This article explains how to operate a Skate Canada club/skating school.  It includes all of the tasks that must be completed on a yearly basis by the club/skating school administrator. 

General Information 

Club and Skating School Operating Requirements 

Clubs and Skating schools must adhere to the Club and Skating School Operating Requirements set by Skate Canada in order to remain in good standing. Please review this document and ensure you are compliant.  

Membership Site 

The Membership Site is the portal through which a club or skating school interacts with Skate Canada to accomplish administrative functions.  All instructions on navigating the Membership Site can be found on the site itself. 

Registrant 

The definition is included within the Skate Canada Bylaws. 

Member 

The definition is included within the Skate Canada Bylaws. 

Home Organization 

The home organization of a registrant is the Skate Canada club or skating school through which he/she registers with Skate Canada. A registrant may participate in programming at more than one club or skating school, but can only have one home organization per registration year. The first organization to enroll a registrant will be considered by Skate Canada as their home organization.  

Skate Canada Number 

Every Skate Canada registrant and coach is assigned a unique 10-character Skate Canada number which remains with that person for his/her lifetime. Returning registrants and coaches should reference their original Skate Canada numbers when corresponding with Skate Canada. 

Club and Skating School Organization Information 

Review and update your club or skating school’s organization information through the Membership Site under Organization Information. Note: club and skating school invoices are emailed to the “Billing Email” and “Organization Email”. 

It is important to reference your club or skating school name and Skate Canada number when corresponding with Skate Canada. 

Skate Canada Contact Information 

Contact information for Skate Canada can be found on the Skate Canada website. 

 

Club Board of Directors and Skating School Administrators 

Important reminders and resources for club board members, staff, and skating school administrators.  

Governance 

Whether you are a new or established club or skating school it’s important to regularly review your governance practices. The one-hour “Introduction to Governance” course on the Skate Canada E-Learning Academy includes information on bylaws, roles and responsibilities, running effective meetings and more to help improve operations. 

Bylaws 

Ensure you create bylaws for your club and review them regularly and propose changes where necessary.  Skate Canada does not have a bylaw template, but your Section may have some information relevant to your particular province or territory that will be helpful when preparing and revising your bylaws.  

Roles and Responsibilities 

Take time to draft and review roles and responsibilities of your Board of Directors, your Board Members and any administrative staff. Having clear roles and responsibilities will help your organization run more smoothly. (Also see “Introduction to Governance” course on the E-Learning Academy for more information.) 

Running Effective Meetings 

Skate Canada recommends the use of Robert’s Rules of Order for running effective Board meetings and club meetings. (Also see “Introduction to Governance” course on the E-Learning Academy for more information.) 

Creating a Strategic Plan for your club or school 

Developing a strategic plan for your club or skating school can help your organization be more effective and organized as it carries out its business. Review the course, “Strategic Planning: Create a plan for your club or skating school” on Skate Canada’s Elearning Skating Academy for ideas on how to develop a plan. 

 

Administrator Management 

Administrator 

A club/skating school administrator performs the administrative functions at the club; this includes tasks related to registration, assessment days, and invoicing. A club/skating school administrator can be a paid employee of the club/skating school and is not necessarily a Skate Canada registrant. 

Administrative Access to The Membership Site 

Clubs and skating schools can determine who has administrative access to the Membership Site for their organization. Current administrators can grant administrative access to additional individuals by logging into the Membership Site, clicking on Org Management ˃ Organization Administrative Access. Should no individual have administrative access to the Membership Site, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

 

Registration

Skate Canada’s registration year begins on September 1 and runs until August 31. All registration related tasks are performed via the Membership Site. The Skate Canada Membership Site begins accepting registrations for the upcoming year approximately one to two weeks prior to the start of the new registration year.  Clubs and skating schools will be notified by e-mail of the exact date that registration opens.

Every year, clubs and skating schools must:  

1. Register their organization  
2. Register all skaters, Board Members (clubs only), on-ice volunteers and officials 
3. Report their Board of Directors members (clubs only). See “Reporting Your Organization’s Groups” later in this document. 

Organization Registration 

Clubs and skating schools must register their organizations annually through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management ˃ Organization Membership. 

