Newsgroups: rec.sport.skating.roller,rec.sport.skating.inline Subject: Roller Skating Rinks Southeastern Region List FAQ Summary: Roller Rinks in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia References: Sender: Followup-To: poster Reply-To: grr@tharsis.com Distribution: Organization: George's Pet Unix System Keywords: skating,roller,in-line,FAQ Expires: Tue Oct 31 00:02:43 EST 1995 Archive-Name: roller-skating/rinks-southeastern Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-Modified: Wed Aug 9 04:34:56 EDT 2000 *** Copyright 1994-2000 by George Robbins - see detailed note at end *** This is the Southeastern Region section of the Roller Skating Rink list. Maryland - North Carolina - Virginia - West Virginia - Washington DC For information about the organization of the individual entries, sources of the material, or how to submit an entry for your rink, please see the overview posting, which posted at the same time as these sections. This document is posted periodically to the rec.sport.skating.roller usenet newsgroup, and can also be accessed via the world wide web (www) using the following URL: http://www.netaxs.com/people/grr/Roller Please e-mail any comments, corrections or additions to: grr@tharsis.com Especially looking for: PLEASE remember that schedules and other details are subject to change. The intent of the list is to help you find interesting rinks. It's up to you to call the rink and make sure there's a time and type of session that is compatible with your plans and interests. ======================================================================== Index ==== Southeast Region Maryland Western and DC Suburbs - (301/440) Bowie, MD 20716 Allen Pond - 301-249-2244 (seasonal) Braddock Heights/Frederick, MD Braddock Heights Roller Rink (aka Stargaze Skateways) - 301-695-4757 (closed) California, MD Skate Station - 301-862-2922 Clinton/Maryland Suburbs, MD Clinton Skating Center - 301-868-6454 Cumberland, MD Moon Glo Skating Rink - 301-724-9086 Star Lite Roller Skating Center - 301-724-5500 Gaithersburg, MD Sportland America - 301-840-8404 Hagerstown, MD Family Skating Center (aka Roller World, Sammy's) - 301-582-2020 Starland Roller Rink - 301-739-9844 Laurel, MD Laurel Skating Center - 301-725-8070 Marlow Heights/Washington DC, MD Skate Palace (aka Crystal Palace) - 301-894-8500/899-6048(shop) Owings, MD Calvert Roller Skating Center - 301-855-6202/410-257-7772 Rockville, MD Rockville Skating Center - 301-340-7767 Seabrook/Lanham/Maryland Suburbs, MD Seabrook Roller Skating Rink - 301-577-1733 Waldorf, MD Waldorf Roller Skating Center - 301-843-1122 Eastern - (410/443) Bel Air, MD Bel Air Roller Rink - 410-838-8192 Baltimore, MD Shake & Bake (at Baltimore Neighborhood Rec Center) - 410-728-7601/728-7607(center) Crofton/Odenton, MD Skate City II - 410-721-3971/721-7155 Dundalk/Baltimore County, MD Skateland North Point - 410-282-0223 Pasadena, MD Pasadena Roller Skating Center - 410-437-3636 Putty Hill/Baltimore County, MD Skateland (Putty Hill) - 410-661-7778 Salisbury, MD Skate Land - Salisbury - 410-742-1070 Towson/Baltimore County, MD Skateland (Orchard) - 410-825-3013 Upperco/Baltimore County, MD Sportsman's Hall Roller Skating Center - 410-833-1170 Westminster, MD Carroll Indoor Sports Center - 410-857-5098 (hockey) White Marsh, MD Freestate indoor Sports Arena (also On the Edge Sports) - 410-344-0767 (see text) North Carolina Eastern - (919) Durham, NC Wheels Recreation Park (aka Wheels Family Fun Park, ...) - 919-598-1944 Garner/Raleigh, NC Skate Ranch of Garner - 919-772-4297 Goldsboro, NC Round-A-Bout Skating Center III - 919-778-1831 Greenville, NC Sportsworld - 919-756-6000 Henderson, NC Skateeum - 919-492-5033 Kinston, NC Galaxy Skating Center (aka Galaxy of Sports) - 919-522-4656/522-3038 Morehead City, NC Sportsworld of Morehead - 919-247-4444 New Bern, NC Rollerland - 919-633-3804 Raleigh, NC Skate Ranch Number 1 - 919-872-1149 Skate Town - 919-787-2181 Roanoke Rapids, NC Skateworld - 919-535-3041 Rocky Mount, NC Sky-Vue