Our Program
The Vancouver Speed Skating Club (VSSC) offers short track speed skating programs to skaters of all ages and abilities. The club has three main training groups: Beginner, Special Olympics, and Intermediate/Advanced. Our coaches are experienced skaters who have competed at all levels and are keen on fostering great skaters. Learn more about our history.
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 is self-driven and not mandatory, although competition can serve to encourage faster personal bests and more excitement about the sport.
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
The following philosophy description was written by Adam Ingle, VSSC head coach from 2007-2022.
The coaching staff set an example for young athletes and prepare them for life, both within, and outside of sport. Sport participation at elite levels is not for everyone, nor is it forever, it is reserved for a small percentage of the population. It is important that people understand that sport has a place for athletes at all levels, whether active for life, high performance or something in between.
We place a strong emphasis on goal setting, technical development, and personal improvement (both physically and mentally). The aim is to create an environment where athletes are not afraid to try new things, and possibly fail — there are learning opportunities in success and failure.
Our program is designed to coach athletes in the technical and tactical areas of speed skating, and create awareness of how to apply this knowledge. Once the race starts, skaters are in a situation where they cannot control (or predict) what the other skaters are going to do, they have to be able to react to any situation. Our role as coaches has limited influence from the sideline. It is important that we prepare athletes to be able to modify their tactics to multiple scenarios as the race unfolds for the best possible performance results.
Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!
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.
