DALE CITY, Va. – Young girls can lace up their skates for free this fall at the Prince William Ice Center in Dale City and the Haymarket Iceplex, as part of the DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day on Saturday, Sept. 13. The event is open to girls ages 4 to 9 and offers a low-barrier introduction to the sport, backed by the Washington Capitals and regional youth hockey groups.
The Potomac Lady Patriots will host their free session at the Dale City rink, while the Piedmont Predators welcome newcomers at Haymarket. Each site will provide loaner gear for the one-to-two-hour experience, with registration now open.
The event comes just weeks after local leaders approved a new dry hockey rink—no ice, but year-round access—planned for the nearby Hylton Club sports fields in Dale City. Built through a $200,000 partnership between the Prince William Ice Center and the Capitals, and managed with county proffer funds, the project aims to make hockey more accessible and affordable. Read the full article here.
Here’s the full press release:
Registration Now Open for DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day at 16 Local Hockey Rinks
Registration is now open for the third annual DMV Girls Try Hockey For Free Day, taking place at 16 rinks across Maryland and Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 13. The DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day is a joint effort between the Washington Capitals, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association (PVAHA), and various youth hockey organizations throughout the region to introduce girls ages 4-9 to hockey at no cost. In October 2024, MSE Foundation donated $50,000 to PVAHA in support of programming including DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day.
Click here to register at a participating rink.
Try Hockey for Free is a USA Hockey Program that provides local youth the chance to try hockey during a one-to-two-hour ice session at no cost. Required equipment is loaned to participants through the local youth hockey organization. Provided equipment and equipment requirements vary per rink. Registrants are advised to refer to an email from their host rink prior Sept. 13.
Try Hockey for Free days also provide local youth hockey associations with a platform and opportunity to acquire new players locally and engage interested families into youth hockey programs across the region.
Participating clubs in Virginia include:
Ashburn Ice House (at Ashburn Ice House in Ashburn, VA)
Caps Academy (at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VA)
Loudoun Knights (at Ion International Training Center in Leesburg, VA)
NOVA IceDogs (at Mount Vernon Rec Center in Alexandria, VA)
Piedmont Predators (at Haymarket IcePlex in Haymarket, VA)
Potomac Lady Patriots (at Prince William Ice Center in Woodbridge, VA)
Reston Raiders (at Skatequest in Reston, VA)
Richmond Generals (at Richmond Ice Zone in North Chesterfield, VA)Participating clubs in Maryland include:
Baltimore Stars (at Reisterstown Sportsplex in Reisterstown, MD)
Bowie Bruins (at Bowie Ice Arena in Bowie, MD)
Hagerstown Bulldogs (at Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex in Hagerstown, MD)
Howard Huskies (at Columbia Ice Rink in Columbia, MD)
Montgomery Youth Hockey Association (at Rockville Ice Arena in Rockville, MD)
Navy Youth Hockey (at Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis, MD)
Southern Maryland Sabres (at Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf, MD)
Tri City Eagles (at The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD)In addition, select participating rinks will host an all-girls Future Caps Learn to Play session in the weeks following DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day to encourage participants to continue to learn more and engage further with the game. For more information, visit https://www.capsyouthhockey.com/.
The Capitals partnered with the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association to host a DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free Day at 16 local rinks/clubs for the first time in 2023. That year, more than 300 girls ages 4-9 tried hockey for the first time through the event, and more than 30% of girls registered to continue to play. In addition, girls participation in the NHL Future Caps Learn to Play Program increased from 14% to 27% in a span of less than seven days. More recently, in 2024, participation continued to grow, with 20 rinks and 512 girls ages 4-9 participating in DMV Girls Try Hockey for Free. Girls participation in the Future Caps Learn to Play Program grew from 17% to 26% in less than seven days.
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