Visiting a roller skating rink is a subject that requires some knowledge and education for any skater. There are two primary factors to consider first, are you a beginner skater or an experienced skater?? This is important for many reasons. Can you skate?? Do you have good floor etiquette?? These two questions come with their own categories of understanding.
By Pharaoh – Thursday, August 18th 2022
Rental Skaters
This is a difficult topic to discuss because it can easily move towards a list of annoyances, which may not always carry merit. First, it’s important for you to know that we want new skaters in our sessions. I want to see you there. Your presence makes the session worth it and more fun. Allow me to be honest about some of that latter statement. We are Chicago JB skaters, the city where JB Skating was created. We are underground heroes, so we like to show off. I like to show off. I welcome an audience.
Floor Etiquette
My simple definition is the ability to enter the floor, maneuver on the floor and exit the floor without getting in someone’s way or making people fall. I gotta be honest, a quick way to piss off a JB skater is to run into someone, cause a fall or get in the way of a group routine. This may sound negative but staying out of people’s way is a key part of JB Skating etiquette. This is what you must know as a new or visiting skater.
Open Spaces
Aside from all the potential negativity that comes with discussing floor etiquette, there are other things that you need to know before visiting a roller rink. You need to know the volume of the skatership for the session. How many people are on the floor at a time?? On BC Mondays, there’s at least 50 people on the floor at all times. How fast do the skaters skate on the floor. During JB skating sessions, we move fast. We move fast on the wall and down the middle of the floor. For your safety, JB Skating sessions are really for experienced skaters. You need to be able to keep your balance, avoid collisions and not get spooked.
We Want To See You
I hope this doesn’t turn you away. The JB Skating Culture houses a very special community and we welcome everyone. We teach our style and share it with anyone who want to know about it. There are several videos of JB Skating sessions on the internet and social media. However, watching those videos doesn’t give a true sense of how the sessions are. So, I recommend you visit. Come through!!