What you need to know

Every Open Ice camp is free. There is nothing to pay, ever, and nothing to buy.
Our camps are for children aged five to ten.
Your child is given a full set of equipment to keep, fitted in person before they skate.
The next camp is Christmas Camp 2026, planned at four arenas across Toronto.
Your child does not need to know how to skate. Every child who joins Open Ice is new to hockey, and we teach skating from the very first step.
Bring your child, water and warm socks. We provide everything else, including lunch.
To apply, fill in the form on the Apply page, or send us an email. We reply to every family.
If English is difficult for you, write to us in your own language. We will find someone to translate.
Email openiceinitiative@gmail.com.

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Your first morning

Your first morning

Everything you need to know before eight o’clock on day one, on one page. There is no fee, no deposit and nothing to buy.

Apply for a camp Frequently asked questions

Campers being kitted out with equipment in the arena corridor

The morning

What actually happens between 8:00 and 8:30

Nobody is thrown onto the ice cold. The first half hour is entirely about getting your child comfortable and geared up.

From the desk to the ice

Thirty minutes, five steps. You are welcome to stay and watch from the stands or come back at three.

8:00

The desk

Give us your child’s name. We tick them off and hand you a name tag.

8:05

Skates

A volunteer helps your child into the skates fitted for them before camp. Skates go on first, because they take the longest and everything else is quick.

8:15

The rest of the gear

Shin pads, pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, helmet. We do it in that order because it is the order it goes on.

8:25

The stick

Cut to your child, not to a shelf size. They keep it.

8:30

On the ice

That is it. You are welcome to stay and watch from the stands or come back at three.

What day one feels like

A coach holding both hands of a small camper taking their first strides

On the first day I was kind of scared because I didn’t know how to play, but the coaches helped me a lot and I only fell a few times. I made new friends and wanted to come back every day.
Jayden T, age 8Camper, Google review

A helmet being fitted onto a camper leaning over the boards

Going into the March break camp, my boys could barely stand on their skates alone. They learned so much about hockey in one week. Everything was provided including the hockey gear which the boys got to keep. All they want to do is hockey now.
Jessica SerpaParent, March Break Camp 2026, Google review

A first-time skater sitting on the ice while a volunteer talks them through standing up

Everybody started like this, just how you’re starting right now. Lacing them up and getting out there for the first time.
Councillor Brad BradfordBeaches-East York, at March Break Camp 2026 (Beach Metro Community News)

Lacing a skate

Four rules for the laces

A pair of hockey skates, seen from above

Skates first. They take the longest and everything else is quick.
Tight over the foot, easier at the ankle. A child who cannot bend cannot skate.
Two fingers at the top. If you can get three in, it is too loose.
Tuck the ends. Not wrapped round the ankle, and never round the blade.

A volunteer does this with you on the first morning. Nobody expects you to know it, and nobody will let your child onto the ice in skates that are not done up properly.

What to bring

The whole list

A water bottleWith their name on it. The arena is dry and a camp day is long.Bring it
LayersA long sleeve top under the gear and a warm jacket for the bench. Arenas sit at about five degrees.Bring it
Thin socksNot thick sports socks. Skates fit better over thin ones and blisters start with bunched fabric.Bring it
A snackLunch is provided every day and so is water. A snack for the drive home is a good idea because they will be hungrier than you expect.Optional
Any equipment you already ownIf your child has skates that fit, bring them. If not, that is completely fine and expected. We fit everybody at the gear-fitting session before camp.Optional
Nothing elseNo fee, no deposit, no forms to buy, no uniform. If anybody tells you otherwise, it is not us.Optional

Screenshot this. It is the whole list.

Sizing

A rough idea before you arrive

Everybody is measured and fitted in person before they skate. This is only so you know roughly what to expect.

How tall is your child, in centimetres?

Type a height and the row below will highlight.

Equipment sizing by height
Height	Skates	Pads	Stick	Flex
105 to 115 cm	Youth 10 to 11	XS	38 inch	Junior
115 to 125 cm	Youth 12 to 13	S	40 inch	Junior
125 to 135 cm	Youth 1 to 2	S	42 inch	Junior
135 to 145 cm	Junior 3 to 4	M	46 inch	Junior
145 to 155 cm	Junior 5 to 6	M	50 inch	Intermediate
155 cm and up	Senior 7 and up	L	54 inch	Intermediate

This is a starting point, not a decision. Every camper is measured and fitted in person at the gear-fitting session before camp, and nobody leaves in gear that does not fit.

The words

If you have never watched a hockey practice

Ten terms you will hear on day one, in plain English. Nobody will mind you asking.

Crossover: Stepping one skate over the other to turn while still moving. It is the first thing that makes a child look like a hockey player rather than someone standing on ice.
Edges: The two sharp sides of a skate blade. Almost everything in skating is about which edge you are on and how hard you lean into it.
Dryland: Training off the ice. Running, footwork, stickhandling on the floor. We use it between the two ice sessions each day so the morning is not wasted waiting.
House league: Recreational minor hockey. No tryouts, everybody plays, teams are balanced. This is where almost every child starts and where most of them stay.
Rep: Competitive minor hockey with tryouts and travel. Costs several times what house league costs. Not where we are pointing anybody, and not the measure of whether hockey worked for a child.
Learn to Play: Introductory programs for children who have never skated. Our First Stride group is our version of this.
Shinny: Informal pick-up hockey with no coaches and no score that matters.
Full gear: Helmet with a cage, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, pants, shin guards, skates and a stick. All of it. About seven hundred and fifty dollars for a full set, all in, and every camper here keeps one.
Ice time: An hour on an arena surface, bought from the city or the arena operator. Between $150 and $380 an hour at the arenas we have used, depending on the rink and the time of day. We buy three hours of it a day.
Registration fee: What an association charges a family per season. The single most common reason a child who wants to play does not.

Latest headlines

AnnouncementsSummer Camp 2026 ran 4 to 7 AugustFour days of ice and dryland, free lunch, and a full set of equipment for every camper.Open Ice Initiative
Jul 1, 2026

Camps and programsFour days in August: what the summer camp actually looked likeTwo arenas, four days, and five hundred and seventy-six pieces of equipment that went home with a child.Open Ice Initiative
Aug 12, 2026

Camps and programsThe Open Ice Cup: six hours after meeting, they were teammatesFour teams, coloured pinnies, a five minute running clock and no offsides.Open Ice Initiative
Mar 20, 2026

Camps and programsWhy every camper keeps their equipmentThe Keep Your Gear policy is the part of the model that lets a child keep playing after the camp ends.Open Ice Initiative
Mar 1, 2026

Camps and programsCameron Gaunce brought more than an NHL career. He brought his attention.He arrived, and instead of posing and leaving, he spent the whole Monday with the campers.Open Ice Initiative
Mar 19, 2026

Still unsure?

Ask us anything

Write in whatever language is easiest for you and we will work it out. There is no such thing as a question we mind.

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