as quickly as possible. Please be patient MHSC is run by volunteers and are not always available at that specific moment.