What ice hockey in Dubai actually looks like
Galaxy Hockey Academy is the largest ice hockey club in the UAE. Around 300 children train with us every week, 38 nationalities share the changing rooms, and the age groups run from U6 through U16 with a separate adult section on top. Every session happens on a full-size sheet of real indoor ice, 60 by 30 metres, at Sport Society Mall in Mirdif.
The coaching staff comes from professional hockey in Europe and North America. Galaxy is a partner of the UAE Winter Sports Federation, and our competitive side, the Galaxy Warriors, plays in the Emirates Hockey League against clubs from across the country.
Why the sport works in a desert city
Indoor ice costs the same to run in Mirdif as it does anywhere with a hot summer, and the rink holds its temperature in August the same way it does in January. What makes hockey grow here is the city itself. Families land in Dubai from 38 different countries and bring their sports with them. Half our roster had never touched ice before their first session. The other half grew up on it in Moscow, Toronto or Helsinki, and now they play on the same team.
Where hockey is played in Dubai
Our home ice sits inside Sport Society Mall in Mirdif. Parking underneath, cafes upstairs for parents who would rather watch with a coffee, changing rooms and a pro shop on site. Every Galaxy group trains there this season.
Dubai has a handful of other rinks, most of them built for public skating inside shopping malls, and Abu Dhabi and Al Ain have their own sheets. They serve a different job. For structured hockey with a coach, a fixed group and a season plan, you want a club.
Galaxy Arena, our own dual-ice venue, is opening soon. Two sheets under one roof will let the academy run more groups at better hours. Until the doors open, everything runs in Mirdif.
Who can play
Children from age 4. The youngest groups spend their first months on skating alone, and sticks arrive once balance is there. From U8 the training splits by level, so a beginner never gets buried behind a child with three seasons already in the legs. Read how the groups are built on kids hockey in Dubai, or check the weekly timetable on ice hockey classes in Dubai.
Adults. Some of our adult players last skated as teenagers. Some had never stood on ice before this year. Both train in the evening at Sport Society, and both end up in games. Details on the adults page.
Women and girls. The women's group trains and plays inside the academy, with a girls' pathway underneath it. See women's hockey in Dubai.
What a week on the ice looks like
A typical academy group trains two to three times a week, 60 minutes of ice per session, with off-ice work added for the older ages. Sessions build in the same order every time: skating first, puck skills second, game situations last. Younger groups get shorter, denser drills because attention runs out fast at six years old. Older groups get video, positioning and full scrimmages.
Games, leagues and 2027
The Warriors play the Emirates Hockey League against clubs from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Our kids' teams travel too: Minsk, Istanbul, Bishkek and Hong Kong all appeared on last season's map, and we host our own events in Dubai. The calendar lives on the tournaments page.
2027 matters for the whole region. The IIHF World Championship, Division II Group A, comes to Al Ain, which puts a full international tournament inside a two-hour drive of every family reading this. Children who start this season will watch it as players.
What it costs
Season 2026/27 is billed by trimester: 6 900 AED for the first, 5 900 AED for the second, 5 600 AED for the third, plus 5% VAT. Paid up front, the full season is 17 500 AED plus VAT. That covers ice time, coaching and the group's training plan. The full breakdown, including the calendar, sits on hockey season 2026/27 in Dubai.
What you need to bring
For the free session, nothing. Helmet, skates and the rest get handed out at the door. After that families build a set over a few weeks: skates and helmet first, protection next, stick last. Our pro shop at Sport Society fits and sharpens, and there is a used gear board for children who outgrow boots inside one season. No coach here will send a beginner shopping for carbon.
How to start this week
The first session is free for one child, all September. You come to Mirdif, the child gets on the ice, a coach watches and tells you which group fits. Gear for that first session is on us.
Message us on WhatsApp at +971 50 859 9547, write to [email protected], or tap through on the start page and pick a time.
