Welcome to CanSkate!

The Glencoe Skating Club would like to extend a warm WELCOME to everyone registering for the skating season.  The Club is continuing to expand and grow.  It is definitely an exciting time to be a member of the Glencoe Skating Club.   We have a dedicated group of individuals heading up our executive and we have laid the framework to enable the Club to build on its previous years’ successes and offer an exciting Skating season ahead.

Please remember that we are a volunteer organization; all of our executive members work full-time jobs during the day, and generously give their time to the Club in the evenings and on skating days. We do not have any paid administrative staff or daytime office hours. We only have operating hours during skating sessions, as our ‘office’ is operated by parents who volunteer to be in the arena while their child is skating.

Communication/Contacting Us

The best form of communication is email (glencoeskatingclub@gmail.com ) and we will try our best to respond to your inquiries within 24 hours. This year we will have a new website that will be used for registration and to complete most of our communications. Please make sure that the email and phone number that you supplied on your registration is the correct as this will be the way we will be contacting you. Please visit our site often so you can keep up to date with everything that is going on throughout the season.

Cancellations, Missed Sessions and Refunds

Cancelled sessions due to weather will be made up on a different day but it will depend on ice time availability.  We will be using team snap to inform parents if sessions are cancelled due to weather and we will try our best to inform of any cancellations as early as possible.

If your child misses a session due to sickness, vacation, etc., we DO NOT allow them to make it up on another day. Your child is only permitted to attend the day that they registered for. All of our sessions are normally full and we have a limit as to how many we are allowed to have on the ice at a time.

Withdrawal before session starts: A program refund* will be issued for withdrawals after registration but before the first scheduled class begins

Withdrawals will not be permitted after the program start date, except for the following circumstances:

Withdrawal due to injury: Any skater that misses four or more consecutive weeks due to an on-ice injury on a Glencoe Skating Club session is entitled to a credit of 50% of the pro-rated amount of the sessions missed. A doctor’s note must be provided to the Program Convener indicating that the injury is the result of the on-ice activity. The skater must present evidence that the injury occurred during an Glencoe Skating Club session.

Withdrawals for PreCanSkate: A pro-rated refund* will be given to parents of NEW PreCanSkate skaters (aged 3-5) if the refund request is received in writing within 4 weeks of the program start date.

* ALL withdrawals are subject to a $30 processing/administration fee and Skate Canada Fee

Mid-Season Program Transfers:

While program withdrawals are not permitted after session start, a skater MAY transfer from one program to another in the middle of a program season, with no administration fee, when changing skating categories: for example from CanSkate to PreSTARSkate. A skater may also transfer between equivalent programs once per season with no administration fee, for scheduling purposes IF there is room on the desired session. Each subsequent transfer after the first would be charged a $30 administration fee. With any program to program transfer any registration payments on the current program will be applied toward the fees for the new program.

CanSkate On‐Ice Delivery

Skate Canada has developed a great CanSkate program based on Sport Canada’s long-term athlete development (LTAD) principles. Exciting new features include a fresh new look, new awards, great tools for coaches and most importantly a tested and proven new curriculum and delivery methods that guarantee skater success in developing stronger basic skills and developing them faster. But there’s more! This program also includes specific skills that pertain to hockey, speed skating and figure skating. The result is a dynamic program that prepares all skaters for virtually every ice sport.

The Canskate program consists of movements using circuits to teach and practice skills. This format ensures little standing around and less time waiting to take turns to practice skills. Skaters will rotate to different stations throughout the session. All sessions will have the following components – warm-up, lesson time (group activity) and cool-down.

We are proud to have all of our programs taught by Professional Coaches who are specially trained and certified through the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). They are on the ice teaching the skaters the skills and assessing their ability, and are responsible for preparing and implementing the lessons. They will have “Coach” on their jackets to identify them.

Also on the ice are our Program Assistants (PAs) who assist as required.  These are StarSkaters that have taken a coarse to be a program assistant, or former skaters with a background in the CanSkate Program. They are on the ice to assist the coach during the lesson, demonstrate the skills and help supervise. They will also lead the group from station to station. They provide your skater with a familiar, friendly face and hope to spread the joy of skating by being a role model for the skaters.

For those of you who are new to our program, the CanSkate program involves Pre-CanSkate (introduction level) and Stages 1 to 6. It is important to note that children move through the stages based on their ability. They are continuously assessed and will progress at different rates. Within each stage, there are three ribbons (Agility, Balance and Control) to be earned in order to progress to the next stage. Each ribbon represents the mastery of the sub-skills for that stage. These ribbons can be achieved in any order, at any time and are awarded on an individual basis. When all three ribbons have been awarded, the skater will receive a badge for that stage and move to the next stage. Not all children will be receiving ribbons and/or badges at the same time. This allows for faster progress for those who are ready to move up a stage. Please discuss this system with your child so that they understand that not everyone will receive a ribbon at the same time in order to avoid disappointment. It is possible for a child to move through multiple stages during the session; it is also possible for a child to remain in the same stage for entire session, both of which are perfectly fine! It is important to remember that all children will progress at different rates and will have their own level of success during the season. You will receive a report card twice a year (Dec & March) to update you and your skater on their progress, noting their successes and what they still may need to work on.

Volunteering

Skating, like many other group sports, relies upon the commitment of a strong volunteer group. Without the commitment from these volunteers, our programs cannot run. Please consider becoming involved with our organization. If you are interested, please come see us or send us an email!

If you have any questions or concerns during the season, please feel free to send an email or chat with us during your child’s skating session.

To our returning skaters, WELCOME BACK and CONGRATULATIONS on your successes from last season, and all the best for this upcoming season.  For those of you who are just joining us, we are glad to have you