45°C outside. -4°C on the ice. A 60×30 metre rink in the middle of Mirdif, full skate sharpenings booked through to midnight, and a Mini-Mite in a purple jersey learning how to fall properly. This is what hockey in Dubai actually looks like.
There is real ice hockey in the desert
It still surprises people. You land in Dubai expecting beaches, brunch and skyscrapers, and instead you find a full Olympic-size sheet of real ice, a senior team in the Emirates Hockey League and an under-12 squad coming off a Junior Hockey League gold medal. Galaxy Hockey Academy is the UAE's largest ice hockey club, not a novelty, not a weekend hobby, but a proper academy with a pyramid from Mini-Mites to adult league, run by people who grew up in the game and brought it with them.
By the numbers
- 500+players in the club
- 60×30metre sheet of real indoor ice in Mirdif
- 7teams in the Galaxy Hockey League (Oct–Apr)
- 7youth age groups, U6 to U17
- 1senior team in the EHL, the Warriors
- @galaxy_sport_clubfollow on Instagram
- 3JHL medals last season: U9 gold, U12 gold, U18 bronze
- -4°Con the ice while it's 45°C outside
Real ice, one academy
The academy lives inside Sport Society, Mirdif, a ten-minute drive from most of Dubai's family neighbourhoods, and an easy run from Sharjah. Under the roof is a full-size sheet of real indoor ice (60×30 m).
It is a full 60×30 metre international rink: this is where the youngest skaters learn to stand up, where the older groups train, where the Warriors play their EHL home games, and where adult sessions run late into the evening. One sheet, shared by everyone who calls it home.
One sheet means a tightly run schedule. From morning to evening the ice never sits empty: Mini-Mites and Mites first, school groups midday, age-group practices through the afternoon, adult sessions and league games at night. Every group gets its own back-to-back 60-minute slot.
From Mini-Mites to the Emirates Hockey League
The structure is the structure you'd find in Helsinki or Toronto, just compressed into one building.
- Youngest groups: U6, U8, U10, learning to skate, learning to fall, learning to love it.
- Competitive groups: U12, U14, U16, U17, squads playing in the Junior Hockey League. Last season: U9 gold, U12 gold, U18 bronze.
- Adults: open adult sessions plus the Galaxy Hockey League, seven teams, October to April, beer-league spirit with actual hockey underneath.
- Top of the pyramid: the Galaxy Warriors in purple, competing in the Emirates Hockey League, jerseys carrying the AMYLCO crest.
There is one team per age group, and that's deliberate. We'd rather have one strong squad per year than dilute the bench.
Built by people who came from somewhere else
Almost everyone in this building arrived from a hockey country and decided Dubai was going to be one too.
The head coach is Artiom Senkevich, a former KHL player and former head coach of the UAE national team. Alongside him on the bench: Maxim Saveliev and Oleg Ignatiev, both career coaches from the post-Soviet hockey school. The academy was founded by Iurii Lomakin and Vladislav Lomakin, and counts NHL legend Alexei Yashin among its advisors.
The families are the same story in reverse. Russians, Canadians, Czechs, Finns, Kazakhs, Emiratis whose kids fell in love with the rink on a school trip. The common language at the boards is broken English with a little Russian thrown in, and it works just fine.
"You don't build a hockey city by waiting for one. You build the ice, you bring the coaches, and the kids come.", a parent at last weekend's U10 practice
Frequently asked questions
Is there really ice hockey in Dubai?
Yes. Galaxy Hockey Academy is the UAE's largest ice hockey club, with more than 500 players on a full-size sheet of real indoor ice (60×30 m) at Sport Society in Mirdif. The ice is held at -4°C while it's 45°C outside, year-round.
Where is the rink and how do I get there?
The academy is inside Sport Society, Mirdif, Dubai, a ten-minute drive from most of Dubai's family neighbourhoods and an easy run from Sharjah. Under the roof is a full-size sheet of real indoor ice (60×30 m).
What ages can play?
Seven youth age groups from U6 to U17, plus adults. Every group shares the one 60×30 m sheet through back-to-back 60-minute slots from morning to evening: the youngest skate early, U12 to U17 play in the Junior Hockey League, and adults have open sessions and the seven-team Galaxy Hockey League from October to April.
How do I try it, and what does it cost?
The easiest start is Camp Galaxy, Tuesday to Friday, 09:00–10:15. A full week is 500 AED (~135 USD / 125 EUR) and a drop-in is 150 AED (~40 USD / 38 EUR). Skates, helmet and sticks are provided if you need them.
Come see it
The best way to understand hockey in Dubai is to walk through the doors of Sport Society on a Tuesday morning and watch Camp Galaxy. Tue–Fri, 09:00–10:15. Full week is 500 AED (~135 USD / 125 EUR), drop-in is 150 AED (~40 USD / 38 EUR). Skates, helmet, sticks, we've got them if you need them.
- Phone: +971 50 859 9547
- Email: general@glxy.ae
- Instagram: @galaxy_sport_club
- Web: glxyhockey.com
- Address: Sport Society, Mirdif, Dubai
Journalists, scouts, parents passing through: message us and we'll meet you at the rink. The ice is cold, the welcome is warm, and the story is real.