Hot Ice

Dubai harbours projects that defy nature itself. A hockey school in the heart of the Arabian desert stands as a genuine cultural phenomenon, demonstrating how innovative construction and sports education can create something extraordinary even in the most inhospitable conditions. We publish this column by Galaxy Hockey Academy founders Vladislav and Yuri Lomakin, alongside Alexander Syrnev, who share their journey, the technological challenges they've faced, and the philosophy behind creating the coldest game in one of the planet's hottest places.

Picture this: fifty degrees of scorching heat outside, whilst inside there's crystal-clear ice, the sound of skates and sticks. We built this in Dubai, a city where snow never falls. When you first mention ice hockey here, people look at you as if you've suggested building a cricket stadium in central Moscow or a falconry centre. Everyone thinks you've lost your mind. Yet three years ago we started with seven children, and today our Galaxy academy trains 250 young hockey players from 38 countries worldwide. This is our story of breaking through ice in the desert, both literally and figuratively.

We've been connected to hockey our entire lives. Professional careers, games in Canada, America, Russia, and our final year in France. That was during COVID, when many people were reconsidering their priorities. We decided to change course dramatically and moved to Dubai. On 1st September 2022, we opened a children's hockey academy. We understood the market was empty; hockey in the Emirates was only just beginning to develop, and virtually nobody was working with children.
There was a Canadian academy before us, but having played professional hockey ourselves, we immediately spotted numerous shortcomings in their approach. Professionalism, attention to detail, building a proper system: all this became our advantage. We can now say with pride that our coaching staff is amongst the best. Head coach Artem Senkevich from Belarus played for the national team at the World Championship and Olympic Games. He has six assistants from Russia, Sweden, and Canada, people with extensive hockey experience that any academy in Russia would envy.

Over three years we've participated in 22 international tournaments. We recently returned from Hong Kong, where we took first place. In Italy we played against Europe's strongest teams and brought home prizes there too. In the Middle East, frankly speaking, we're no longer interested in competing; there's simply no competition. We beat everyone and want to grow further, playing against the world's strongest teams.

Besides the children's academy, we have a professional club, Galaxy Warriors, competing in the Emirates Hockey League. This is a proper professional league with seven teams from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Dubai. The season runs from September to April; all players are on contracts, receive salaries, and live in Dubai. Last year we signed Roma Lyubimov, who played for the Russian national team and in the NHL with a contract worth several million dollars. Match TV and Sport-Express wrote about it; Russian hockey stars in the Emirates still sounds exotic.

In our first year of existence, we reached the league finals. The final match took place in Dubai Mall, and it was packed: according to unofficial data, over five thousand spectators gathered. Nearly everyone supported us; the stands were painted in purple, our brand colour. The second season we failed, getting knocked out in the semi-finals. We admit honestly: we made strategic management mistakes. But now, before the third season, a serious strategic partner has joined the academy: Amylco. Its founder and owner is Nikolai Serebryakov. Amylco supports hockey development in the region and participates in the ice arena construction project in Dubai.

The third direction of our business is our own Galaxy Hockey League, consisting of eight teams. This is an international amateur league with teams from Oman, Belarus (last year there was a team fully sponsored by Tesla), Russia, and Dubai. For the amateur league we developed special rules: each team can have no more than two professionals, and they're not allowed to score goals. This was done deliberately so amateurs could feel competitive and matches would be interesting. We have twenty pages of rules, thought through to the smallest detail, to ensure balance and spectacle.

Creating quality ice in the desert is no easy task. Dubai's climatic conditions pose particular difficulties: when it's fifty degrees outside, maintaining ice coverage in perfect condition becomes a technological challenge. We opened the region's first hockey centres with synthetic ice that closely resembles the real thing. This is a special plastic with particular properties that allows athletes to feel as though they're on an ordinary ice rink.

We built two such centres for additional hockey player preparation, mainly children. There they can work on puck-handling technique, shots, and skating. One centre is located on the territory of MIRDIF Sports Society. This is our home arena. We supported the project with advice but didn't participate in construction.
But we're not stopping there. Our main goal is to build our own ice arena, a proper multifunctional complex for all winter sports. The project is currently at the final signing stage. We're considering three different locations; we've already received the green light from authorities for two of them.

