How to choose skating club management software

From controlling online registration based on a skater’s most recent Skate Canada test to making sure your club fully owns its member data, there are a lot of details to weigh when choosing skating club software. US clubs face the same choices with Learn to Skate USA programs and U.S. Figure Skating memberships. This checklist covers the questions to ask before you sign, so your board can compare options side by side.

Start with how your club runs

Before you book demos, write down what a normal season looks like: the programs you offer (for example CanSkate, STAR and adult sessions in Canada, or Learn to Skate USA classes and adult sessions in the US), how many ice surfaces and time slots you manage, who handles registration and payments, and what your coaches need to see. The best software for your club is the one that fits that picture without workarounds.

The checklist

1. Registration that knows your skaters

• Can you limit who registers for a session by level, age or most recent test, so skaters only see the sessions they qualify for?
• Can a family register several skaters in one checkout?
• Can returning families re-register without typing everything again?
• Do waitlists fill automatically when a spot opens up?
• Are waivers, medical details and your own questions collected at registration?

2. Sessions, lessons and coach schedules

• Can you set up group sessions and private or semi-private lessons, each with its own capacity and price?
• Can each coach see their own schedule and the skaters in each session?
• Can you take attendance on a phone at the boards?

3. Skater progress

• Can coaches record skills and progress on each skater’s record, by level?
• Can parents see that progress without asking the coach?
• Can test or assessment results decide who can register for the next session?

4. Memberships and your governing body

• Can you sell club memberships and collect your governing body’s fee in the same checkout?
• Does it store each skater’s membership number (Skate Canada or U.S. Figure Skating), and can you export what you need to report to your section or federation?

5. Payments and accounting

• Can families pay online by card, and can you offer payment plans?
• How are refunds, credits and partial payments handled?
• Does it sync with your accounting software, such as QuickBooks or Xero?
• Who pays the processing fees, and what is the total cost per transaction?

6. Communication

• Can you email or text exactly the right group, such as one session or one level, when the ice schedule changes?
• Is there a mobile app or portal where families can see schedules, payments and messages?

7. Your data, your club

• Does your club own its member data, and can you export all of it at any time in a usable format?
• Where is the data stored, and how does the vendor meet privacy law in Canada or the US?
• Can you give board members, coaches and volunteers only the access they need, and hand over cleanly when the board changes?

8. Switching and support

• Will the vendor move your current skaters, families and history for you?
• How long does setup take, and is training included?
• Can you reach a real person when registration opens, in English and French?
• Is pricing per member, per transaction or flat, and how long is the contract?

Questions to ask in every demo

• Show me how a returning family registers two skaters for different levels.
• Show me what happens when a session is full.
• Show me what a coach sees on the ice.
• Show me how we would export all of our data if we left.
• What will this cost us in a year, including all fees?

Take it to your board

Share this checklist with your board, score each option against it, and bring the gaps to your demos. Uplifter is figure skating club software for skating schools and clubs. In a demo we can show you program and lesson registration, coach schedules, skater progress, memberships and payments, all in one system. See Uplifter for figure skating or book a demo.