Organization Locations 

Clubs and skating schools must list all rink locations used by your club/skating school by clicking on Org Management > Organization Locations.  Note: any changes to your skating locations must be communicated to, and approved by, your Section Office. 

Manage Programs & Registrants 

Clubs and skating schools must register their skaters, officials, board members and program assistants annually through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management ˃ Manage Programs & Registrants. To enroll these registrants with Skate Canada, they must be added to all applicable activity lists. It is important to be accurate when assigning people to Activity Lists as this information can help your club/school’s planning process and helps Skate Canada provide better support to our members and skaters. 

Registration will only be submitted once per registration year when using the same registrant Skate Canada number. When a skater changes between activities during the season, they must be added to the new activity list. 

Activity Lists 

The following are the available activity lists and their description: 

Board of Directors: for all club officers, directors and committee members. 

Program Assistants: for registrants who have completed the program assistant training to assist with on-ice delivery of Skate Canada skating programs. 

Officials: for registrants who judge/evaluate assessments days and competitions. 

PowerSkate: for registrants who are enrolled in the PowerSkate program. 

CanSkate: for registrants who are enrolled in the CanSkate learn-to-skate program. 

Podium Pathway: All individuals competing in Juvenile or higher are in Podium Pathway.  

STARSkate: for registrants who are enrolled in the STAR 1-5 Program or the STAR club/school programming. These skaters may participate in non-qualifying events such as club and invitational competitions.  

Managing Other Registrants

On-Ice Aide: Individuals that have been assigned to a specific adaptive skater. These on-ice aides do not need to be added to an activity list or be a current registrant. Instead, the on-ice aide must be identified in the skater's profile by clicking on their name within the corresponding activity list. Once you identify the skater as Adaptive Skater you will then be asked for the aide's name. To add an on-ice aide to a new Skater's profile, create the new registrant first, then open their profile to record this information.  Program Assistants must still be registered under Program Assistant activity list.  

Adult: The designation of Adult is automatically determined by age. Select the program in which the individual will participate.  

Special Olympics Athlete / Adaptive Skater: This is defined in the skater's profile information, which should be updated by clicking on the skater's name in the activity list once you have assigned them.  

Synchronized Skating: If the individual belongs to a Novice Junior or Senior Team they need to be added to a Podium Pathway activity list. For all other categories, the individual needs to be added to a STARSkate activity list. Synchronized Skating Teams are reported under Org Management > Competitor Management.  

Administrators can also confirm and download registrations for any given year on the Completed Registrations page by following the on-screen instructions.  

Find a Club Feature 

To be displayed within the Find a Club feature a club/school needs to have current activity lists in the Membership Site under Organization Management > Manage Programs & Registrants.  All applicable activity lists must be updated for the current season, ensuring that the end date is a date in the future and that “Promote this activity using Find a Club” is set to YES.   

Competitor Identification 

Skate Canada’s Online Competition Scoring System (CSS) ties directly into our membership database. To ensure that your competitors names appear correctly in competition starting orders and results, make sure to check these at the start of the season. An example would be making sure that a name is not recorded in ALL CAPS. These can be reviewed and updated on the Skate Canada Membership Site at Org Management > Manage Programs and Registrants. 

Registrants must be affiliated with any of the following activities to be able to register for any competition sanctioned by Skate Canada or under the authority of a Section as an individual competitor:  

• STARSkate  
• Podium Pathway 

If a CanSkater or PowerSkater progresses up to any of these programs within a season, they must be added to an activity list affiliated with one of these Programs. Instructions for completing this are on-screen in the Membership Site at Org Management > Manage Programs & Registrants.  

Home Organization Transfers 

A registrant may change his/her home organization after having enrolled with a club or skating school for the current registration year. 

All transfer requests can be made to the Member Services Department by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Please include the following information for each registrant: 

• Full name 
• Skate Canada number 
• Previous and new home club or skating school 

Privacy Code and Notice of Collection 

Skate Canada understands that privacy is important, and we are committed to delivering quality services to everyone by improving and strengthening our privacy program in order to remain a leader in the sports world.  

Skate Canada’s Privacy Code  policy describes the way that Skate Canada preserves the privacy of all registrants, coaches, officials, volunteers, employees and any other confidential business information by outlining the obligations and procedures for dealing with personal, privileged and/or confidential information. 