Getting land for an ice arena in Dubai is incredibly difficult. Everything here is geared towards housing and commercial premises that sell easily. When you propose building an ice arena, you hear: 'Why? On this plot we could build three residential buildings and sell them much faster. It's obvious, straightforward, and without risks.'
It took us eleven years (that's exactly how long one of us has lived in Dubai) to find a suitable location that satisfied both the authorities and us. Now we have support from Sheikh Hamdan's family, and thanks to this we finally have the opportunity to realise our dream. But for commercial success, we understand the arena must be multifunctional, not just for hockey but also for figure skating, curling, basketball, football, and rhythmic gymnastics. Plus concerts, exhibitions, and other events.
An important technical aspect of construction is meeting standards. For instance, we learnt that with an ice rink measuring 26 by 56 metres, you can only hold hockey competitions. But increase the dimensions to 30 by 60 metres, and suddenly you can host competitions in three more Olympic sports: figure skating, short track, and curling. Seemingly just four metres' difference, yet what an effect!

For designing ice technology, we brought in one of America's best companies, which builds rinks worldwide, including NHL arenas. They also worked on Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai and on a project in Neom (Saudi Arabia), where the king decided to freeze an entire lake and create a skating rink. These specialists understand all the nuances: how to control ice temperature, air humidity, and how to prevent condensation.
Different sports require different ice characteristics. Figure skaters need softer ice; hockey players need harder ice. Modern technology allows ice temperature changes in literally fifteen minutes. After a hockey training session, when figure skaters step onto the ice, the system automatically adjusts parameters. It's also critically important to maintain dry air in the arena to prevent condensation and water droplets on the ice.
Our goal is to create a proper winter sports hub in Dubai. Besides hockey, we're opening a figure skating academy, Galaxy Figure Skating School. This is one area where students from the UAE have genuine chances not merely to compete at the Winter Olympics but to contend for medals in the foreseeable future. The same applies to curling. With hockey, everything's more complex; competition is enormous, but there's progress here too.

The UAE Winter Sports Federation provides us with five passports, and our lads play for the Emirates national team at world championships and the Asia Cup. For instance, twins who came to us at fourteen and are now seventeen spent three years training at our academy. Recently we signed them to Slovakia, to the Extraliga, the country's strongest league. Rostislav Tretyakov, one of the twins, became the best player at the Asia Cup, representing the Emirates national team. Such success stories are the best proof of our system's effectiveness.

The UAE national team has achieved considerable success, by the way. The team now competes in Division 2A, where teams like Serbia and Australia play. If they win this division, they'll move up to 1B. A couple more steps, and theoretically you could see UAE matches against Sweden or Canada. This year the world championship will take place in Al Ain, a significant event for hockey development in the region.
Our experience isn't limited to the Emirates alone. We were invited to coach the Iranian national hockey team. When we first arrived in Tehran, we were shocked: the team didn't know even basic hockey rules. All players came from roller hockey. We flew to Iran seven times over four months, preparing the team for the world championship. The result exceeded all expectations: Iran took second place and earned promotion in the division. Upon their return, the team was greeted by the country's president.

This success triggered incredible hockey development in Iran. Now over a thousand children there are involved in the sport; two new rinks are being built. The Iranian women's team trained in Novogorsk; three players were invited to training camps in Russia. Even Russia's sports minister specially travelled to Tehran to see how hockey was developing. Such stories show that the impossible is possible, even in countries where snow has never been seen.

