Rink Reviews

[Isk8NYC]

I stumbled across a hockey site that has a few rink reviews online.  They are out of date and not completely accurate, but it was a good effort.

http://www.hockeycat.com/rinks.html

Based on how many of us travel with skates to check out rinks, I was thinking that a similar site for figure skating would be useful.  We can find rinks through arenamaps.com, but as Agnes points out, sometimes the webpage outlives the rink itself or skating season.

I looked at their review for SkateNation in Virginia; that's a rink that I've stopped at and even bought stuff in the pro shop.  I felt their review was good and accurate.

The categories the site is using include:

Amenities, Locker Rooms (we might not need, but good to know), Seating, Ice, Cleanliness, Pro Shop, Overall, Directions, Leagues, Website, HockeyCat Rating: x.x paws (out of 5)

I think their rating is really cute - "paws" instead of "points," *chuckles*

We dont' really need the "Leagues" category, but we would need other criteria, such as:  Freestyle (high/low/mixed), Skating Club, Skating Programs, Overhead Harness, Off-ice training, etc.

I think the snack bars need to be reviewed too.

What would be a good survey form to create for reviewing ice rinks from a figure skating perspective?

[jjane45]

What would be a good survey form to create for reviewing ice rinks from a figure skating perspective?

Ice quality review can be rather subjective especially based on one-time visit, but at least it's a reference.

For visitors
- Is figure skating allowed on public sessions
- Identifying extremely crowded sessions
- Requirements for FS ice (pre-registration, skill level,...)

For new comers
- ISI or USFS curriculum
- Size of skating program / club
- Specialty coaches or programs (dance, pairs, etc)
- Skating school bonuses (discount for family, taking multiple lessons, free public pass, etc.)

[SK8N]

Availability, length and prices of freestyle and public sessions.

[jjane45]

Bumping the thread up. What are some possible ways of implementing this? Static HTML site is too difficult to maintain. Live spreadsheet? Wiki? Or using one of our sub-forums, say one thread per rink?

...somehow I feel this thread will get more replies in a different sub-forum?

[VAsk8r]

I looked at their review for SkateNation in Virginia; that's a rink that I've stopped at and even bought stuff in the pro shop.  I felt their review was good and accurate.

Hey, I've been to that rink! Many, many times  The freestyles are expensive, but it's a great rink. I've also skated a lot at Iceland in Virginia Beach, which is also reviewed on hockeycat. It's not nearly as nice as SkateNation but much cheaper.

I think all these suggestions for things to review are good. Some others:
1. How much are freestyle skaters allowed to do on public?
2. How well are the rules enforced on public?
3. How much are the publics?
4. Are skaters who are new to the rink allowed to just get on an FS session or do they have to demonstrate skills first?
5. How helpful/friendly are the staff?
6. How well are freestyle rules enforced?

Only problem is, I'd be a bit reluctant to review my home rink because we're small enough that I think the staff could figure out who wrote it.