Hockey players at Richmond Ice Zone
The Winter Olympics don’t hit the airwaves until February 2026, which means there’s plenty of time to try out some of the sports that you’ll be watching when they’re broadcast from the mountains of Italy. In the Richmond area, a number of the most popular winter sports are also the most accessible.
Richmond Ice Zone in Chesterfield County and its partner rink, SkateNation Plus in Henrico County, are major hubs for youth and adult hockey, ice dancing and figure skating. But before you jump into competition, Ice Zone business manager Gabby Corcoran suggests starting from the beginning.
“First, you have to learn how to skate,” Corcoran says, which includes forward movement, stopping and footwork techniques. “Once you get all your basics, you can put them together in whatever sport you choose.”
Corcoran says that both Ice Zone and SkateNation Plus offer learn-to-skate courses for all ages, all year long. The eight-week program includes 30-minute lessons, skate rentals and four passes to public skating sessions for $172, plus a one-time $25 annual registration fee.
If you have a young one who needs a bit more parental guidance, the rinks offer mixed adult and child skating lessons for $25 per person for an eight-week course, which includes skate rentals. Coaches also provide private lessons for all ages and skill levels, starting at $30 for half-hour lessons. Admission and skate rental fees are not included.
Youth and adult figure skaters who want to keep moving up the ranks largely do so through private lessons and can join the Richmond Figure Skating Club, which puts on competitions for singles, pairs and ice dancers (a form of figure skating centered on footwork), Corcoran says.
For potential hockey players, the Richmond Generals hockey league offers Hockey U, a year-round, eight-week program designed for first timers ages 5-9 that costs $160.
The lessons include special starter equipment rentals for skates, pads, gloves, helmets, a stick and more. “They can keep the equipment as long as they need, and then they return it for a credit to the pro shop,” Corcoran says.
Lessons are taught in a group setting by coaches and have occasionally featured guest appearances by former Washington Capitals players.
After kids graduate Hockey U, they can join the Generals’ youth league, a path that Prince George resident Kim Turner helped her 12-year-old son, Kegan, follow a few years ago.
“I signed him up for learn-to-skate classes, and then he did the hockey program for eight weeks,” Turner says.
Kegan, who now plays goalie in the 12- to 14-year-old league for Team Bane (named after his coach), participates in both the summer and winter leagues. “It’s just fun. You get to stop pucks and stuff,” he says.
For adult hockey players, Ice Zone and SkateNation Plus host league play with six divisions under their Hockey Night in Richmond umbrella. Each division has at least four teams (complete with names like “Fighting Donkeys” and “Couch Potatoes”) and ends with single elimination playoffs. Registration to join runs from $110 to $175, depending on the number of teams joined. Their 25-game winter season began in October and ends next May. Matches are played at both locations.
If you’re more interested in organized pickup games, Ice Zone has a standing Tuesday morning game run by local hockey player Patrick DeFur. The group’s Thursday night pickup games are a little more intense and competitive for next-level players, DeFur notes. “If you fit, reach out to me and we’ll let you come skate and see how you do,” he says.