In our work we actively implement new technologies. For instance, phygital sport, a trend that helps attract children who are too absorbed in gadgets. The concept is simple: the first period children play hockey on a console, then transfer the game to real ice. In the virtual game, characters have the same names, appearances, and characteristics as real players. If a child in life shoots well but runs slowly, his virtual counterpart will have the same parameters. Recently a major phygital hockey tournament took place in Kazan, and this field is rapidly gaining popularity.
One of our main missions is pulling children away from computers. We offer an alternative: real childhood with active games, healthy competition, and team spirit. Hockey builds character, especially in boys. We have numerous examples of unmanageable children who, after a year of training, became completely different people. They emerge from under their parents' wing; new authority figures appear; they learn to communicate with peers from different countries and speak English.
Our academy is more than just training. We've created a proper community. Every week we organise mountain hikes and barbecues at villas where parents and children socialise informally. Families who come to Dubai often feel lonely. At our academy they find friends, and these connections grow into genuine friendships. Children don't simply say 'this is hockey'; for them Galaxy has become a way of life.
Very recently we held the season opening, a major event on the Palm at Cabana on the Beach. Last year we held it at Rimbambelle, but now we decided to change location for sea, swimming pool, and more space. There'll be entertainment, magicians for children, whilst parents can chat amongst themselves. Such events help unite our community.

It's the off-season now, and our students have scattered worldwide but continue training and send photographs in Galaxy shirts. One is preparing for the season in New York, another in Japan. Recently a colleague and I returned from Bali, where, strange as it sounds, there's also an ice rink. Four of our players train there, including the professional team captain. These children's parents fully organised our trip: rented a villa, provided a driver. That's what being part of a large hockey family means.
One of our main problems was training times. For three years we fought for a convenient schedule. Sessions started at 19:45, finished at 20:45, and children aged four to seven only got home by 22:30 or 23:00. This is unacceptable. But sports venues in Dubai are oriented towards mass skating, which brings far more money than hockey. They didn't want to give us early slots. This year we finally persuaded the administration: training will start at 18:40. Parents are immensely grateful for this seemingly small shift. But when you've lived with an inconvenient schedule for three years, even an hour makes an enormous difference.

For children's safety, we maintain strict rules. Every child must wear full equipment, including neck protection. Sometimes parents get angry when a coach sends a child off the ice three minutes after the session starts due to missing protective gear. But we're unyielding: safety above all else.

Interestingly, statistics show hockey is one of the safest sports, even safer than football. Protective equipment weighing ten to fifteen kilograms covers a player from head to toe. Of course, in professional hockey with physical contact the risk is higher, but children's and amateur hockey are remarkably safe.

Discipline is another important aspect of our philosophy. If a child behaves inappropriately, we suspend them from training. First for one session, then for three, and if it doesn't help, for a month. There was a case when a coach provided a list of surnames and said: “Either them or me. I won't work with these players.” Despite direct financial losses, we sided with the coach. The group's comfort and safety matter more than one problematic child's comfort.

The financial side of our business is a topic that raises many questions. Some think that with 250 children we should be rolling in money. The reality differs. Practically all profit is reinvested in development: new coaches (that's a flat, car, salary, bonuses), equipment, tournament trips. For three years we worked without serious sponsors, investing our own funds. Only now are partners beginning to appear who are willing to support our cause.

Over three years we've become convinced: hockey in Dubai is more than sport. We've seen how adult businessmen, millionaires, people from the Forbes list, go mad for hockey. Some become so absorbed they forget about families, build training centres at home, live and breathe only hockey. We even have a joking saying: 'If family and work interfere with hockey, we drop family and work.'

Our slogan is “Coolest game in the desert” (a play on words: the coldest/coolest game in the desert). It perfectly reflects what we do. We're not simply teaching children to play hockey; we're creating a culture where the values this sport instils take centre stage: discipline, team spirit, the pursuit of excellence.

Our dream is to make Dubai not only a centre for tourism, shopping, and gastronomy but also a sporting capital where people will fly to train, grow, and develop. We want teams from the Emirates to one day resound throughout the world, as is now happening with basketball in Dubai, where tickets for finals and semi-finals are impossible to obtain.
When we started, many thought we'd lost our minds. Ice in the desert seemed madness. But in a country where the world's best minds and wealthiest people converge, why not create the best hockey academy? The main thing is to believe. And we believe that ice in the desert isn't a mirage but a reality we're creating with our own hands every single day.