Skateland - 919-442-7418 Sport World Roller Skating - 919-977-0600 Sanford, NC BJ's Skate Ranch - 919-774-4596 Tarboro, NC Tarboro Skate Center - 919-641-1218 Washington, NC Skate Trak Of Washington - 919-946-6076 Wilson, NC Wheels Of Wilson - 919-237-7113 Central - (910) Asheboro, NC Jones Skating Rink - 910-629-1364 Roll-A-Bout Skating Center - 910-626-7000 Burlington, NC Roll-A-Bout Skating Center - 910-227-7769 Clemmons, NC Skateland USA Of Clemmons (aka Hawkins ...) - 910-766-6699 Clinton, NC Seven Gables Skating Rink - 910-592-3948 Dunn, NC Wheels Of Dunn - 910-892-4647 Eden, NC J-R's Archery & Skating - 910-623-9605 Roll-A-Bout Skating Center - 910-627-5173 Fayetteville, NC Round-a-Bout Skating Center (Bordeaux) - 910-323-1818 Round-a-Bout Skating Center (Eutaw) - 910-484-4466/484-4465 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Indoor Roller Hockey - 910-230-2220 (hockey) Skateland USA North - 910-621-5632 Skateland USA West - 910-855-1669 High Point, NC Carousel Skating Center - 910-434-2554 Rol-A-Rink Skating Center - 910-869-3715 Jacksonville, NC Skate World - 910-455-1977 Wheels Roller Skating Rink - 910-455-8711 Jonesville, NC Star Lite Skate Center - 910-526-2050 Kernersville, NC Skate World - 910-993-3382 Laurinburg, NC Rockers Roller Dome - 910-277-1998 Lumberton, NC Mr P's Skateworld - 910-738-2888 Mount Airy, NC Starlite Skate Center - 910-786-7676 North Wilkesboro, NC Wheel Fun Skating - 910-667-8500 Pembroke, NC Pembroke Skateland - 910-521-0990 Rockingham, NC J & M Skating Golf & Games - 910-895-0590 Skating Rink - 910-895-4304 Roxboro, NC Outer Limits - 910-599-5065 Sneads Ferry, NC Star Skating - 910-327-2277 Sparta, NC Village Entertainment - 910-372-4144 Thomasville, NC Great Skate - 910-472-1499 Topsail Beach, NC Topsail Skating Rink - 910-328-3281 Wallace, NC Skate City - 910-285-3479 West Jefferson, NC Roll Arena Skating Rink - 910-246-7755 Whiteville, NC Gliding Skates the Second - 910-642-0292 Wilmington, NC Showtyme Skating Center (aka Skaters Choice ...) - 910-791-6000 Sunset Skating Center - 910-791-8550 Winston-Salem, NC Skatehaven USA - 910-765-1041 Skate Odyssey - 910-785-1050 Western - (704) Albemarle, NC Footloose Skating - 704-982-8665 Asheville, NC Skate-A-Round USA - 704-645-4715 Boone, NC Skate World Roller Skating - 704-264-5994 Burnsville, NC Riverside Roller Rink - 704-682-2651 Charlotte, NC Grand Central Skate Station - 704-536-0800 Roll-A-Round Skate Center - 704-568-5700 Skate Palace - 704-552-2626 Tradewinds Skating Center (was Kate's) - 704-523-6455 Concord, NC Frye's Roller Rink (aka Skateland USA) - 704-782-5513 Forest City, NC Skates & Stuff - 704-248-1308 Franklin, NC Franklin Skateway - 704-524-8429 Gastonia, NC Starburst Skating Rink - 704-853-3333 Hendersonville, NC Skate-A-Rama Skating Center - 704-693-8818 Hickory, NC Skateland USA of Carolina - 704-322-8824 Hudson, NC Skylite Skating Rink - 704-728-4803 Indian Trail/Charlotte, NC Kate's Skating Rink (was Super Skate Center?) - 704-821-7465 Iron Station, NC Act 3 Skateland - 704-735-1164 Kannapolis, NC Skateland USA - 704-938-3013 Lawndale, NC Rollerama Skating Rink (aka McIntyre ...) - 704-538-8261 Lenoir, NC Roller Palace - 704-758-9098 Lexington, NC Anchor Skating - 704-249-1386 Lowell, NC Kate's Skating Rink - 704-824-2552 Monroe, NC Hatley's Skating Rink - 704-289-6752 King's Skating Center - 704-283-2780 Morganton, NC Pavilion Roller Skating - 704-433-5655 Murphy, NC Murphy Skateway - 704-837-9552 Oakboro, NC Oakboro Skating Rink - 704-485-3981 Robbinsville, NC Outer Limits Skating Rink - 704-479-3725 Statesville, NC Statesville Skateland (aka Wonderland Skate Center) - 704-872-1618 Sugar Grove/Boone, NC Skate World of Boone - 704-297-3296 Swannanoa, NC Tarwheels Skateway - 704-298-6606 Waynesville, NC Mountain Skate Center - 704-456-4441 Virginia Northeastern and DC Suburbs - (703) Alexandria/Virginia Suburbs, VA Franconia Roller Rink - 703-971-3334 Appalachia, VA Star Skate Roller Rink - 703-565-9822 Leesburg, VA The Rink - 703-771-4684 