Turbo's Roller Rink Review
Golden Skate Roller Palace -- San Jose, CA
An excellent rink with a large polished cement floor (the markings on the floor indicate that it was once an ice hockey rink) and good music (they even played a few happy hardcore songs). The manager is very friendly and is one of the greatest rexing coaches in the U.S. This rink is home to the talented
Special FX Rexing Club
. I always have a good time when I visit this rink.
Thunderskate -- Fort Pierce, FL
I had a terrific time at this rink, mostly because the music was excellent. The floor is huge (another past ice hockey rink), but very loose. The lighting was decent. There were a couple of rexers (in Florida, the term "shuffle" is preferred to "rex"), but no organized club. Roller hockey is available at this rink.
Roller Kingdom -- Reno, NV
This medium-sized rink has recently come under new ownership and management. It features a variety of video games, very good lighting, and a new purple plastic floor. This rink is home to the Nitrous Oxide Competitive Rexing Club. There are frequent special events during a skating session--including wipeout, races, red light-green light, and paddle tag--which may annoy those who simply wish to skate.
*Update (1/13/03): Roller Kingdom is being treated like slum apartments; there are very few, if any, improvements made to the rink. The purple floor is extremely loose and dangerous. The same carpeting has been in the rink for around 20 years. The DJs do not know anything about basic music theory. Concomitantly, the price of admission has
increased
, making this rink a terrible value for the money. The rexing team has basically fallen apart due to lack of instructor control and knowledge. The team has been renamed to "Synergy Rexing," but it takes much more than a changing a team name to improve a skating club.
Skateworld -- Vandalia, OH
This is a medium-sized rink with a wood floor. Unfortunately, the managers are not very friendly and the lighting is nothing special. Rexing and artistic moves must be limited to a small, middle section of the floor. Moreover, backwards skating is only permissible during designated songs (which occur very infrequently). Too much old school music is played at this rink.
*Update (2/21/02): Skateworld no longer restricts rexing to the center of the floor. Also, the music seems to be a bit better, although they are still very dependent on old school music.
??? - Island Roller Dome -- Dayton, OH
This rink does not get a rating because when I was the only person who showed up! I think the owner knew that I was coming, so he openned up the building for me. The owner was very friendly, and he let me come in for free and skate for a little bit and told me about the history of the rink. This rink was used in the past for giant raves, and the unpolished, wood floor must be the largest in the country. I could tell that the rink had not gotten much use, and it needs a bit of fixing up; however, this location has a lot of potential.
Skatin Place Skating Center -- Cincinnati, OH
The polished cement floor and lighting were decent, but some of the staff were not very friendly. Rexing is completely prohibited, although there were a few skaters that did so anyway (when the floor-guard was not looking). Some of the skaters are very good, and it is a shame that they have no organized rexing team. Also, backwards skating is prohibited, except for couple skates.
Skate Trak -- Carson City, NV
This is a completely lousy skating rink, with no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. It is smaller than average and has a terrible skating surface, namely tiles. Some of the tiles are in disrepair and, due to the nature of a tile floor, the skating surface tends to be bumpy. There is also a scary one inch gap from the edge of the floor to the wall. The owner, manager, and other workers were both very unfriendly and unprofessional (to put it delicately). The lighting and music at this rink is very poor. There was neither an artistic or speed skating club. Going to this rink was truly a colossal waste of time and money. I would rather give myself a frontal lobotomy with a sledgehammer than go back there again.
*Update (1/13/03): It has come to my attention that Skate Trak has gone out of business. This is not much of a surprise to me.
Skate Town, USA -- Fort Pierce, FL
This rink has a very tight, average sized wood floor and the best lighting I have ever seen at a skating rink. It is home to a speed skating team, but there are no artistic skaters. The music is decent; however, when the owner's daughter is the Dj, she plays only country music and does not honor song requests (During one afternoon session, I was one of only three people at the rink. We requested some dance music, but this Dj played only what she wanted to hear). The rink is surrounded by a dangerous 3/4 foot tall "step," rather than by walls.
Skate Reflections -- Kissimmee, FL
This is an excellent rink in all respects. The skating surface--a smooth, polished cement--is well cared for. The music was good and the people were very friendly. The Dj really was enthusiastic about her job, donning a bizarre looking wig and fooling around with a variety of props. She noticed that I was from out of town and made me feel very welcome.
CalSkate -- Milpitas, CA
This medium-sized rink is noteworthy for its excellent speed skating team, but beyond that it is unremarkable. It features a wood floor and decent music, but could use better lighting.
Roller King Skating & Blading -- Roseville, CA
This rink has a medium sized, bumpy wood floor. There was nothing special about the lighting and the sound system did not have enough bass. Also, more dance music needs to be played at this rink. Nonetheless, this rink has a number of strong qualities. First, it has the friendliest staff--including the manager, Dj, and snack bar workers--I have ever met at a roller rink. The Dj was even willing to play outside music for me. This rink also has recycle bins for paper waste. Further,
Roller King
has an artistic/rexing program available taught by nationally certified coaches. However, there were no rexers at the rink.
Sunrise Rollerland -- Sacramento, CA
This rink has a large, tight wood floor. It features a large speed skating team, but only a few rexers. Both the music and lighting are good.
Uncle Bruce's Skate'n'Place -- Fallon, NV
This well-lit rink is very clean. The polished cement floor is smaller than average and tends to have a chalky substance on the floor, but it is nevertheless an enjoyable place to skate. It is home to a new rexing club that is sure to become very talented in the next few months.
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