West End Community Centre

Ice skating lessons with Raymond, Frank and Amber are incredible. well done to them they’re patient, talented and fun instructors.

Great birthday party location for kids during June with 5 bouncy castle. Kidzone! When the skate rink is closed for the few weeks it’s a great place to host a party. Normally the gym is the one that is available with the castle style bouncy castle. Although old building it has parking below, close by lots of pics places to order food, pickup last minute things at Amy’s loonie store. Although the centre doesn’t provide leaders other than opening the door. You are responsible for clean up.

Went to the early morning Kick Start class this week. It’s amazing! Jill is fabulous. It’s a weight training Circuit alternating with cardioTabata, and finishing up with a good stretch. Best workout I’ve done in years, and love that it’s first thing in the morning.

This is our favourite community centre even though it is old.
They have great programs here, and all the staff are very friendly.
I just love taking the kids to classes here because it’s such a beautiful walk to get here, and it’s so welcoming inside.
It’s also attached to a public library, which is convenient.
The public skating is decent and cheap too.

My family decided to book the gym at this community centre to hold my nephew’s 2^nd birthday party. It was the best decision made and the kids loved it!
Four Tables and at least 40 chairs were set up for us. All we had to do was decorate the place and bring food.
Imagine a huge gym with mats, slides, toys and cars the kids can sit in and drive around with their feet. All these toys were set up in the middle and the children had access to move around everywhere. They can be as loud as they want and they can run to their heart’s content.
Every little child and parent left happy that day.

I’m sure the rest of the centre is fine, but this is just for the ice rink & facilities.
Smaller rink, and even smaller dressing rooms. When I play my drop-​in hockey either on Wed. or Sat nites, it’s even better for the public to clear after their public skate, and just change out in the open like the rest of the guys.
Ice of course is a chippy and not as smooth b/​c of all the joe blow’s & plain jane’s who attempt to skate here just before we get on lol.
But the smaller surface does make for great action, less room to move but more shots for the goalies too ;)
It’s well lit & decent digital score board on the wall.
A great place to be casual and local residents to just walk here. As with West End, you get all walks of life here.
Does have an underground parking but its a bit dungeon-​like with archaic parking machines — last time i used it, it only accepted loonies.

A nice facility with lots to do, WECC does a great job of catering to neighborhood needs. The fitness centre has separate rooms for weights and cardio, both of which are well appointed for an older facility.
Additionally there is an ice rink, and a couple adjustable courts for racquetball/​squash, which are becoming more and more rare withing the parks board (MPCC had some until it was torn down in favour of the new facility at 1 Kingsway)
By no means is this a Crown Jewel among the host of newer, shinier facilities opens over the past 5-​or-​so years (MPCC, Trout Lake, Hillcrest) but WECC is still really nice, and serves it’s community well. Me likey.

**Ice Rink Review**
147′ x 74′!!! Why are these dimensions significant? It’s significant if you’re an ice hockey player that’s used to NHL rink standards of 200′ x 85′!! Yes, we call the WEC rink the «Boston Gardens» of Vancouver ice rinks because it was once the smallest rink in the NHL. The WEC is 147′ X 74′!!
The most players on ice is 4 per side + goalie. This makes for some really face-​paced action in tight quarters. You have to think and move even faster!
Also, this rink has many idiosyncrasies:
— there’s only plexiglas-​board combos on the north side of the rink. The remainder is concrete and doors.
–there’s only one opening for bench changes for BOTH teams and the gate is left OPEN!
–there are only 2 double doors on the south side of the rink and if you’ve ripped a few slappers in the right spot, you can literally smash the handles off! LOL
I noticed the rink is enjoyed by many international students and visitors. When we have practice or game sessions, they love to take pics with us in our hockey gear and ask of if they can hold our sticks.
YES, we get to feel like NHL’rs for a day! Rockstar, baby!

Great spot on rainy days when a run around Stanley is not an option. The drop in rate is 5 $ which is completely reasonable. Usually empty and unpretentious — gotta love the community centre gyms!
Its appears that 12−2pm on weekdays is senior time? 65 year old men seem to like twisting around on the mats with medicine balls! Way to go guys. keep that cholesterol level in check.

