Beginning speedskaters are welcome at every practice of the Potomac Speedskating Club.

For adult skaters who have never skated before, we recommend you take a Learn to Skate series of classes offered by all of the area rinks until you are comfortable with forward crossovers. You'll find your transition to speedskating much easier with this background.

For children ages 5 and up, no prior skating experience is necessary as children will pick up skating more quickly than new adult skaters.

Those with prior inline, hockey or figure skating experience will have an easier transition to speedskating.

Coach Kim works personally with every skater no matter their age, ability or experience, and private coaching sessions are also available.

Please complete our "Join Us" inquiry form or call 1-877-SKATE90 if you want to try it out and find out about our monthly schedule. See below for equipment needs.

For safety reasons, all skaters are required to have the following prior to getting on the ice:

A helmet (a bike or hockey or skateboarding helmets are fine, and there are also special helmets just for short-track skating)
Gloves (thin waterproof winter gloves are best)
Neck guard (a bib-style hockey neck guard is available in many sports equipment or specialty hockey stores and we have some you can borrow)
Long-sleeved shirt and pants and a zip jacket you can take off when warmed up. For dryland (off-ice) training, you'll need good running shoes and sweatpants or a track suit. Bike or compression shorts underneath are also recommended.