Medicine Hat's school-day hockey and ringette program adds up to more than ice time
MHPSD's 76 Hockey | Ringette Academy builds serious on-ice training into the school week for grades 4-9 — no evenings-and-weekends juggling required.
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The 76 Hockey | Ringette Academy, run by the Medicine Hat Public School Division, gives students in grades 4 through 9 a way to build serious on-ice skill development directly into their school week, rather than squeezing it in around homework and bedtime. According to the program's official page, the academy blends on-ice and off-ice training with classroom sessions, aiming to develop "the entire athlete" without sacrificing the academic rigour the division expects of its schools.
The program is led by Ken Dzikowski, a former professional and collegiate hockey player who has also worked as a classroom teacher and instructor with the Find Your Stride Hockey School — a resumé that spans both sides of the whistle.
Access runs through several MHPSD schools depending on grade level: École Connaught School, River Heights School and Vincent Massey School serve grades 4 through 6, Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre spans grades 4 through 9, and Crescent Heights High School picks up grades 7 through 9. City-wide transportation is available for several of those sites, meaning geography isn't necessarily a barrier to enrolment.
It isn't a casual commitment, either in time or cost. Registration includes a minimum of 36 on-ice sessions, access to a dedicated training facility, multi-sport sessions, and coaching specific to ringette, hockey and goaltending, along with support from Family School Liaison Workers. For the 2026–2027 school year, the program carries a base fee of $1,550, payable via a $200 deposit due May 1 followed by six monthly instalments — a roughly 15 per cent increase the division attributes to rising costs for ice rental, transportation and staffing. Families enrolling more than one child receive a discount on the deposit for additional players.
Enrolment remains optional for students at the eligible schools, and the division says a range of skill levels can be accommodated — this isn't strictly an elite-stream program reserved for the most competitive young players.
For a division balancing athletic ambition against classroom time, folding hockey and ringette development into the regular school day is a fairly direct answer to a familiar problem: how to keep kids serious about sport without turning family life into a second full-time job.
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