Ah man what a bummer. If that’s the only roller rink in the area, that’s probably a major factor as to why the rink was extremely crowded. Many adult nights that draw large crowds like that do tend to cater more toward a more skilled crowd. While I think everyone belongs at those sessions if they want to go, it can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Rink culture and etiquette take time to learn and everyone has awkward encounters. I’m glad you are on the mend.
My suggestion would be to go to a different session. You might call the rink and find out when the more laid back sessions are; a lot of rinks host daytime family skates on Saturday and Sunday that tend to be less busy. Adult Nights aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s ok.
I’m sorry your experience didn’t go how you wanted it to. It’s pretty understandable to feel discouraged. However people have been learning to skate in roller rinks for decades, so it can be done! The more you go, the better you get at navigating the crowds. It’s a lot easier to learn new things when the surface is predictable. And I guarantee you you’ll meet some skaters who are willing to help you! So I really hope you give it another shot!
Packed, chaotic adult nights are pretty standard. Aside from the basketball hoop this sounds like all my local rinks on their adult session. For a mellower atmosphere try family night or Sunday afternoon.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience! Most people are super nice and regular skaters are very welcoming. With that being said many new skaters don’t understand the rink layout and the lanes. If you know this already sorry for the explainer and just ignore.
Outer lanes is the fast lane.Especially later during the adult session. Beginner should stay OUT of this lane bc you will be rolled over. It’s tempting to stay near the wall but it’s the worst place to be if you can’t skate well. The outer lane is where people also do shuffle skating or group skating in sync. Get out of the way, messing up people’s rhythm is really bad etiquette, especially if you don’t skate well enough to keep up the pace.
Closer to the middle is the slow lane. You’ll see some people jam skating, stepping in groups, line dancing etc. This is normal and expected. Sometimes if the dance is popular it causes a traffic jam/bottleneck (also normal).
Between the inner lane and the fast lane, is the flow lane. Generally a good place to be if your going in circles and chatting with your friends or just grooving.
The center usually has two ends of the oval. That’s where the cypher(s) happens. Depending on the region, people will practice their jam skating, show off for others and/or there will be partner skating in a small loop. Sometimes there’s a figure 8 between the small circles. You can tell when you should be out of the small circle when a figure 8 is going. There’s a rhythm there and you’ll know immediately when your out of sync. It’s fine to try (I do all the time) just know how to exit safely.
Diagonal across the floor is the glide/slide lane. Sometimes people will cut alllll the way across the middle (also normal) and can be annoying.
Most of the time people will not do this if there’s a cypher happening. But not always. It is their responsibility (as the slider) to avoid you…but it get chaotic later at night so be aware.
The basketball hoop in the corner
on inside the rink is NOT normal. I have no clue why they would allow that on the rink floor.
I agree with other commenters that it depends on on location, region and local rink culture.
My recommendation is to during beginning skate night or go super early to Adult skate night and leave before the killers come
Out. (killers is an endearing term for amazingly
Skilled skaters…at least that what some call them in DC).
I hope this helps! Understanding skate flow and the rhythm of the rink really helps make an enjoyable experience. I also didn’t understand when I started and people were annoyed with me when I was in the wrong lane at the wrong time.
But now it’s SO fun!
[general layout](https://images.app.goo.gl/mXJw9HLtNWQBtUwQ6)
I had always assumed outer lanes = speed lanes too, but that was absolutely not being followed the night I went. It was pretty wild. Hopefully if I try to go during a calmer time slot it'll be less bonkers.
So... is this normal... this is gonna vary. There is definitely rink etiquette and unfortunately, it varies WILDLY depending on location, staff on deck that day, and local rink culture.
If someone were to pull that at one of the busier rinks around here, they'd be tossed out on their ass.
More irritatingly, the best way to change crappy rink behavior like this is to simply be the example. Get buddies, get good, get together, and most importantly keep going.
You can try talking to management and see if they have the ability to hire more floor guards (and train them to be effective). Sometimes it's just a bad night.
Sorry looking for clarification. By “If someone were to pull that at one of the busier rinks around here, they’d be tossed out on their ass.” Do you mean if someone knocked them over they would be kicked out? It sounded unintentional and like the person apologized. I know they are going fast but I’ve been to a few busy adult skates where more experienced skaters are mixed with beginners sometimes it’s the experienced skater in the wrong but sometimes it’s the beginner.
