Try Speed Skating in Vancouver
byYou’ve cheered on Canadian medalists at the Olympics, but did you know you can try speed skating yourself right here in Vancouver? The Vancouver Speed Skating Club welcomes skaters of all ages to join their Try Speed Skating program—whether you’re looking for fun, fitness, community, or the chance to become our next homegrown champion!
Vancouver Speed Skating Club
Originally founded in 1980 by Trudy Brabander as the Kitsilano Speed Skating Club, it was rebranded to Vancouver Speed Skating Club (VSSC) in 2005 with club team, the Vancouver Velocity, established in 2006. Operating out of Kitsilano Rink (2690 Larch St, Vancouver), the club offers short track speed skating programs and welcomes skaters of all ages and abilities – from children to adults, recreational to competitive, and Special Olympians.
Speed Skating in Vancouver
President of the VSSC, Jhenifer Pabillano, answered some of our questions so we could learn more about the sport and its community:
What skating ability should you have to start?
Skaters should be minimum age 5 years old, and it’s best if skaters can:
- skate across the length of the rink without assistance;
- glide on one foot;
- forward scull with both feet; and
- snowplow stop with both feet.
That being said, if someone is really keen and can only do some of these items, we can still make it work!
How is speed skating different from figure skating or hockey skating?
Speed skating is all about the thrill of speed! The sport is laser focused on developing the right technique and power to speed around a defined track as fast as possible. At the Vancouver Velocity Speed Skating Club, our main focus is “short track” speed skating, which is done in a hockey-sized rink on a 100m or 111m track. Skaters race short and long distances in close quarters with other competitors, which means skaters need to develop race strategies like swift passing as well. Speed skaters also only ever race in one direction – counter-clockwise.
In addition, speed skates are very different from hockey or figure skates. The blades are straight, very long (up to 17 or 18 inches) and extremely thin (about 1.1mm wide). You also sharpen them by hand, kind of like knives. The boots are also only ankle height and are more like a shoe than a boot.
What does the training involve, and do you compete?
Training involves ice sessions of course, but also dryland practices, where skaters learn and hone their physical technique and strength on land. And competing in meets is a big part of the development work – racing helps skaters integrate the lessons they learn when they put them to use in real world competition. Each season (September through March), clubs around Metro Vancouver host day-long interclub meets for skaters of all abilities. If you reach a targeted time at one of these sanctioned meets, you are eligible to compete at provincial competitions. Doing well at provincials qualifies you for nationals, and so on – so there’s lots of goals you can aim for as you develop your skating.
Is it individual or team based?
It’s a little of both! Speed skaters compete individually, but it’s impossible to train in isolation – you have to be a member of a club to access ice time and coaching, and skaters don’t really improve unless they are practicing and racing with other skaters who are in their speed range.
There can also be relays where you work as a team to race other teams over a long distance. And when you are at a meet, even though you’re racing individually, your fellow club members are really your teammates as they race on behalf of your club and you cheer on their achievements in competition!
Clubs are truly your community – they are the home base where you learn and grow and take pride in the achievements that you all accomplish together.
What does it take to be good at speed skating? Could your members go on to be Olympians?
Speed skating is an extremely technical sport as small adjustments to your technique can mean big improvements to your speed. So those with strong body awareness, physical strength, and discipline can really thrive. At the same time, it can take a lot of hard work and time to achieve your best – so having a lot of patience and persistence is really important as well.
BC has a thriving speed skating community and becoming an Olympian can certainly be the endpoint for the journey for some folks. From our club, we have a few skaters already competing internationally, such as Lukas Macdonald who currently skates for New Zealand, as well as Charlotte Sernoski who trains at the Calgary Olympic Oval, and Daniel Jin who trains at the Utah Olympic Oval. Other club skaters from BC have gone on to the Olympics, and of course we would love it if someone from Vancouver might achieve it in the future.
The beauty of the sport however is also that you can thrive in it at many levels even if you don’t make it to the Olympics – the sport is really about achieving your personal bests in every race, and becoming a better version of your skating self with every practice. It’s a beautiful journey we hope to share with more kids and adults in Vancouver!
Try Speed Skating
Join the One Month Trial program to try speed skating for yourself! Sign up here for the month-long programs that start on the first Sunday of the practice month. Follow VSSC on Facebook for more information.