Manassas, VA Skate City - 703-361-0425 Skate City USA (aka Skate-n-Fun Zone) - 703-361-7465 Woodbridge, VA Total Sports Pavilion - 703-490-4988 (hockey) Eastern - (757) Franklin, VA Isle of Wight/Franklin Skating - 757-569-9316 Hampton, VA Plaza Roller Rink - 757-723-7993 Newport News, VA Peninsula Family Skating Center - 757-599-4769 Portsmouth, VA Plaza Skating Center - 757-488-7751 Suffolk, VA Plaza Roller Skating Rink - 757-934-3866 Virginia Beach, VA College Park Skating Center - 757-420-0187 Haygood Roller Skating Center - 757-460-1138 Kempsville Family Skating Center - 757-420-9400 Ocean Arena Sports Complex (aka USA Entertainment) - (planned) Strawbridge Skating Center - 757-427-1668 Wattsville/New Church/Chincoteague, VA Dream Roller Rink - 757-824-4515 Central - (804) Altavista, VA Celebrate & Skate - 804-369-7078 Ashland, VA Skateland of Ashland - 804-798-6550 Chester, VA Skateland - 804-748-0379 Danville, VA Skatetown Of Danville - 804-836-3648 Hayes, VA Hot Wheels Family Skate - 804-642-9134 Lynchburg, VA Fun Quest Family Skate Center (aka Skateland of Lynchburg) - 804-237-4930/239-6411 Mechanicsville, VA Skate America - 804-730-3252 Midlothian/Richmond, VA Roll-O-Rama - 804-378-0791 Skate-A-Way - 804-674-5070 Montross, VA Stan's Skateland - 804-493-9890 Petersburg, VA Rollercade - 804-733-4151 Richmond, VA All American Skate - 804-233-7215 Golden Skateworld West - 804-270-2314 Skateland #3 (aka Airport Skateland) - 804-222-5765 South Boston, VA World Of Sports Skating (aka Sport Gallery) - 804-572-6969/572-2695 Timberlake/Lynchburg, VA New London Skateworld - 804-525-5320 Western - (540) Appomattox, VA A/J Skateworld East - 540-352-2270 Bealeton/Lois, VA Hugo's Skate Way - 540-439-8814 Berryville, VA Berryville Roller Rink - 540-955-2507 Christiansburg, VA Dominion Skating Rink - 540-382-8511 Coeburn, VA Lonesome Pine Moose Lodge - (closed) Collinsville, VA Roll-a-Bout Skating Center - 540-647-1160 Covington, VA Skateland Roller Rink - 540-962-3885 Culpeper, VA Dominion Skating Center - 540-825-3141 Edinburg, VA Stoney Creek Roller Rink - 540-984-4022 Elkton, VA Rainbow Roller Rink - 540-298-8878 Fredericksburg, VA Skateland Of Fredericksburg - 540-898-2049 SLAPSHOTZ - 540-785-4625 Galax, VA Galax Roller Land - 540-236-5281 Harrisionburg, VA Skatetown USA (aka Skatetown Harrisonburg) - 540-433-1834 Lebanon, VA Hilltop Skating Rink - 540-889-4536 Marion, VA Hall's Skateland - 540-783-2690 Maxwell/Tazewell, VA United Skates - 540-988-9720 Pounding Mill, VA Skateworld - 540-963-2337 Purcellville, VA Purcellville Skating Rink - 540-338-9261 Roanoke, VA Skate Center Of Roanoke Valley - 540-989-2000 Star City Roller Skating Center - 540-362-9500 Stafford/Fredericksburg, VA Cavalier Skate Center - (under construction) Staunton, VA Skatetown Staunton - 540-885-3798 Vinton/Roanoke, VA Olympic Roller Skating Center - 540-890-2250 Waynesboro, VA Skating TRB's - 540-949-7007 White Post, VA Mac's Roller Rink - 540-869-2129 Winchester, VA Winchester Skating Center - 540-667-6464 Woodlawn/Hillsville, VA Carrollwood Campground Skating Rink - 540-728-9312 West Virginia All Areas - (304) Anstead, WV Anstead Skating Rink - 304-658-5564 Bluefield, WV Skatetown USA - 304-327-8175 Bridgeport, WV Bridgeport Skate World - 304-842-4426 Buckhannon, WV Skateland - 304-472-5472 Buckhannon Skateworld - 304-472-6275 Charleston, WV Derrick's Roll Arena - 304-744-3081 Craigsville, WV Craigsville Roller Arena - 304-742-5418 Daniels, WV Daniels Skate Center - 304-253-8017 Fairmont, WV Fairmont Roller Rink - 304-367-1766 Fayetteville, WV Fayette Skate-Arena (aka Antiques, Crafts and Things) - 304-574-2702 Gassaway, WV Jim's Roller Rink - 304-364-8828 Huntington, WV Camden Park - (closed) Roll-A-Rama Skate Center - 304-529-0909/529-7504 Skateland - 304-525-1933 MacArthur/Beckley, WV Macarthur Skating Rink - 304-252-8439 Moundsville, WV Roller Derby - 304-845-9146 Parkersburg, WV Skate Country - 304-422-6600(tape)/428-6782 Pennsboro, WV Pennsboro Roller Rink - 304-659-3981 Pineville, WV