How to Register for Richmond Recreation Programs

The short answer

Most Richmond recreation registration runs through MyRichmond, and the work that matters happens before registration night. Browse the listings before the opening. Pick a first choice and a backup. Set up your MyRichmond account, and have a credit card ready. On the night itself, aquatics opens first. A short virtual waiting room may hold you for a few minutes, and payment is due when you book. Phone and in-person registration exist, but they open later than online registration for a seasonal launch, so online is the route that gets you in earliest.

Before registration night: browse, then set up the account

Start at the City's registration page, richmond.ca/register. You do not need an account to look around. General Search shows all activities, while Activity Search lets you narrow the results, save your searches, and download a printable PDF. That PDF is the closest thing to the old seasonal program guide: it is your shortlist, not a separate booklet you need to track down.

Two things need to be settled before the opening time. First, your MyRichmond account. Online registration requires one, so creating it during the rush is a needless risk. Second, your payment method. Online registration requires a credit card. If either piece is missing on the night, use the phone or in-person route instead of trying to fix an account while spots fill.

While you browse, read each listing in full, including its dates, location, and price. Prices vary by program and are shown on the listing itself; there is no single Richmond recreation fee to quote, which is why this guide does not list one. Also check the schedule with care. Program information and schedules are subject to change, and a program with too few participants is cancelled about seven days before its start date. Registering early helps in two ways. You secure a spot, and the class is more likely to reach the numbers it needs to run.

How the seasonal cycle works

Richmond runs registration by season, and each season has its own opening dates. The pattern to expect is a split opening: aquatics first in the evening, then all other programs later the same evening, with in-person and phone registration following the next day. That split is the detail people miss. Do not turn up in person at the online opening time, because in-person registration has not started yet.

At the time of writing, the published dates are for Winter 2027: online on Tuesday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m. for aquatics and 9:00 p.m. for all programs, in person on Wednesday, November 18 when facilities open, and by phone on Wednesday, November 18 at 8:30 a.m. through the Registration Call Centre. Treat those dates as the current season's dates only. When the next season is announced, its dates replace them. Planning around last season's times is how people miss the opening entirely.

If cost is a barrier, Richmond runs a separate Recreation Fee Subsidy Program. It is a different application from program registration, with its own documents, so look into it before registration night rather than after you have already paid. The subsidy office can be reached at 604-247-4909 or subsidy@richmond.ca.

Registration night: the waiting room and the three routes

The City recently added a virtual waiting room, run by Queue-it, to the registration system for busy periods. If traffic is high, you may be placed in it automatically before you enter the system. The wait is often just a few minutes, and its purpose is to stop the system slowing down or dropping transactions under load. The City is explicit on one point: there is no need to log on early. Logging on early gives you no advantage, and not every registration triggers a wait at all. Smaller programs and low-traffic times go straight through.

Online registration runs through your MyRichmond account, at any time once your season's opening time has passed. Phone registration runs through the Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding statutory holidays. In-person registration is available at any community facility, including Nature Park and Arts, Culture and Heritage facilities.

For help with registration itself, the same call centre number applies, and the registration help email is Reghelp@richmond.ca. Keep both handy on the night. If the site stalls or a payment fails, you want the phone number in front of you, not buried in another tab.

After you book: withdrawals, transfers, and refunds

Richmond's refund rules depend on the kind of program, and the deadlines are strict. To withdraw, transfer, or request a refund, call any Parks, Recreation or Culture facility or the Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Do not assume that simply not showing up counts as notice. It does not.

The rules, as published in June 2025, are as follows. For seasonal programs, notice before the beginning of the third session gives a refund less the sessions already taken, while notice after the third session has begun gives no refund. For private and semi-private lessons in music, aquatics, and skating, and for aquatic leadership courses, notice 72 hours before the program starts gives a full refund, and less than 72 hours gives no refund. For short programs of one week or less, camps, out trips, and workshops, less than one week's notice gives 50% of the fee, notice on or after the start date gives no refund, and transfers are allowed with 72 hours' notice before the start date. For preregistered single fitness sessions, notice before the session starts gives a full refund. The City points people to richmond.ca/register for how to cancel a session, or to the facility directly.

Some programs and sessions may also carry a no-refund policy for items such as art supplies or special guests, so read the listing before you pay. Where the listing says something different from the general rules, the listing governs.

If your first choice is full

Have a backup before you start, not after you find out your first choice is gone. Search for the same program at another time or location, and check whether a shorter or similar program fits. Then call the Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300 and ask what remains. The centre can see availability across facilities in a way a single listing cannot show, and it is the right place to ask about alternatives for a full class. What you should not do is wait and hope a spot opens on its own. Spots for popular programs go on registration night, and the next season's dates will be months away.

Ask about the waitlist while you call. The City manages waitlists by phone, so joining one means calling the Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) or any community facility — it is not something you do online. Make sure the phone number on your MyRichmond account is current, because that is how the City reaches you if a spot opens.

A checklist for registration night

• Shortlist a first choice and a backup from Activity Search, and print or save the list.
• Confirm your MyRichmond account works and your credit card is ready.
• Note the two online times for your season: aquatics first, then all programs.
• Expect a possible few-minute waiting room, and do not log on early to try to beat it.
• Pay at registration, check the confirmation for dates and location, and note the withdrawal deadline for your program type while you can still meet it.

Sources

• City of Richmond — Program Registration — registration routes and times, the waitlist-by-phone rule, refund rules, and the Call Centre hours.

Related guides: how to register a business in British Columbia, how to start a sole proprietorship in BC, how to be an owner-builder in BC.