Rink Reviews (aka Rink Roundups)

[nicklaszlo]

Suggested Review Content (updated January 2017)

Name of rink
- Location (sometimes the rink name doesn't match the town name)
- Ice quality
- Schedule
- Cost
- Add a link to the rink's website if possible.
- # of ice sheets
- Parking availability and quality of parking (well-lit, paved, easy access, safe travel to rink entrance)
- Mass transit info
- FS club and estimate of how active they are at the facility
- Pro shop - does it have items or sharpener for FS?
- Snack bar
- Party room(s)
- Other activities on site
- Cleanliness, maintenance
- Bathroom status
- Locker room status (if known)
- Types of sessions - public or freestyle
- Club ice / guest policy
- Availability of permanent locker rentals

[icedancer]

I LOVE this idea!!

I had a blog where I regularly reviewed and very nicely pilloried the rinks in my area - the rink managers generally LOVED it - even when I pointed out the obvious things like potholes (well, they seemed like potholes), bad lighting, guys with hockey sticks on public sessions (!) and stuff like that - I think it is all with how you approach it -

This being from a figure-skaters perspective!!  What the recreational public or hockey skater likes and wants is different from the figure skating crowd that is for sure!

[Bill_S]

I like this idea too. One additional feature - take a photo of the rink if you can. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words!

[Isk8NYC]

Welcome to www.skatingforums.com's new Rink Roundups forum!

Feel free to post honest reviews of rinks from a figure skater's perspective, keeping in mind that these are your own opinions.  Try to be objective and fair: if three busloads of school kids are at a rink, it's probably not going to be pristine or quiet.

Would someone please contribute a "template review" that can be a guideline to standardize posts going forward?

Thanks
Isk8NYC

PS to nicklazlo: You have moderator privileges on this forum if you see something that needs tweaking or if a spammer gets by the regular staff of moderators.  ☺

[nicklaszlo]

Oh, I didn't realize I was a moderator.

[Isk8NYC]

So, here is a suggested list of elements to include in your review:

. Name of rink
. Location (sometimes the rink name doesn't match the town name)
. # of ice sheets
. Parking availability
. Mass transit info
. FS club and estimate of how active they are at the facility
. Pro shop - does it have items or sharpener for FS?
. Snack bar
. Party room(s)
. Other activities on site
. Cleanliness, maintenance
. Bathroom status
. Locker room status (if known)
. Types of sessions - public or freestyle
. Club ice / guest policy

Any or all can be included, but don't stress if you don't use the whole list.

[nicklaszlo]

Please comment on
- Ice quality
- Schedule
- Cost

Add a link to the rink's website if possible.

Reviews for figure skaters in this forum.  There are lots of other sites taking reviews for ice tourists.

(suggestions updated January 2017)

[nicklaszlo]

even when I pointed out the obvious things like potholes (well, they seemed like potholes)

One rink I skated at had real potholes in the parking lot.  Big enough to lay down in.  The lot also flooded on a regular basis.

[scooter]

So rinks in our area....

Westchester Skating Academy, Elmsford NY. Lots of FS time, with crappy ice. One ice has moguls in it and the other has warts the size of hockey pucks. Their dehumidifier has been dead for years now and the water drips from the ceiling creating the  huge warts, which the dont chop off, just run the zamboni.  The only time they ever cut the ice properly is if they have a show like the one Rohene Ward did last year, or a clinic like the Paul Wylie one. Decent restaurant/bar overlooking both ices, Pretty clean facility.

Harvey School Everts Ice Rink, Katonah NY. Lots of FS in the summer with one ice, but very constrained during the school year. They do have an evening FS on Wednesday nights, even during hockey season. The rink is well maintained and clean, belonging to a private school. My only complaint is that if it gets super hot, the antique wood building ins't well insulated so you can get fog and softening of the ice if there's a real heatwave. There is a viewing room with good wifi, but no food or drink available, other than bottled water from the machine.

Chelsea Piers, Stamford CT. 2 Sheets with decent FS time, very nice but hard ice. Gorgeous CLEAN facility with everything. Hospital for Special Surgery PT attached to the building has the Burdenko Method current pool for rehabbing skaters (Budenko rehabbed Nancy Kerrigan after the whack on the knee heard round the world). If you join chelsea as a member, ice time is more reasonable and you have access to the hot tubs, etc. Comfortable viewing area with restaurants. I would go here all the time, but the commission from the coaches are too high, so her's wont teach there. Also, big chucks of ice time have by bought up by Skyliners Synchro team for practice.

Brewster Ice Arena, Brewster NY. FS schedule definitely comes way down the list of priorities now that the owner's daughters no longer skate. He's all in on hockey. There are 2 full sheets indoors, and an awful little 3/4 size outdoor rink, with no music, exposed to the elements and no where for the parents to sit, where they try to send the little skater girls in spandex when it's 20* out so they can squeeze in one more hockey tournament. The  indoor ice is fine, but the rink is a squalid pit. The bathrooms frequently look like a human exploded all over them, and the restaurant kitchen is such that I am amazed that they have not been called on by the board of health. My kid skated there for three years before they cleaned the floors inside, at which point I discovered that they are not black, but in fact red...which tells you the level of grime.

Wonderland of Ice, Bridgeport CT. Single sheet with very limited FS ice. If you go there take cash, as no credit cards are accepted. I have never seen the food stand open there. Just soda/water vending machines. Uncomfortable veiwing area with picnic tables and benches with no back rests.

The Rinks at Shelton Sports Center of CT, Shelton CT. Beautiful  facility with 2 sheets and good ice time. Food and drink available. Comfortable waiting area. Center has  Mini golf, laser tag, batting cages for other family members to be entertained.

Ice House Hackensack, NJ 4 sheets with loads of freestyle and excellent coaches. The serious FS rink in the area.

Chelsea Piers NYC, home to Skating Club of NY. 2 sheets, lots of FS. good quality ice. Lots for the family to do while waiting.

Sport o Rama, Monsey NY. Lots of FS on good quality ice. I would go there more often if it were closer.

Ice Time Sports Complex, Newburgh, NY. Multiple sheets of extremely hard ice. Lots of FS. Nowhere heated for people to wait. No food.

[celia]

Chelsea Piers NYC, home to Skating Club of NY. 2 sheets, lots of FS. good quality ice. Lots for the family to do while waiting.

Just a note that Chelsea Piers is down to 1 sheet of ice this summer while they renovate the East Rink.