Wyoming Sporting World - 304-732-9510 Princeton, WV Skateland - 304-425-1032 Ripley, WV Ripley Skateland - 304-372-2921 Sistersville, WV Rendezvous Roller Rink - 304-652-9971 Scotts Depot/Hurricane, WV Skatearena - 304-757-7023 Spencer, WV Skateland - 304-927-5555 Summersville, WV Xanadu - 304-872-6438 Webster Springs, WV Webster Skateland - 304-847-7621 Washington DC All Areas - (212) Washington, DC Anacostia Park Skating Pavilion - (outdoor) Sculpture Garden Ice Rink - 202-371-5340 (outdoor) The White House - 202-456-1111 (outdoor) ======================================================================== ======================================================================== ************************************************************************* * Neighborhood/Rink Safety Notes * ************************************************************************* * * * Specific skating rinks in this section are tagged as *NOT* being * * located in in good neighborhoods or suffering from other potential * * personal safety problems. * * * * If you choose to visit them, please take appropriate precautions * * for your own safety and peace of mind. See the safety section in * * the overview posting for some specific cautions and suggestions. * * * ************************************************************************* Maryland (301+440) - Western and DC Suburbs Bethesda, Cumberland, Frederick, Greenbelt, Hagerstown, Rockville, Silver Spring Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directories. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 301+440 area codes. ==== Bowie, MD 20716 Allen Pond 330 Northview Drive - Collington Branch Park Take the beltway to Route 50, East. Exit at 197. Bear right at the fork. Take the first right onto Northview Drive. The pond will be about 1/2 mile on the right. 301-249-2244 Seasonal - Outdoor? [ net gleanings ] Allen Pond is a beautiful community park located in Bowie, with a seasonal ice/roller rink. There are also soccer, baseball, basketball fields and boat house with canoes and paddle boats. Lots of picnic/barbecue areas. ==== Braddock Heights/Frederick, MD 21714 Braddock Heights Roller Rink (aka Stargaze Skateways) 4604 Old Swimming Pool Road - off Route 40A Frederick is located about 50 miles west of Baltimore and 45 miles south of Gettysburg, PA. Braddock Hieghts is located about 4 miles west of Frederick along US 40 Alt - Old National Pike. From I-70, get off at the US 40 Alt exit and head west, away from Frederick. Just after the exit ramp turn left onto Clifton Road and follow it about a mile and then turn right at the first intersection onto Old Swimming Pool road. Follow this up the hill for about a half mile till you see some buildings on the right, the rink is a long, red, two-story building with many lighted windows further back off the street. 301-695-4757 Closed Hardwood Floor - 45'x100' - Fair Condition Snack Bar - Games - Not Air-Conditioned - No Smoking In-line skates permitted and available for rent RSA Member Rink [ Elvin S. Long - update 8/19/98 ] Just to let you know, the Braddock Heights/Frederick, Md roller rink (aka Stargaze Skateway) was completely destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of this date. [ grr ] According to an article in the June 1996 Washington Post, the Braddock Heights roller rink has been owned by David Yinger for the past ten years. The rink may be the oldest operating rink in the country, as it was built around 1902 as part of the now defunct Braddock Heights amusement park, and retains much of the original appearance, with wood floor and open rafters, but there's also colored lighting and a DJ booth. They have one of the old-fashioned illuminated sign boards to indicate specials. Yinger purchased the rink to preserve the old-fashioned entertainment for local familes. Smoking is prohibited and dress codes are strictly enforced. During kids sessions they have specials like the hat dance, the Hokey Pokey and the limbo. They play a variety of music