HSC makes learning to skate fun

By Earene Lam

The Hamilton Skating Club (HSC) is celebrating its 75th anniversary in October 2013.? The official kick off will be on April 6, 2013 with a gala dinner, dance and ice show.

HSC is one of the largest learn-to-skate recreational programs in the Hamilton area as well as being one of the largest and oldest Skate Canada clubs.? Club members include a diverse age range from preschoolers to adult skaters.? An average of 70 to 80 percent of the membership participate in the recreational programs (CanSkate, CanPower) with the remainder in the figure skating programs ? STARSkate (test stream) and CompetitiveSkate. ??The strength in the club?s program also shows in its annual membership of over 1000 skaters for the past five years.

The CanSkate program is Skate Canada?s recreational learn-to- skate program with Lynda Thompson as HSC?s CanSkate Director. ?Lynda strives to deliver the best CanSkate program possible through great customer service both on and off the ice with the expectation to not only meet, but exceed, Skate Canada?s delivery standards.

Lynda skated and competed as a young competitive (Novice & Junior) sectional skater and was part of the Ice Capades for a year.? She became a coach for all levels/ages and eventually found her passion in teaching CanSkate over 20 years ago when she became a Learning Facilitator for Skate Canada and, later, a Skate Canada consultant.? The last 15 years of Lynda?s career have been with HSC developing the recreational program. In 2008 she received the prestigious Skate Canada award for the ?Best of the Best? in Canada for CanSkate program delivery. ?Lynda has the recent honour of being selected again to re-train as one of 13 Learning Facilitators in Canada to teach several levels of coaching (CanSkate, Introductory and Primary STARSkate) and is part of the Skate Canada CanSkate Resource Team.

CanSkate is a grass roots program that gets children/adults to the rink and teaches them how to skate and remain in an ice sport.? HSC has an exceptional rate of ?returning? skaters ? showing the strength of its CanSkate program.? Over 50 percent of the skaters enrolled go on to complete all stages of CanSkate after which they move into hockey, STARSkate (figure skating test stream), ringette or speed skating.? HSC encourages budding hockey players to continue with the CanSkate /CanPower program in order to help continuously improve their skating skills.? HSC is very special as it is one of the few clubs that offers recreational CanSkate programming year-round and skaters benefit from having the opportunity to continuously be on the ice.? HSC also has many skaters who went through the CanSkate program come back as adults (as parents or adult skaters).

Starting in the fall, HSC will be implementing the new CanSkate program (piloted for the past two seasons). ??The new program is a ?back to basic?s? program with focus on three fundamental movements: agility, balance and control ? the ?ABC?s? of skating.? Agility: turning forwards, backwards, stopping, jumping, spinning.? Balance: forward skating skills and stopping.? Control: backwards skating skills, some stopping and speed.

HSC?s CanSkate program provides the following:

• Instruction given by Skate Canada NCCP Certified Professionals including 30 Certified Coaches on staff with qualifications for CanSkate, Primary STARSkate and up to Level 3 Certified (qualified for national level competitions).? They are also Emergency First Aid Certified and must pass a ?Making Ethical Decisions? online course (from National Coaching Association of Canada), background check, etc.
• A 1:10 professional coach /program assistant to skater ratio
• Professional coaches are assisted by trained program assistants
• Skaters progress through the program at their own rate
• Regular report cards (one or two depending on the season) giving the parents/skater a benchmark of the skater?s progression.? Skaters are continuously assessed and badges for passing stages are given out as the skater earns them throughout the session (and not just at report card time).

The main changes to the CanSkate Program are as follows:

• The major focus is to keep the skaters moving during the program with 90 percent continuous movement.? This is accomplished by teaching skills on circuits with minimal waiting time (no ?waiting to take turns?) and using the entire ice surface more than once to promote speed and basic skating development.
• Skaters learn a variety of skills and are kept challenged by coaches using teaching aids, music and a wide variety of activities that create a fun environment and promote learning.
• Skaters will learn a skill on Stage 1 which is then repeated on all subsequent stages but with greater expectations as they progress up each level/stage.
• HSC coaches rotate with the skaters from station to station.
• There are two new parts of the ice surface: (1) The Fast Track which utilizes the perimeter of the rink so skaters are able to be able to skate continuously as part of each station and (2) the Fun Zone which is all about having fun while learning with activities such as the ball toss, a car wash that they go under, bean bag balance, etc.

CanPower is available after Stage 3 of the new CanSkate program using circuits on hockey skills in full hockey gear with sticks and CSA certified helmets.? It is taught by certified coaches including Ryan Risadore, a former Hamilton Bulldog who also played international hockey. Skate Canada specifies that a CSA certified hockey helmet is mandatory up to Stage 5 with optional full face mask (recommended for the younger skaters). Other required equipment includes, splash pants, sweater, jacket and lace up sharpened skates (hockey or figure skates).

Hamilton Skating Club information

Fall/Winter Brochure and Registration forms are available online at www.HamiltonSkating.org or at HSC?s office.

CanSkate, CanPower, TeenSkate/AdultSkate run from Oct. 1/12 to March 8/13

Registration is ongoing and also available: Sat. Sept. 15 and Sat. Sept. 29 (9 am ? 12 pm)

Location: Dave Andreychuck Mountain Arena and Skating Centre, 25 Hester St., Hamilton

Tel: 905.388.9050 ? ? ? ? Email: Info@HamiltonSkating.org

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Source: http://hamiltonsportsxpress.ca/2012/09/11/hsc-makes-learning-to-skate-fun/

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