OUR PROGRAM

The Vancouver Speed Skating Club (VSSC) offers short track speed skating programs to skaters of all ages and abilities. The club has six main training groups: Beginner, Special Olympics, Intermediate, Advanced and Masters, and a new Learn to Skate program starting as a pilot in 2025/2026. Our coaches are experienced skaters who have competed at all levels and are keen on fostering great skaters. Learn more about our club.

Every year, on-ice practice takes place in September through March at Kitsilano Rink. During this time, practices are held three times a week (two on-ice practices and one dryland) – see practice schedule here. Club members also compete in local, provincial, regional and national meets based on their interest, skill, and availability. Competition can serve to encourage faster personal bests and more excitement about the sport, although it is self-driven and not mandatory. 

From April through August when Kitsilano Rink is decommissioned for summer programming, outdoor dryland training is scheduled once a week. Information about this programming is shared toward the end of March.

The club is fortunate to have a club room inside Kitsilano Rink which is our equipment hub and skate sharpening room. Enormous thanks to the Vancouver Park Board for their support! 

Coaching Philosophy

Collaborate, Accelerate, Elevate!

Speed skating is primarily an individual sport, but you can’t do it on your own. As a team, we encourage and support one another — to get stronger, faster, better. When we work together, we improve together.

In speed skating, there is always something to work on. We want our athletes to develop a growth-oriented mindset and know that results will come with patience and disciplined effort. Part of success is simply appreciating how far we’ve come.

We provide an enjoyable and inclusive environment where the opportunity for learning and development is open to everyone, regardless of age, ability, or reasons for being in the sport.

Our Framework

VSSC follows the Speed Skating Canada Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model, which stresses the need for an individualized approach to developing young skaters, guided by biological maturation and not chronological age. This framework is based on the physical, mental, emotional, and cognitive development of children and adolescent skaters. Read the full LTAD framework here.