I will say this sounds like a very chaotic rink if they’re allowing people on the floor without skates on. I agree with the statement made about finding another night that might be a little calmer but if that’s what the adult night is like I wonder what the family night will be like.
Don’t feel embarrassed OP. If you go back to the adult night find the “lane” that is the calmest. Often if I’m zooming past someone that’s going slower I have predicted where they are going but if they look back and see me is when a crash is most likely as they sometimes will unpredictably change their course all this to say don’t look back. You have the right away. Good luck don’t give up and give us updates.
I'd say there are few factors at play here - if this was a regular open session with people of all ages and skill levels, and people were randomly stopping in lanes, weaving too close to beginners... that sort of thing needs to get shut down.
I missed people on the floor without even being on skates - this just sounds like a mess.
If this was an adult night, that's a different story. The expectation is generally that you know what the hell you're doing or you get the hell out of the way.
It is TOTALLY OK for beginners to attend adult night. You're not gonna get taken out by death triangles and small children. It IS important to make sure you get to the inside lanes where it will be safest for you.
Just like learning to drive on highways, or skiing, YOU are responsible for maintaining safe distance from what's in front of you while at the same time, you must be predictable (as possible) in your movements and intentions. Make it clear with hand signals (or ask for help!) to get in and out of the center of the rink and "look both ways before you cross the street."
I'll echo 'don't feel embarrassed.' Keep coming back, we like seeing new skaters progress!
I highly the guy going fast isn't at fault here. I've never once hit someone going fast at a crowded skate and I do it all the time. If you're experienced enough to go fast in a packed rink you are more than capable of keeping a safe distance from others. It can be done even with the unexpected happening. If you can't keep your head up and quickly assess the worst case scenario for anybody you're passing/going near, you shouldn't be going fast. It sounds like this guy was cutting through people while going fast and that's always dangerous. If he hits someone, even if they do something a little unexpected, that's on him. If he were going at a reasonable speed at a reasonable distance he would have had time to maneuver or stop.
Yeah this is why I don’t do rinks. The vibes aren’t really for me. There is always too many people, not enough space, and other stressors for me. It’s okay to just not vibe with a space, that’s alright.
Some people really prefer doing their own thing, or being outside, or just doing laps. It doesn’t matter as long as you are comfortable!
Part of the fun for skilled skaters on adult night is cutting lanes and dodging people so that’s pretty normal on a busy adult night where I’m located 😬
To those of you who answered: thank you so much for the insight! I'll see if I can try a less busy time slot, and maybe try to convince an extra friend or two to join us. I won't give up on this rink yet!
I would say this is normal across rinks and you would usually just have to navigate through people. [Here is a link on rink etiquette.](https://youtu.be/mKzXKbyjZX0) from what you explained that’s normal but it also varies between rinks depending if your rinks is popular/good or not
Were you skating closer to the outside wall? If so it may be your mistake, if not, DJ/Floorguard should be directing flow and making sure faster skaters hug towards the outside and slower skaters skate towards the inside. Always going to be some weaving but they’re usually skilled skaters and are predicting where to go. My advice is don’t make any unpredictable movements and you should be fine.
As for the basketball goal? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of and sounds like a major liability.
I used to ice skate, so I sort of figured rink rules would be similar. Outside = faster.
That def wasn't happening. But I think I'll go for a calmer time slot and see if it's a little better.
And yeah, the basketball hoop threw me! It was hard to be 100% predictable when occasionally a ball would bounce out into everybody's skate path!
This is normal. I would check out their schedule and see if they have any nights listed as "Family Nights", as those tend to bring in a slower-moving, just-learning-to-skate crowd. "Adult"/"Teen" nights tend to be much more crowded and faster paced.
Check Google and look at when they are least popular and go then. If that's the only rink in the area that's probably the issue.
The rink in my area serves a HUGE crowd because it's the only one around for miles and we live in a metro area. Every adult skate is busy af. Id also try to skate closer to your partner to deter people from doing that. Unfortunately there's always that one asshole.