ALSO: men in combat boots and leggings in the fitness centre are not necessarily allowed, but are tolerated. I love my neighbourhood for many, many reasons, but seeing this particular sight in my local community centre over the past few years warms the cockles of my twee ‘eart. The West End: home to Robin, the gays and the greys.

This place MAKES the neighbourhood. From library (you can request books from VPL online and get them to deliver them to Joe Fortes), to the fitness center, pottery studio… what more could you ask for??? A steam room? OK, they have that too.
I’ve been using this fitness centre for years and love it’s unpretentiousness. If you go to the gym to prance around in makeup and lululemon keep walking. This place is to work out. And if you are a woman who gets annoyed at how the men take over the free weight room… just wait until Sunday 5 – 7 when us ladies have the whole place to ourselves. For some reason, not many women take advantage and i’ve had the place (including steam room) practically to myself on a few occasions.
But the best are the Monday and Friday yoga classes with Fran. Monday will kick your arse. Yes, even you boys. Actually especially you boys. It is a Yoga Shape class and is not for the weak in mind, heart or body. Don’t let her small frame fool you. Fran is a beast!!! Friday classes are a little less intense but still a great yoga workout. At less than 5 $ a drop in (if you buy a book of 10 tix) it is the cheapest drop in in town.
I love the WECC.

If I were writing Hallmark cards they might sound a little something like these:
1) Happy Anniversary, May 31. You make getting my parking pass so easy and so cheap to own. Thanks for the last magical four years!
2) Remember how fun skating was when you were a kid.
Inside: Before your feet grew to big and your body grew brittle and grown up and falling actually hurt. Thanks for the ledges, built perfectly for scaredy cat adults.
3) Woo hoo, play date time. There’s a fricking bouncy castle inside. Inside: You’re invited.
4) Thank you for being my neighbourhood friend!

This has got to be the coolest place in town.
Bored on a rainy day? Come on over. What to do? Well, you could start with a fitness class: yoga, pilates, kickboxing, capoiera, step, spin, whatever your poison. Drop ins are around $ 5.
Not enough? Stop by the fitness centre. Every bit as good as any gym I’ve ever visited, without the attitudes! After that, maybe a glide around the indoor skating rink. If you are looking for something more long-​term, they offer every type of class you could desire, from languages to dance.
Everyone here is super friendly and very down to earth. I love that the homeless guys can sit on the chairs and watch a hockey game or have a snooze, and no one bothers anyone.
This is well worth paying taxes for. Yay Vancouver!

Who knew that there was a skating rink in the West End — at the community centre that is… by Haro and Denman! tucked away — if you are planning to skate — you have to enter through Haro street. or you’ll end up like me on the other side of the community centre through the Denman entrance… wondering how to get to the other side of the rink.
There are SKATES rentals!!! thank goodness and it’s not expensive either… for two people to public skate and a pair of rentals, it was 12 dollars. On Monday evening from 8:15 — 10:15pm, there was a great turnout of people of different ages.
Not the biggest rink, but enough for people to make their turns, and do their rounds. There are ample amount of benches to sit on during the zamboni breaks so that there is fresh slippery rice half way through! Fun Fun FUN!

A studio rink with friendly staff and an intimate atmosphere. This one is also really cold and tends to get quite crowded for public sessions.
Whatever you do, don’t park in the underground garage here if you ever want to see your car again and watch your bags around the rink like crazy.

How about a skate on the weekend at the skating rink or a read in the library. There is also a fitness centre, a work-​out room, pottery rooms and a common area. The West End Community Centre is the glue that holds this vibrant community together. The yearly membership is only $ 15 a year and it gets you into everything from discounted memberships to classes. When I was in high school, I always came to the gym here and it was so much fun. some Sundays, the skating is free, so check out the schedule.

What better rainy Sunday afternoon activity is there than skating?
The west end community center has a standard sized rink and skate rentals. It is BYO-​hot chocolate though.
Entrance costs under $ 5, and then just an extra $ 2.45 to rent skates. There are family/​public skates on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, a perfect date-​night Saturday evening skate, and also a loonie-​skate on Thursdays. In addition to the rink there is also a gym, library, and even a pottery studio in the center.
And when you discover how much you love going skating, there are discount tickets available in books of 10 for both the entrance fees and skate rentals.