Frequently Asked Questions

CanSkate is the only Nationally Recognized Learn to Skate Program for beginners of all ages. It was developed by experts to teach the fundamentals of skating in a progressive and sequential manner.Our highly trained Skate Canada NCCP Certified professional coaches will make sure that your child has all the tools needed to learn the basics needed for all types of ice sports. Group lessons include:

• 45 minutes sessions
• Badges and certificates are awarded upon achievement of various levels within the program
• Special event days, themed days, on-ice parties, music and fun throughout the sessions. When you/your child registers for a CanSkate program at Killarney Centre Figure Skating Club, you also become a member of Skate Canada, the national sport governing body for figure skating in Canada

Skates

Good equipment is important for comfort and safety, as well as ensuring effective progress. All skaters must have their own skates, preferably fitted by a skate shop or by a qualified skate dealer. A good fit in a pair of quality used boots is better than a pair of low-quality new boots for skaters starting basic figure skating skills. Leather boots with firm support around the ankle and properly sharpened blades are essential. Molded boots are often too stiff and inflexible.

The boots should be fitted with one pair of socks/tights and there needs to be room to move the toes, but the foot should not slide. Skates need to be laced fairly loosely over the toe and the front of the foot, but snuggly over the ankles. Laces should be tucked in and not wrapped around the top of the skate. The heel must fit firmly and should not be able to move up and down. The child stands up, bends their knees slightly and walks in the skate without the ankles dropping to either side. The skate should feel comfortable. Avoid buying a larger size for skater to "grow into".

You can test the support of a skate by taking your two thumbs and, placing one on each side of the side of the boot, press down where the ankle bone would be. If the side of the boot is easy to push in, then there is little or no support in the boot. Likewise, if it is difficult to push the side of the boot in, then there is good support in the boot.

Probably the most important element in purchasing used skates is ensuring that there is enough support left in the skate. Many competitors attempt to offset the cost of skating by selling their old equipment. Many of these skates, while originally being of very good quality, are now at the end of their life span and have been broken down or are close to breaking down. A broken down boot is indicated by creases in the side of a boot that go to or past the ankle bone. Fit is essential in a skate. There should never be more than a tight finger behind the heel of the skater's foot when the skater's foot is pushed as far forward in the boot as possible (without crunching the toes).

Blades

The blades should be sharpened when new and approximately after every 20-30 hours of skating. Ask your coach where to get sharpening done. The blades need to be clean and free of any rust, nicks and ridges. Hard plastic skate guards protect the skate blade from dulling and should be worn while walking on all surfaces. It is not recommended to walk outside due to the possibility of gravel getting into the guards and damaging the blade. Blades and sole plates should be cleaned and dried thoroughly after each session and stored covered with cloth blade covers to prevent rusting. Air out boots after use and remove skate guards for storage. Leaving skate guards on may allow blades to rust. The bottom pick should not be removed - the pick is part of the design of figure skates and is essential to proper balance.

Where to Buy Skates

• Cyclone Taylor Figure Skating - 1005 West 49th Avenue,  Vancouver, BC (604) 264-9261
• Scoff's Hockey Shop - 3738 Parker Street, Burnaby, BC (604) 298-5630
• Skaters Edge Skate Shop - 10-145 Schoolhouse Street, Coquitlam, BC (604) 521-5550

For children learning to skate, staying warm is important, as is wearing clothing that provides good mobility. If the skater is wearing pants, they should be snug fitting (not baggy) and it helps to have another layer underneath them, such as a pair of tights. Close fitting tops and jackets are also essential. Snow pants/ski suits may be good for Pre-CanSkate just learning to skate but make moving around on the ice difficult for those who are more advanced.

Classes are for homeclub STARSkate/Competitive skaters between the ages of 5-20 or with board approval.

The first thing to do is learn to skate - the CanSkate program prepares skaters for all types of ice sports. If your child shows an interest in continuing in figure skating, talk to a club coach. Every child must be assessed before entering the figure skating stream of our club. If you are already a member of our club the best way to stay informed of your child's readiness is to speak to your coach. If you are interested in joining our club from another club or program please email info@killarneyskatingclub.com for assessment dates and availability.

The more experienced skater should wear a skating dress or skirt with warm tights, bodysuit or warm-up pants. The male skaters should wear straight-legged stretch pants and sweater. This enables the coach to see proper body positions. Gloves should be worn for practices and warm ups. Long hair needs to be tied back.

Killarney Skating Club has an open policy that allows coaches to instruct their students on our ice according to the following guidelines.

• Adherence to Coach Code of Ethics. No access to skaters, parents, and coaches at or of Killarney FSC for recruitment. This will result in withdrawal of privileges and notification to Skate Canada of Code of Ethics breach.
• Maintenance of current Skate Canada Coach Certification and Current First Aid Certificate which must be presented to the KCFSC Board of Directors or the KCFSC home club coaches
• At least 24 hours notice as to the intent to coach is appreciated by email

• Homeclub $10.00 per 3/4–1 hr
• Non-homeclub $12.00 per 3/4–1 hr
• All skaters must call 604-430-2330 or email info@killarneyskatingclub.com 24 hours prior to session to confirm availability. Full sessions will not accept any buy-ons.

