Club scheduling software
Figure skating club schedule: sessions by level on shared ice
A figure skating club schedule works well when the ice hours, the levels and the shared zones live in one weekly plan. This page is for figure skating club directors, head coaches and volunteer schedulers. The method works with any tool, including a spreadsheet; the product section comes after.
Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams.
Watch the video guide
Read the video transcript
A schedule that fits your ice
0:00 By the end, you will have a weekly schedule for your figure skating club. It fits the ice you hold, the levels you coach and the families who travel. We will cover the ice hours you hold, the levels you teach, shared zones, a worked week, the checks before you publish, and how Play 2 Earn Sports helps.
What makes figure skating scheduling different
0:20 Figure skating has its own rhythm. Beginners need space by the boards. Development skaters need room to glide. Competitive skaters need space for jumps and spins.
0:30 The same sheet can hold them all when the zones are clear. Shared ice works when everyone knows the plan. Mark a full-ice zone, two half-ice zones and a small corner. Post the plan at the rink, and check each zone's skater count against your club's safety rules.
How do I build a figure skating club schedule?
0:46 Start with four inputs. First, the ice hours you hold, with setup and takedown inside the permit. Second, each level, its group size and space. Third, the coaches and lengths.
0:59 Fourth, season dates, test days and family blackout dates. Write the levels down in one list. A typical club runs learn to skate, development, competitive, adult and team skating. Each level may train for a different length of time, and some share the ice with another group.
1:17 Set a session length for each level. Beginners often skate for forty-five minutes. Development and adult groups may skate for an hour. Competitive sessions may run for seventy-five minutes. Write the changeover beside each one.
How do I share ice between levels?
1:31 Now place each session in a zone. A full-ice session uses the whole sheet. Two half-ice sessions can run side by side. A small group can use a corner. Count one group per zone at a time, and keep a safe buffer between zones.
A worked example
1:46 Here is a typical example. It is illustrative, not a specific club. The club holds fourteen hours of ice a week. Fifteen minutes of setup and takedown on each of four days leaves twelve usable hours, or seven hundred twenty minutes.
2:01 The week uses four days: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Tuesday holds one hundred fifty usable minutes. Thursday holds the same. Saturday also holds one hundred fifty.
2:14 Sunday holds two hundred seventy. All four days add up to seven hundred twenty minutes. The plan gives learn to skate two hundred twenty-five group minutes. Development gets two hundred forty.
2:26 Competitive gets one hundred ninety-five. Adult gets one hundred eighty. Team skating gets one hundred thirty-five. The all-level skills session gets sixty.
2:37 Those group minutes add up to more than nine hundred. They fit inside seven hundred twenty ice minutes because eight forty-five minute slots host two groups. That is a gain of more than three hundred group minutes. It is also why the zone plan matters.
Check the draft before you publish
2:52 Before you publish, check the draft. Look skater by skater: no one in two sessions at once. Look zone by zone: one group per zone. Check that every session has a coach, each group fits its zone, and the latest session ends inside the permit.
3:08 Keep the spare slot. The example leaves forty-five minutes open on Sunday for a make-up, a trial skater or a coach change. Then publish once, and tell families where to check the calendar.
How Play 2 Earn Sports helps
3:21 Now, how Play 2 Earn Sports helps. You enter the rink as a venue with its weekly availability windows, a buffer between sessions and date-specific exceptions, such as a closure or shorter holiday hours. Clubs can block holidays, closures and other unavailable dates on their teams and venues. Practices and events sit on the calendar, with RSVPs and a clear No reply for coaches.
3:47 Announcements and the existing team chat keep everyone in one place. Guardians linked to more than one child can switch children. The app installs from the website on iPhone and Android.
What stays a club process
3:57 Today, test days, competition entries and results stay with your club's own process. Play 2 Earn Sports keeps the practices, events, RSVPs, announcements and family messages around them in one calendar. Gather the inputs, count zones, check the draft and publish once. The full guide is on the page linked in the description.
4:20 Try it with your own ice: Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. Thanks for watching.
What makes figure skating scheduling different
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One sheet, many levels
Learn to skate, development, competitive, adult and team skating can share the same rink hour when each group has a clear zone and a coach.
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Space is the real limit
Beginners need room by the boards. Development skaters need space to glide. Competitive skaters need space for jumps and spins. A full sheet may hold two safe zones, not five.
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Session lengths differ
A beginner session may run forty-five minutes. Development and adult groups may need an hour. A competitive session may run seventy-five minutes.
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Shared ice needs a written zone plan
Mark the zones before the first skater steps on. Post the plan at the rink, and keep the same plan for the season where you can.
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Coaches and music share the ice too
A coach stands where the group can see and hear. Music rotation matters when two groups use the same sound system.
