You and your children have been watching the Olympics. Now they want to become the next Nathan Chen, Shaun White or Mikaela Shiffrin. Do you have to move to Colorado to get them involved in winter sports?
We don’t have a ski mountain in our backyard, but you can do some of the Winter Olympic sports here.
Zoe Chandler, 7, and Alexandria Ligon, 10 stretch out while practicing their skating at the Chaparral Ice skating rink. Kelly West AMERICAN-STATESMAN 2007
Here are some lessons we found:
Figure Skating
No snow needed here for this indoor sport.
Chaparral Ice is starting its next eight-week Learn to Skate session Feb. 27. Take one 25-minute class a week, plus get five free public skating sessions and unlimited additional public skating sessions for $5 each. Most classes are Tuesday or Wednesday nights or Saturdays, and the classes are $145 if you register by Feb. 25. Chaparral teaches everyone from age 3 to adult.
If your kids aren’t quite sure if they’re ready for a regular class, they can do a introductory Learn to Skate session at 2 p.m. each Saturday (register by 1:45 p.m.). They have to be 6 or older and have never taken a class before. Younger kids can take a $10 private lesson on Sundays.
Chaparral is also offering a Blizzard Blitz spring break program March 12-16. Lessons are 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. Monday-Friday, followed by a free skate. $120. Or you can do the more extensive Camp de Champs, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 12-16 for $295, which includes lessons, skating, art projects and more. These programs are for ages 5-13.
Once kids do the Learn to Skate program, they can start Figure Skating lessons. Chaparral Ice, 2525 W. Anderson Lane. 512-252-8500, chaparralice.com,
Hockey players work on skating drills during practice at Chaparral Ice. American-Statesman 1999
Hockey
At Chaparral Ice you can start with the regular Learn to Skate session, or a Learn to Skate session that is specific to hockey. The next eight-week session begins March 4 and is held at 2:15 p.m. on Sundays. Those classes are $150, but you also need the equipment, which is about $175 for all of it once you’re learning to play and not just learning to skate. More advanced classes and adult classes also are on Sundays. If your child isn’t sure about hockey, you can schedule a free one-time Give Hockey a Try session by calling the rink.
For kids ages 4-8, The Dallas Stars and Mike Modano have started the Little Rookies Program. The four-week sessions are at 2:30 p.m. Saturdays beginning March 24 and includes all the equipment for your use and a jersey to take home. Those sessions are free.
Chaparral Ice, 2525 W. Anderson Lane. 512-252-8500, chaparralice.com,
Nihal Kyasa, 14, and Aidan Tran, 15, try curing for the first time at Chaparral Ice on Jan. 28. Contributed by Santosh Kyasa
Curling
The Lone Star Curling Club holds $20 Learn to Curl sessions for children and adults. The current sessions are sold out, but you can go to lonestarcurlingclub.org to be notified when the next sessions open up.
Snowboarding
OK, we don’t have snow here, but you can try out snowboarding at the Texas Ski Ranch. You can practice on an artificial half-pipe, slopes and banked turns. The lessons are $69 for an hour lesson for one person, $39 for each additional person, up to four people. You get a private lesson for an hour then an additional hour to try out what you’ve learned. Texas Ski Ranch, 6700 N. Interstate 35, New Braunfels. texasskiranch.com