For transparency and openness with our registrants, members, and all other stakeholders, a notice of collection must be present wherever private information is collected. The statement reflects existing data sharing practices between clubs, schools, and Skate Canada.  The Notice of Collection needs to be signed once by each registrant to acknowledge the current version of the Privacy Code. In the future if there was a material change to the Skate Canada Privacy Code, members and registrants would be advised and would need to sign a revised copy at that time. 

You can find the Privacy Code here:  https://skatecanada.ca/our-privacy-commitment/ 

Actions Required by the club or skating school: 

1. All Skate Canada club board members, skating school administrators, coaches, volunteers and anyone else who is granted access to personal, privileged, and/or confidential information must review the Skate Canada Privacy Code.    
2. All Skate Canada clubs and skating schools must include the Notice of Collection Statement (Appendix of the Privacy Code) with their paper or electronic registration forms (including event registration forms). The Notice of Collection must be signed and submitted to the club and/or skating school as part of the registration process. Clubs and schools may collect this information in paper hardcopy form or electronic form as long as the electronic form explicitly acknowledges the Skate Canada Privacy Code. For Clubs and schools using Uplifter, you may collect an e-signature as long as it explicitly states that it is accepting the Skate Canada Privacy Code. 

The Privacy Code Notice of Collection has to be signed by each registrant (or their parent/guardian). If the registrant is under the age of majority in your province or territory, a parent or guardian signs the Notice. If the registrant is of the age of majority, then the registrant signs the notice.   

For questions regarding the Skate Canada Privacy Code, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Registration Fees 

Club and skating school fees are listed in the Membership Site at point of registration. 

Re:Sound and SOCAN Information (Entandem)  

Entandem is a joint venture between Re:Sound and SOCAN, created to simplify the music licensing process.   

Re:Sound and SOCAN are separate organizations that represent different stakeholders in the music recording industry.  

• Re:Sound is the Canadian not-for-profit music licensing company dedicated to obtaining fair compensation for artists and record companies for their performance rights. 
• SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) is a not-for-profit organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of millions of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. 

Skate Canada has negotiated reduced rates for all Skate Canada Clubs and Skating Schools for music use during regular sessions.  Clubs and schools are invoiced directly by Skate Canada through annual registration, which Skate Canada remits to each of these organizations.  Club and skating school fees are listed in the Membership Site at point of registration.  

Additionally, clubs and skating schools must remit fees directly to Entandem through their website at https://www.entandemlicensing.com/ for any additional events, such as ice shows and/or competitions.  All inquiries should be forwarded to Entandem directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 1.866.944.6223.    

 

Reporting Your Organization's Groups  

Board of Directors 

Once board members are registered, they must be reported to Skate Canada through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management > Group Management. 

All reported club board members will receive Skate Canada communications, unless they have individually selected to unsubscribe. 

Competition Teams 

All teams intending on competing at domestic competitions sanctioned by Skate Canada or under the authority of a Section must first be reported to Skate Canada through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management > Competitor Management. All types of teams must be identified: 

• Synchronized Skating Teams  
• Ice Dance Teams  
• Pair Teams  
• Elements Teams  
• Showcase Groups  
• Showcase Production 

 

Insurance Information 

Insurance Guide 

Review the Insurance Guide for answers to frequently asked insurance questions that are not addressed below.  

Injury Benefit 

Skate Canada registrants who are enrolled in the registration year in which they are participating in a Skate Canada program are covered by an injury benefit. All club board members and on-ice volunteers are also covered by this injury benefit as long as they register with Skate Canada. Off-ice volunteers do not have to register and are covered by this injury benefit as long as they do not step on the ice. 

Liability Insurance 

Only clubs and skating schools that are registered and operate in accordance with Skate Canada rules, that offer only Skate Canada programs and that register all participants (if applicable) are covered by liability insurance. 

Important note: Club board members and skating school administrators could be held personally liable should an incident occur if their club or skating school is operating a Skate Canada program with unregistered participants/coaches on the ice. It is the responsibility of the club board and skating school administrators to ensure that all professional coaches are in good standing prior to stepping on the ice. It should also be verified that all registrants have been enrolled with Skate Canada before taking part in any Skate Canada programs offered on club or skating school ice. 

