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PM Bruce, your Admin, at the FRRP Facebook Page.
Roberta Molaro, on owning your own roller rink @ FRRP Facebook Group:
Follow that dream ... We did - for 26 years (the SKATERY, Pillow).
How to do it ...
.... Save enough for a substantial down payment. Keep your mortgage as low as possible so you can get through the summers without a major struggle!
.... Meanwhile ... Work at a rink, cleaning the floor & bathrooms, floor guarding, box office, bookkeeping, snack bar, dreaming up promotions and executing them, teaching beginner classes, create flyers and everything else involved to operating a roller rink. Do everything!
.... Don't go in blind like the guys who bought ours. Even though we offered to continue teaching, they didn't think classes were necessary (after all, they could skate -sorta - and they never took a lesson. Being able to stop without grabbing the wall was good enough for them!)
.... TAKE lessons! You may have to teach your beginner class. That's where your future skaters get hooked on skating!
.... When you finally have your own rink's keys in your hand and walk into that building, don't be too overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it!
.... There may be a LOT of things you want to change, but don't take too much on all at once! Things are the way they are because that's what has been working for the former owner. Start by changing what doesn't really work for you, after a while.
.... Save most changes for summer. Your first six months should be pretty good because everyone in town will be curious and want to see what's going on.
... Each summer make a change or two. It will bring them back in the Fall to see the changes.
.... Think 4-5 ... no 10 times before buying into the "latest and greatest" of anything.
... oops .... I didn't mean to write a book!!!!!!
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Dennis Lauer @ S k a t e L o g F o r u m - August 20th, 2011:
Why are rinks closing?
Another item that may be driving rinks out of business is the general lack of any teaching of roller skating skills. How long can skaters maintain interest in skating if all they do is skate round and round falling down on a regular basis.
Skaters need to be constantly learning new things to help them maintain interest and drive.
Perhaps rink owners should consider classes and private lessons. A lot of this can be laid at the feet of the governing board of roller skating (USARS). How many rinks give artistic or speed skating lessons? Why isn't the governing board doing more to encourage growth of the sport?
Also RSA (Roller Skating International) is supposed to be helping the roller skating industry grow. Yet they don't seem to be encouraging rink owners and operators to sell roller skating. They seem to think every skating rink needs to be an entertainment center having a teen nightclub atmosphere with dancing on the skating floor without skates, rock climbing walls, paintball areas, etc. Doing this helps to kill roller skating.
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Henry Haffka @ Skate Magazine - May 1961:
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Henry Haffka @ Skate Magazine - October 1961:
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