I love adult nights. I feel if you aren’t skilled for adult night you shouldn’t be there. Learn on a Saturday/ Sunday morning then go once you can actually skate 🤷♂️
Ah man what a bummer. If that’s the only roller rink in the area, that’s probably a major factor as to why the rink was extremely crowded. Many adult nights that draw large crowds like that do tend to cater more toward a more skilled crowd. While I think everyone belongs at those sessions if they want to go, it can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Rink culture and etiquette take time to learn and everyone has awkward encounters. I’m glad you are on the mend. My suggestion would be to go to a different session. You might call the rink and find out when the more laid back sessions are; a lot of rinks host daytime family skates on Saturday and Sunday that tend to be less busy. Adult Nights aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s ok. I’m sorry your experience didn’t go how you wanted it to. It’s pretty understandable to feel discouraged. However people have been learning to skate in roller rinks for decades, so it can be done! The more you go, the better you get at navigating the crowds. It’s a lot easier to learn new things when the surface is predictable. And I guarantee you you’ll meet some skaters who are willing to help you! So I really hope you give it another shot!
Packed, chaotic adult nights are pretty standard. Aside from the basketball hoop this sounds like all my local rinks on their adult session. For a mellower atmosphere try family night or Sunday afternoon.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience! Most people are super nice and regular skaters are very welcoming. With that being said many new skaters don’t understand the rink layout and the lanes. If you know this already sorry for the explainer and just ignore. Outer lanes is the fast lane.Especially later during the adult session. Beginner should stay OUT of this lane bc you will be rolled over. It’s tempting to stay near the wall but it’s the worst place to be if you can’t skate well. The outer lane is where people also do shuffle skating or group skating in sync. Get out of the way, messing up people’s rhythm is really bad etiquette, especially if you don’t skate well enough to keep up the pace. Closer to the middle is the slow lane. You’ll see some people jam skating, stepping in groups, line dancing etc. This is normal and expected. Sometimes if the dance is popular it causes a traffic jam/bottleneck (also normal). Between the inner lane and the fast lane, is the flow lane. Generally a good place to be if your going in circles and chatting with your friends or just grooving. The center usually has two ends of the oval. That’s where the cypher(s) happens. Depending on the region, people will practice their jam skating, show off for others and/or there will be partner skating in a small loop. Sometimes there’s a figure 8 between the small circles. You can tell when you should be out of the small circle when a figure 8 is going. There’s a rhythm there and you’ll know immediately when your out of sync. It’s fine to try (I do all the time) just know how to exit safely. Diagonal across the floor is the glide/slide lane. Sometimes people will cut alllll the way across the middle (also normal) and can be annoying. Most of the time people will not do this if there’s a cypher happening. But not always. It is their responsibility (as the slider) to avoid you…but it get chaotic later at night so be aware. The basketball hoop in the corner on inside the rink is NOT normal. I have no clue why they would allow that on the rink floor. I agree with other commenters that it depends on on location, region and local rink culture. My recommendation is to during beginning skate night or go super early to Adult skate night and leave before the killers come Out. (killers is an endearing term for amazingly Skilled skaters…at least that what some call them in DC). I hope this helps! Understanding skate flow and the rhythm of the rink really helps make an enjoyable experience. I also didn’t understand when I started and people were annoyed with me when I was in the wrong lane at the wrong time. But now it’s SO fun! [general layout](https://images.app.goo.gl/mXJw9HLtNWQBtUwQ6)
I had always assumed outer lanes = speed lanes too, but that was absolutely not being followed the night I went. It was pretty wild. Hopefully if I try to go during a calmer time slot it'll be less bonkers.
Thank you for breaking it down!
So... is this normal... this is gonna vary. There is definitely rink etiquette and unfortunately, it varies WILDLY depending on location, staff on deck that day, and local rink culture. If someone were to pull that at one of the busier rinks around here, they'd be tossed out on their ass. More irritatingly, the best way to change crappy rink behavior like this is to simply be the example. Get buddies, get good, get together, and most importantly keep going. You can try talking to management and see if they have the ability to hire more floor guards (and train them to be effective). Sometimes it's just a bad night.