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Test days and competitions sit outside the weekly grid
They are dated events, not practices, and their entries and results stay with the club's process.
Step 1
Gather four inputs before you place a session
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Ice hours and usable minutes
For every block, write the day, the start and end time, and the setup and takedown each block needs. Setup and takedown must fit inside the permit, not outside it.
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Levels and group sizes
List each level, its approximate group size, the space it needs and whether it can share the ice safely with another group. Use your club's own safety rules.
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Coaches and session lengths
Name the coach for each group, the length of the session and the changeover before the next group. Note any coach who leads two groups.
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Season dates and family blackout dates
Write the first and last session, the test days and competition dates you already know, and the dates families are unavailable. Collect family dates on one form, by one deadline.
Then write your rules down: the maximum skaters per zone, the earliest and latest ice time, how much changeover each zone needs, and who approves a move.
Step 2
Turn ice hours into zones
A zone slot is one group in one zone for one session, plus the changeover. Count zone slots, not just clock hours.
The same sheet can be used in three common shapes:
| Shape | Who it suits | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Full ice | Competitive sessions, team skating, a test day | One group, one coach, the whole sheet |
| Two halves | Learn to skate and development, or two development groups | A safe buffer between the halves, one coach per half |
| A corner | A small beginners' group or a private lesson | Clear entry and exit, no crossing another group's path |
If two groups share the ice, give each group its own coach and its own space. A shared hour does not mean a shared coach.
Worked example
Fourteen hours of ice, five levels
Illustrative example, not a specific club.
A club holds fourteen hours of ice a week:
| Day | Block | Contracted | Setup and takedown | Usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 5:00–8:00 pm | 3 hours | 15 + 15 minutes | 150 minutes |
| Thursday | 5:00–8:00 pm | 3 hours | 15 + 15 minutes | 150 minutes |
| Saturday | 8:00–11:00 am | 3 hours | 15 + 15 minutes | 150 minutes |
| Sunday | 8:00 am–1:00 pm | 5 hours | 15 + 15 minutes | 270 minutes |
| Total | 14 hours | 2 hours | 720 minutes |
The weekly plan. Each shared slot hosts two groups, one in each half of the ice.
| Day | Time | Zone A | Zone B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 5:15–6:00 | Learn to skate 1 | Development 1 |
| Tuesday | 6:00–6:45 | Learn to skate 2 | Development 2 |
| Tuesday | 6:45–7:45 | Competitive 1 (full ice) | — |
| Thursday | 5:15–6:00 | Learn to skate 3 | Adult 1 |
| Thursday | 6:00–7:00 | Competitive 2 (full ice) | — |
| Thursday | 7:00–7:45 | Team skating 1 | Adult 2 |
| Saturday | 8:15–9:00 | Learn to skate 4 | Development 3 |
| Saturday | 9:00–10:00 | All-level skills (full ice) | — |
| Saturday | 10:00–10:45 | Team skating 2 | Adult 3 |
| Sunday | 8:15–9:15 | Development 4 (full ice) | — |
| Sunday | 9:15–10:30 | Competitive 3 (full ice) | — |
| Sunday | 10:30–11:15 | Learn to skate 5 | Development 5 |
| Sunday | 11:15–12:00 | Team skating 3 | Adult 4 |
| Sunday | 12:00–12:45 | Spare slot | — |
Group minutes by level.
| Level | Sessions | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Learn to skate | 5 × 45 minutes | 225 |
| Development | 2 × 45 + 2 × 45 + 60 + 45 | 240 |
| Competitive | 60 + 60 + 75 | 195 |
| Adult | 4 × 45 minutes | 180 |
| Team skating | 3 × 45 minutes | 135 |
| All-level skills | 1 × 60 minutes | 60 |
| Group minutes | 1,035 |
Check the numbers.
| Check | Count | Fits? |
|---|---|---|
| Ice minutes used | 8 shared slots × 45 = 360; full-ice sessions = 315; spare = 45 | 720 of 720 |
| Group minutes | 8 shared slots × 90 = 720; full-ice sessions = 315 | 1,035 group minutes |
| Shared slots | 8 slots, two groups each | 16 group sessions |
| Latest session | Sunday 12:00–12:45, inside the 8:00 am–1:00 pm block | Yes |
| Spare time | 45 minutes on Sunday | One clear slot |
The shared slots explain the difference between ice minutes and group minutes. Eight forty-five minute slots host two groups each, so seven hundred and twenty ice minutes become one thousand and thirty-five group minutes. The spare slot is held for a make-up, a trial skater or a coach change.
Step 3
Check the draft before you publish
Checklist: before you publish a figure skating week
- Every level has a session that matches its length and frequency.
