Rink Hunters

Open recreational skating for all ages and abilities — the default "just come skate" slot. Rental skates are usually available, and some rinks lend beginner skating aids.

Pickup hockey with full gear; players form teams on the spot with no league commitment. Often split by skill level. Great for staying sharp between league games.

Unstructured ice for practicing skating, shooting, and stickhandling — no organized games and usually no goalies. Helmet required; full gear recommended.

Practice ice for figure skaters — jumps, spins, and program run-throughs, usually with music on rotation and coaches giving lessons rinkside. No hockey sticks or pucks allowed.

Contracted practice ice reserved for a figure-skating club's members. May appear simply as "Club" or the club's initials.

Beginner group lessons following the Learn to Skate USA (Basic Skills) or Skate Canada (CanSkate) curriculum. Multi-week sessions, grouped by level, for kids and adults.

Intro hockey program teaching skating-with-a-stick, passing, and shooting. Many include loaner gear so new players can try before buying.

Skating-technique clinics for hockey players — edges, stride, and agility. It's all fundamentals, not a game.

Assisted skating for toddlers with a guardian on the ice.

A daytime public skate aimed at adults and seniors — usually quieter and cheaper than an evening or weekend session.

A low-cost public skate: a "toonie" ($2 coin) in Canada, or a "Cheap/Dollar Skate" in the US.

A weekday daytime session geared toward homeschool families and students.

A hockey-like game played in shoes (not skates) with a ball and brooms. Some rinks slot it on the public schedule.

Hockey played seated in a sled, propelled by short sticks — the sport for athletes with physical disabilities.

A team of figure skaters performing as one unit. Practice ice may simply read "Synchro."

Racing on skates; "short track" sessions circle a smaller oval marked on a hockey rink.

Casual pickup hockey — no refs, no set teams, minimal rules (often no slapshots or contact). The Canadian cousin of "Open Hockey."

Slang for informal drop-in / pickup hockey. Same idea as shinny.

Outdoor, small-team, no-boards hockey — or an indoor session run in that relaxed spirit.

Casual adult recreational league — social, non-checking, all skill levels.

Games played on part of the sheet using dividers — the standard for young players under USA Hockey's American Development Model. "Full-ice" uses the whole rink.

Whether body-checking is allowed. Most adult and youth rec hockey is non-checking.

House (rec) leagues stay at one rink; Travel/Rep teams compete against other associations, usually after tryouts.

Competitive skill tiers, with AAA the highest. Below them sit House and Rec hockey.

A player without a team who can be placed on a roster (free agent) or fill in for a single game (sub / spare).

The figure skater's practice ice — jumps, spins, and program work. Hockey skaters often see it on a schedule and don't realize sticks and pucks aren't allowed.

Practice ice for compulsory "figures" (tracing precise patterns on the ice) — an older term still used by some clubs.

A figure-skating discipline focused on dance and footwork, often with a partner. Sessions may be labeled "Dance."

Edge-and-control tests a skater must pass to progress through levels, practiced on freestyle or club ice.

Skate Canada's figure-skating program (skills, freeskate, dance, interpretive) for skaters who have finished CanSkate.

Grouped by "and under" age: 8U (Mite), 10U (Squirt), 12U (PeeWee), 14U (Bantam), 16U/18U (Midget). The "U" means "and under."

U7, U9, U11 (Atom), U13 (PeeWee), U15 (Bantam), U18 (Midget). Canada moved from the old Novice/Atom/PeeWee names to "U" labels in 2020.

US: Snowplow Sam → Basic 1–6 → Pre-Free/Free Skate. Canada: CanSkate Stages 1–6. Sessions are grouped so skaters progress with their level.

The 10–15 minute break when the ice is scraped and re-flooded between sessions. On a schedule it may show as "Resurface," "Ice Cut," "Flood," or just a gap.

The machine that shaves and re-floods the ice. The best-known brand is the Zamboni® (a trademark); Olympia is another common maker — so any resurfacer often gets called a "zamboni" generically.

One ice surface. A "twin" or "two-sheet" rink has two separate sheets under one roof.

North American (NHL) ice is 200×85 ft; international "Olympic" ice is wider at 200×100 ft, which changes how the game flows.

How skate blades are sharpened (e.g., 1/2", 5/8"). A smaller number means a deeper hollow and more "bite" into the ice. See it on an interactive blade →

The walls (boards) and clear shielding (glass/plexi) that ring the rink.