How Do Kids Get Started in Minor Hockey in London, Ontario?

Kids in London, Ontario typically start minor hockey through a community club's house league, entering at the U7 or U8 level and moving up through age-based divisions. The London Raiders, a club with more than 50 years of history (formerly the Red Circle Hockey Club), runs divisions from U07 through U17 and uses an evaluation process to place players at the start of each season. The practical path for a parent is: confirm your child's age division, register with a local club, attend evaluations, and equip your player before the season begins.

Which division does your child belong in?

Minor hockey divisions are organized by birth year, not by skill. The London Raiders list these divisions on their site:

U07 – youngest entry level
U08
U10
U12
U14
U17

The "U" means "under" — a U9 division is generally for players under age 9 as of the division's cutoff date. Exact birth-year windows are set by the governing association each season, so confirm your child's specific division with the club rather than assuming from the number alone. If your child has never played, the youngest divisions (U7/U8) are the normal entry point.

The typical steps to register a child

Pick a club near you. In London, options include community-based clubs like the London Raiders. Location matters because practices and games run out of specific arenas — the Raiders, for example, use Stronach Arena and the Western Fair Sports Centre.
Check the registration and evaluation schedule. Clubs post evaluation schedules and season start dates on their websites. The Raiders publish an evaluation schedule and a full calendar of events, with evaluations broken into groups (for example, U8 players split by last name, A–F and G–M, at set times).
Register before evaluations. Evaluations are how clubs sort players into teams and streams. Missing them usually means being placed wherever space remains.
Attend evaluations. These are typically short, scheduled sessions where coaches observe skating and basic skills. Expect them to be grouped by age and sometimes by surname to manage numbers.
Get your team assignment and schedule. Once teams are set, you'll receive practice and game times through the club.

House league vs. competitive streams

For beginners, house league is the standard starting point. It's built around participation and development rather than tryouts and travel. The London Raiders describe their program as a house league, and their annual tournament (the Red Circle Annual Tournament) is explicitly for "All Red Circle House League Teams."

Competitive or rep streams involve tryouts, more practices, travel, and higher fees. A young child new to hockey generally does not need to start there — house league lets them learn to skate and play with age peers before any selection pressure.

The Raiders also run development programming in partnership with Snipe Academy, including age- and skill-based player clinics and dedicated goalie sessions. That's a useful middle option: structured skill development without committing to a rep team.

Equipment and costs to expect

The site does not publish fee amounts, so treat any figure as something to confirm directly with the club. What you can plan for:

Required equipment for kids hockey generally includes a helmet with full cage, mouthguard, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey gloves, hockey pants, shin guards, skates, and a stick. Goalies need additional gear.
Costs typically come in layers: registration fees, equipment, and any development clinics or tournaments. The Raiders' site has a "Subscribe" link but does not list pricing, so registration cost must be confirmed with the club.
Used equipment is common for young beginners who outgrow gear quickly.

Finding schedules, evaluations, and season dates

Clubs publish this information on their own sites. On the London Raiders site you can find:

An evaluation schedule linked from the main page
A full calendar showing practices, evaluations, and events by day
Venue info for each session (arena and pad)
News posts announcing season start, coaching applications, and program changes

The 2026/27 season news and a coaching application for the 2026–2027 house league season are posted there, along with an annual general meeting and special members meeting in October. Checking the calendar and news section regularly is the most reliable way to catch evaluation times and season start dates.

A realistic first-season timeline

For a family starting fresh, a season tends to look like this: registration opens in late summer, evaluations run in early fall (the Raiders' calendar shows U8 evaluations in the morning slots), teams form shortly after, and the season runs through winter into a year-end tournament. The Raiders' own tournament is scheduled for February 12–14, 2027 at the Western Fair Sports Centre, with each team playing four games over the weekend.

If your child is trying hockey for the first time, start with the youngest division your club offers, register early enough to make evaluations, and borrow or buy used gear before investing in new equipment.