Here is the link:  https://www.coastregistry.biz/ibuyon/killarney

Info for Home Club - https://www.killarneyskatingclub.com/buy-on-for-hcs

info for Non Home Club - https://www.killarneyskatingclub.com/buy-on-for-nhc

KCFSC does not offer refunds after the start of the 1st day of programs except for the following reasons:

• Medical reasons. A doctor's note is required.
• In exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Board, The KCFSC will consider written requests for refund.

Your receipt from your registration online is what you can use for tax purposes. You can get that receipt by opening the email from Coast Registry confirming your payment. It will have a link to your receipt. Check your junk folder.

When you first registered with our club, you would have been assigned a Skate Canada membership number. to obtain your Skate Canada number you can e

mail info@killarneyskatingclub. Once you have your membership number you can go the Skate Canada Website www.skatecanada.com and follow the instructions below to print out your membership card.

• Go to the Members Only Site
• Enter your Skate Canada Number and password as instructed
• On the next screen, scroll down to the bottom and click on CONTINUE
• Click on PERSONAL PROFILE
• Select PRINT MEMBER CARD

Yes, you can register after the sessions have started provided the session you would like is not full. We will prorate from the first day you begin your lessons and under the following guidelines:

• CanSkate - prorating stops 4 weeks prior to session finishing.
• STARSkate - prorating stops 4 weeks prior to session finishing. Buy on rates are applicable after this time.

Skate Canada Membership fee is paid once a year (September - August). Your fee includes a mandatory insurance premium, which is submitted on your behalf to an Insurance Plan, as outlined by Skate Canada. All skaters must pay the required national SC fee $44 per year. The national membership offers you many benefits, and guarantees you ongoing quality assurance and adherence to high standards in Skate Canada Programs offered at this member club.

• An accident insurance benefit at a substantially lower cost to the members than that available in other sports
• Access to high quality programs that are recognized and often sought after internationally and by other national sport organizations.
• Access to qualified, NCCP certified Skate Canada professional coaches who have been trained through high quality training programs developed by Skate Canada.
• National registry of figure skating qualifications (tests) and results (for qualifying events) held in a central computerized system for easy access.
• Test certificates and Award of Merits for tests passed.

For our CanSkate Program, we do not offer private lessons. CanSkaters wishing to progress faster are recommended to take more CanSkate classes per week.

Skaters must have passed Level 4 in CanSkate or equivalent skating skills and/or  the approval of the Comp/STAR Coordinator.

Everyone makes mistakes, so no big deal. If the mistake was made before the payment phase, just start over. CoastRegistry will figure out about "orphaned" or in-complete registrations and will eventually dispose of them.

CoastRegistry uses fairly modern software technology; it wouldn't be able to do what it does otherwise. So you'll have to find a computer that can run the CoastRegistry. Try a friend, or the library, or a school, or your club Registrar - most of those facilities/people will have more up to date computers. If your computer is really old, you might want to see about upgrading it.

This has been difficult to keep track of because everyone has a different computer with different screen resolution. CoastRegistry is best viewed on a monitor with a minimum of 1280x1024 resolution. Some newer Notebook computers have a Display with 1380 x 768 resolution; often this does not have enough vertical space to view the whole CoastRegistry screen. In this case the user might find relief by clicking the F-11 function key at the top of the keyboard. This will put the browser in full screen mode and will give quite a bit of vertical space back. This is verified to work well with 1360x768 notebook computers. Note it is very difficult to support Netbook computers running at 1024x600. You may need to use "fit to screen" mode setting which can result in blurry screens.

A Note Regarding An Important Online Registration Issue

Please remember your User Name and Password the first time you create your online registration account.

The skating year runs from September 1st to August 31st. The first time you register for one of our programs, you will pay the yearly Skate Canada membership fee.  All skaters participating in CanSkate, Hockey Development, JEA or Figure Skating must be current Skate Canada members.

If you forget your password, please do one of the following:

1. For internet explorer: “forgot password” will be on the front page

2. For other web browsers, “forgot password” will appear once you select your sessions and check-out.  

Click “forgot password” and your password will be sent to the email on your account.  

If you forget your user name, please email the club and you will get an email with your user name information.  The Registrar’s email is registrar@killarneyskatingclub.com

Each time you create a new account, you will be charged the Skate Canada fee again.  The volunteer Registrar has spent hours fixing errors/refunding fees for skaters with multiple accounts.  Therefore, if you create a new account instead of using your original one, and are charged the Skate Canada fee, you will not be refunded.

We are happy to assist you retrieving you account information so that you can use your existing account.