Optional Insurance 

In addition to mandatory purchasing of liability insurance, Skate Canada clubs and skating school may choose to purchase additional coverage for items not covered by liability insurance. Appropriate links can be found within the Membership Site through Org Management > Insurance Management. Note that different provinces have different additional insurance options: 

• British Columbia 
• Manitoba 
• Quebec 
• All other provinces 

Reporting an Incident 

To report any incident to Skate Canada that involves the health and/or safety of program participants, please access the form through the Membership Site under Safe Sport. 

 

Assessment Information and Submission 

Accessing Registrant’s Assessment Records 

Club or school administrators may view personal achievements (e.g., skater assessment records) for registrants under Manage Skating Assessments > View Skater Assessment Records.  

Submitting Assessment Results 

Assessment Coordinators who have administrative access can submit assessment results online through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management > Manage Skating Assessments. Assessment results submitted online can be paid by credit card at time of submission or by cheque following the submission. Please do not submit paper assessment summary sheets for assessments that are submitted online as doing so will result in duplicate records and invoices. If the cheque option was chosen for assessment results submitted online, please only send the cheque with the club/skating school name, club/skating school number and reference the online assessment submission. 

Clubs and skating schools that choose not to submit assessment results online may continue to submit paper Assessment Summary Sheets to Skate Canada along with a club or skating school cheque for total fees. Assessment Summary sheets and assessment codes can be downloaded through the Membership Site's Org Management > Manage Skating Assessments. 

Note that assessments requiring additional fees (e.g., challenge assessments), or assessments taken by coaches, cannot be submitted through the online assessment entry tool. For these assessments, please submit paper assessment summary sheets by mail along with payment. 

Assessment Fee Information 

Assessment fee information can be found on the Membership Site through Org Management > Manage Skating Assessments or in the STAR Assessments and STARSkate Tests rules. 

 

Invoicing

Invoices are sent electronically to clubs and skating schools monthly for all registrations completed within the previous month. Invoices are sent to the email addresses provided under Organization Management > Organization Information > Organization Email and Billing Email.  

All invoices are due upon receipt. Payment can be made by cheque to the following address: Skate Canada 261-1200 St. Laurent Blvd, Box 15, Ottawa, Ontario K1K 3B8 or by direct billing through the following financial institutions: TD Canada Trust, Desjardins, RBC, CIBC, BMO, Credit Union, National Bank or Scotiabank. List the bill payee as Skate Canada and use your club/skating school number for the account number.  If paying by cheque please include your club or skating school Skate Canada number directly on the cheque.    

Club and skating schools can review the registrants associated with each invoice, once received, through the Membership Site by clicking on Org Management > Completed Registrations.  

Refund Policy 

The Refund Policy can be found on the Membership Site here.   

 

Coaches  

Coaches must be registered and in good standing in order to instruct Skate Canada club or skating school programming. Details can be found in Coach Membership Procedure. 

Clubs and skating schools must confirm whether a coach is registered in good standing through the Membership Site's coach directory found under Coach Eligibility. 

Coaches Who Wish to Compete 

In order for a registered coach to compete, he/she must also be enrolled as a registrant with Skate Canada through a club or skating school as per Competitions rule. 

Note that a registered Skate Canada Professional Coach is eligible to skate and try Skate Canada assessments without having to register as a registrant. 

Clubs and skating schools can request to have a coach added to their list of available registrants by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Coaches Who Wish to Serve on a Club's Board of Directors 

In order for a registered coach to serve on a club board, he/she does NOT need to be enrolled as a registrant with Skate Canada. 

Note that ALL club board members must be reported to Skate Canada (see Reporting Your Organization's Groups). 

Coaches Who Wish to Officiate 

In order for a coach to officiate at any STAR or higher non-qualifying and/or qualifying competitions he/she does need to be a current registrant with Skate Canada. Coaches who also officiate may request to register as an official through their Coach Dashboard > Register as an Official at no additional cost. 

 

Purchasing Skate Canada Program Material  

Program material can be purchased through the online store under Materials on the Membership Site.  Access to the online store is available to coaches and club/skating school administrators. Payment options are listed within the online store. 

Questions regarding orders can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 1-888-747-2372 (select the "online store orders" option when prompted).