EVERETT — Ice skating is on a fast track with its growth at the Everett Community Ice Rink. The Everett Silvertips just enjoyed their most successful season in franchise history and they start the 2026-27 slate as the defending Western Hockey League champions, playing next door at the Angel of the Winds Arena. The Silvertips profile generates more attention on skating for fun, exercise or even competition.
At the Community Ice Rink, “Our Learn to Skate program in particular has more than doubled in participation over the last year,” Richard Dana, Assistant General Manager of the Angel of the Winds Arena says. “Our rink operated programming has experienced tremendous growth with increases in memberships, public skating, Learn to Play, summer programming, both youth and adult hockey, and other rink programming under the leadership of our rink director and programs manager.”
Dana says the demand for ice time at the publicly owned facility is growing so much that it requires scheduling both the Community Ice Rink and, when it is available, the ice in Angel of the Winds Arena for skaters and hockey players of all ages.
The growth in skating, Dana attributes to, the Community Ice Rink’s staff and coaches. The management company, the Oak View Group, has incorporated the Learn to Skate USA program into its schedule for local skaters. Learn to Skate USA organized a new curriculum in 2016 in a registered trademark program that certifies a reported 1000 ice rink facilities across the United States. Along with the Community Ice Rink in Everett, Learn to Skate USA certifies the skating curriculum program at Lynnwood Ice Center in Lynnwood and Sno-King Arena in Kirkland.
Across the broader level of rink-run programs by OVG at the Community Ice Rink, approximately 615 skating participants are currently enrolled in September for all of the rink-run programming between hockey and figure skating, according to Dana. In total, 55.6% are in youth hockey, the remaining 44.4% are in figure skating programs.
Learn to Skate USA® offers a standardized curriculum designed to help skaters of all ages and abilities master the basics of ice skating, according to its website. With specially formulated pathways preschoolers, kids, adults and skaters with disabilities, the Learn to Skate USA® curriculum ensures that everyone can learn how to ice skate. Once skaters master the fundamentals, they can progress into more specific skating disciplines and explore specialty classes that introduce them to a wide variety of skating opportunities.
U.S. Figure Skating and Learn to Skate USA are connected programmatically but separate when it comes to memberships. Learn to Skate USA was created and is supported by U.S. Figure Skating in collaboration with USA Hockey and US Speedskating. It serves as the official grassroots introductory curriculum for beginning skaters of all types. Students who pass levels in Learn to Skate USA, according to the website, are allowed to proceed into specialized sports like hockey, speedskating and joining a local U.S. Figure Skating club.
“With the full support of U.S Figure Skating,” Dana says, “we are expanding rink operated programming to include higher level figure skating and create more opportunities for skaters at every level.”
Dana says, “The decision to offer and expand rink-operated figure skating programs is a decision rooted in our commitment to increasing public offerings, maximizing the use of available ice time and ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the facility.” His comment was delivered to the Everett City Council at a July 29 meeting.
Expansion of the skating program increases demand on the single rink surface at the Community Ice Rink. The ice rink is used every day of the week for adult recreational leagues, youth hockey leagues, open skate, and figure skating programs. “Ice time is our most valuable resource,” Dana advised the July council meeting, “and demand for that resource continues to grow across all our user groups.”
Occasionally, an ice rink inside the Angel of the Winds Arena is open for public use to provide more access to skating groups requesting ice time, but it is predicated on the arena’s schedule between other planned events.
The increase in demand for ice-rink time, and scheduling logistics that go with it, prompted a complaint from an Everett non-profit, Everett Figure Skating Club, which has been renting ice time at the Community Ice Rink for nearly 20 years according to its members. The disagreement on ice time scheduling prompted a request by the Everett City Council for the Oak View Group to address the scheduling logistics at the Community Ice Rink.
During that address in July, Dana noted the growth in rink-run skating participation and said, “As participation continues to grow, we must continually evaluate our limited ice inventory as allocated to best serve the public. Our focus remains on serving the entire ice rink community, maximizing participation and ensuring the rink continues to provide opportunities for residents of all ages and skill levels. We are excited to expand our programming and create even more figure skating opportunities for skaters throughout our community.”
Dana elaborated, “We have a proven track record of successfully managing and expanding programs at the Everett Community Ice Rink. And we know we can achieve the same success with figure skating, by strengthening connections with our other skating programs, enhancing communications and responsiveness, and providing dedicated staff support, we know we can create even more opportunities for current and future figure skaters.”
Dana cited the benefit of the rink-run figure skating program accredited through Learn To Skate USA, saying, “Through the efforts of our rink management staff, local skaters had the opportunity to learn directly from Team USA coaches. It is through rink run programs we are able to present these types of opportunities. At the same time, we continue to invest in the future of the sport for growing programs like Learn To Skate and bringing premier internationally recognized events, such as Skate America, to our facility.”
Regarding the complaint about scheduling ice-time by EFSC, Dana said, “EFSC’s ice rink use license expired this past March. Since that time,” Oak View Group “have continued to provide ice times as a good faith effort and in the spirit of partnership and collaboration. EFSC has ice time reserved through the end of August. We have also chosen to continue our U.S Figure Skating home ice designation for the club.”
“Since April, we have made multiple attempts to meet with EFSC in person to discuss scheduling and ring run programming and find a path forward. Scheduled meetings were canceled by EFSC. Subsequent efforts by us to reconnect have been rebuffed, despite Everett Public Facilities District direction to the figure skating club that the best path forward was direct conversation with our management team,” Dana reported. The EPFD is a 5-person board appointed by the Everett mayor and confirmed by the Everett City Council that oversees the Oak View Group’s day-to-day management of the publicly owned facility which includes the Community Ice Rink, Edward D. Hansen Conference Center and The Angel of the Winds Arena.
Dana concluded in his comments, “Everett Figure Skating Club has a role at the rink. In addition to renting ice time, they can continue to operate test sessions, present their annual Christmas show, host Blades on Broadway competition, as well as other activities.”