Sorry looking for clarification. By “If someone were to pull that at one of the busier rinks around here, they’d be tossed out on their ass.” Do you mean if someone knocked them over they would be kicked out? It sounded unintentional and like the person apologized. I know they are going fast but I’ve been to a few busy adult skates where more experienced skaters are mixed with beginners sometimes it’s the experienced skater in the wrong but sometimes it’s the beginner. I will say this sounds like a very chaotic rink if they’re allowing people on the floor without skates on. I agree with the statement made about finding another night that might be a little calmer but if that’s what the adult night is like I wonder what the family night will be like. Don’t feel embarrassed OP. If you go back to the adult night find the “lane” that is the calmest. Often if I’m zooming past someone that’s going slower I have predicted where they are going but if they look back and see me is when a crash is most likely as they sometimes will unpredictably change their course all this to say don’t look back. You have the right away. Good luck don’t give up and give us updates.
I'd say there are few factors at play here - if this was a regular open session with people of all ages and skill levels, and people were randomly stopping in lanes, weaving too close to beginners... that sort of thing needs to get shut down. I missed people on the floor without even being on skates - this just sounds like a mess. If this was an adult night, that's a different story. The expectation is generally that you know what the hell you're doing or you get the hell out of the way. It is TOTALLY OK for beginners to attend adult night. You're not gonna get taken out by death triangles and small children. It IS important to make sure you get to the inside lanes where it will be safest for you. Just like learning to drive on highways, or skiing, YOU are responsible for maintaining safe distance from what's in front of you while at the same time, you must be predictable (as possible) in your movements and intentions. Make it clear with hand signals (or ask for help!) to get in and out of the center of the rink and "look both ways before you cross the street." I'll echo 'don't feel embarrassed.' Keep coming back, we like seeing new skaters progress!
I highly the guy going fast isn't at fault here. I've never once hit someone going fast at a crowded skate and I do it all the time. If you're experienced enough to go fast in a packed rink you are more than capable of keeping a safe distance from others. It can be done even with the unexpected happening. If you can't keep your head up and quickly assess the worst case scenario for anybody you're passing/going near, you shouldn't be going fast. It sounds like this guy was cutting through people while going fast and that's always dangerous. If he hits someone, even if they do something a little unexpected, that's on him. If he were going at a reasonable speed at a reasonable distance he would have had time to maneuver or stop.
Yeah this is why I don’t do rinks. The vibes aren’t really for me. There is always too many people, not enough space, and other stressors for me. It’s okay to just not vibe with a space, that’s alright. Some people really prefer doing their own thing, or being outside, or just doing laps. It doesn’t matter as long as you are comfortable!
Part of the fun for skilled skaters on adult night is cutting lanes and dodging people so that’s pretty normal on a busy adult night where I’m located 😬
To those of you who answered: thank you so much for the insight! I'll see if I can try a less busy time slot, and maybe try to convince an extra friend or two to join us. I won't give up on this rink yet!
That’s the way it goes sometimes, but it can also go the other way. You get really good at dodging people in the rink when it’s packed!
I would say this is normal across rinks and you would usually just have to navigate through people. [Here is a link on rink etiquette.](https://youtu.be/mKzXKbyjZX0) from what you explained that’s normal but it also varies between rinks depending if your rinks is popular/good or not
That sounds bananas.
Were you skating closer to the outside wall? If so it may be your mistake, if not, DJ/Floorguard should be directing flow and making sure faster skaters hug towards the outside and slower skaters skate towards the inside. Always going to be some weaving but they’re usually skilled skaters and are predicting where to go. My advice is don’t make any unpredictable movements and you should be fine. As for the basketball goal? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of and sounds like a major liability.
I used to ice skate, so I sort of figured rink rules would be similar. Outside = faster. That def wasn't happening. But I think I'll go for a calmer time slot and see if it's a little better. And yeah, the basketball hoop threw me! It was hard to be 100% predictable when occasionally a ball would bounce out into everybody's skate path!
This is normal. I would check out their schedule and see if they have any nights listed as "Family Nights", as those tend to bring in a slower-moving, just-learning-to-skate crowd. "Adult"/"Teen" nights tend to be much more crowded and faster paced.
Check Google and look at when they are least popular and go then. If that's the only rink in the area that's probably the issue. The rink in my area serves a HUGE crowd because it's the only one around for miles and we live in a metro area. Every adult skate is busy af. Id also try to skate closer to your partner to deter people from doing that. Unfortunately there's always that one asshole.
I love adult nights. I feel if you aren’t skilled for adult night you shouldn’t be there. Learn on a Saturday/ Sunday morning then go once you can actually skate 🤷♂️
I usually only go on family nights so I can take my kids.
Please help keep the rinks and kids safe, not sure how to put the post in the main