- No skater is in two sessions at the same time.
- One group per zone at a time, with a safe buffer between zones.
- Every session has a named coach.
- Each group fits its zone under the club's safety rules.
- Setup, takedown and changeover all fit inside the permit.
- The latest session ends inside the rink's closing time.
- Family blackout dates and known test days are respected.
- One spare slot stays open for a make-up or a trial skater.
Then give coaches a short check window, fix what they find, and publish once. A published week is the version everyone checks.
Step 4
Publish once, then communicate changes clearly
Publish the weekly plan where skaters and families can see it, and treat it as the only version. When a rink closure or a coach change moves a session, update that one session and tell the group through the club's usual channels.
A simple communication rule helps:
- One place holds the weekly plan and the dated events.
- One message says what changed, for which group, and what families should do.
- One reminder goes to each group at the start of the week.
Email and push depend on each account's settings, and people can opt out. So it also helps to ask families to keep their notification settings on and to check the calendar before they travel.
Test days and competitions are a club process
A test day or a competition day is an event, not a practice. Put the date, the rink and the arrival time on the club calendar so families can plan.
Today, test entries, competition entries, starting orders and results stay with your club's own process or your sport's registration system. Play 2 Earn Sports keeps the practices, events, RSVPs, announcements and family messages around them in one calendar. That is the part the club controls day to day.
Gymnastics clubs plan meet days the same way: see gymnastics club scheduling software.
Common mistakes
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Counting ice hours, not zone slots
One hour with two safe zones is two group slots, not one.
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Forgetting setup and takedown
A block that looks free at the start and end can lose thirty minutes to setup, takedown and resurfacing.
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Mixing levels without a zone plan
A shared hour needs marked zones, a coach per group and a safe buffer.
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Filling every minute
With no spare slot, one closure or one new skater moves half the week.
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Changing the weekly shape without telling anyone
A regular slot is a promise to families; move it deliberately and say so.
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Treating a test day as a practice
A test day needs its own event entry and its own plan.
In Play 2 Earn Sports
How Play 2 Earn Sports supports a figure skating club
Play 2 Earn Sports keeps the club's practices and events in one calendar. For the club side, see running the whole club in one place, and for the calendar, see how the season schedule works in Play 2 Earn Sports.
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The rink as a venue
You enter the rink as a venue with its weekly availability windows, a buffer between sessions and date-specific exceptions, such as a closure or shorter holiday hours.
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Blocked dates
Clubs can block holidays, closures and other unavailable dates on their teams and venues.
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Practices, events and RSVPs
Practices and events sit on the calendar, with RSVPs and a clear "No reply" for coaches.
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Announcements and team chat
Announcements and the existing team chat keep everyone in one place.
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Guardians linked to more than one child
Guardians linked to more than one child can switch children.
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One app for families
The app installs from the website on iPhone and Android.
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Test days and competitions
Today, test days, competition entries and results stay with your club's own process. Play 2 Earn Sports keeps the practices, events, RSVPs, announcements and family messages around them in one calendar.
One weekly plan for every level on the ice.
Questions
Frequentlyasked questions
Start with ice hours and usable minutes, levels and group sizes, coaches and session lengths, then season dates and family blackout dates. Turn the ice into zones, place one group per zone, count group minutes, keep a spare slot, check the draft skater by skater and zone by zone, then publish once.
Mark the ice into safe zones before the session: full ice, two halves or a corner. Give each group its own zone and its own coach, keep a buffer between zones, and check the group size against your club's safety rules. A written zone plan posted at the rink helps families know where to go.
It depends on the space, the level and your club's safety rules. Beginners need more room per skater than a small private lesson. Start with the rink's capacity and your club's policy, then count one group per zone. Do not treat a shared hour as room for two full groups in the same space.
Use a length that fits the level and the ice block. A beginner session is often forty-five minutes, development and adult groups often skate for an hour, and a competitive session may run seventy-five minutes. Add the changeover before the next group, and keep setup and takedown inside the permit.
Put the date, rink and arrival time on the club calendar as events, and share them early. Today, test entries, competition entries, starting orders and results stay with your club's process or your sport's registration system. The calendar holds the club side: the date, the group and the message to families.
Include the day, the rink, the start and end time, the level, the coach and the zone for every session. Add setup, takedown and changeover, a spare slot, and the dated events for that week. Keep one version where families and coaches can find it.
Today, test entries, competition entries, starting orders and results stay with your club's process or your sport's registration system. Play 2 Earn Sports keeps practices, events, RSVPs, announcements and family messages in one calendar, so the club side stays together around the test day.
Starter is free for clubs with up to 10 teams. See pricing for the plans for larger clubs and for leagues.
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Parent communication
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