including Top-40 and skating music. The rink also has occasional chaparoned sleep-overs for kids including skating, games, movies and snacks. [ grr ] I visited the Braddock Heights rink on a Saturday night, which is their Teen Super Skate session. The skating crowd was mostly kids and young teens with a few older teens, presumably there would be more adults for their Sunday family night session. The music was mostly contemporary heavy metal, with some pop, country and skating favorites thrown in for variety. The sound system was more than adequate, with a teenage DJ playing from CD's. The lighting was mostly low-tech with some colored spot lights, mirror ball and a strobe. The most obvious feature of this rink is that it is quite small, about 45'x100'. While I'm used to much larger rinks, the small ones can be fun as long as they're not too crowded, and this crowd was reasonable. You just have to be careful about lean and placement, as if you were going really fast, and stay alert for kids that can pop up very close at hand. The floor is in reasonable condition, parts of it are fine, but there are some spots that are a little rough or wavy. Since it's on the second floor there's a nice bounce in places. The floor is surrounded by a railing made of large plastic drain-pipe. I'd be happier with this if there was a baseboard to keep legs clear of the uprights and to keep the little kids from just rolling under the railing out onto the floor at any point. The entrance end has a nice little snack bar one one side and the skate rentals and restrooms on the other. There's no real skate shop, but a small display case with stuff you can buy or order. There are a few party tables, pinball machines and video games wedged in where they could fit. The decor is farily random but homey, with foam insulation panels blocking off the original ceiling, mostly painted wood walls and lots of windows. The building was orginally the "Casino Building" for an amusment park along the trolley line just outside of Frederick. The upstairs served as a roller rink and dance hall, while downstairs was an 8-lane manually set bowling alley and arcade area. This had been used for storage, but the lanes are still in place and the owner is working on restoring the area to provide recreational/party space. This rink dates to 1902 and has a pretty strong claim to being the oldest operating roller rink in the country, though it was seasonal up though at least the 30's leaving room for alternate claims. One thing that impressed me about this rink was the friendly staff and that everyone seemed to be having a good time. They also offer learn to skate classes and advanced private lessons coached by Wally Swanbeck, though they don't have a competitive club. ==== California, MD 20619-3058 Skate Station 7950 Three Notch Road California is located along the Pautuxet River near the Chesapeake Bay area about 50 miles south of Wasthington along Rt 235 - Three Notch Road. The rink is probably near California, though Rt 235 is the main route to the Pautuxet River Naval Air Station and it could be further in that direction. 301-862-2922 ==== Clinton/Maryland Suburbs, MD 20735-2103 Clinton Skating Center 6805 East Clintom St. Clinton is southeast of Washington. From I-95, take the Rt 5 - Branch Avenue Exit and head south on Rt 5. After about 3 miles, make a sharp left onto Malcom Road, then a right onto East Clinton. The rink should be in the first block. 301-868-6454 Mon-Fri 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating Monday 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Gospel Night (2nd, 4th & 5th Monday only!) Tues 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Adult 25+ night Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Night Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Open Skating Fri 8:00 PM - midnight Gospel Night (2nd Friday 7-10PM!) Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Geared towards Teens Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Adult 21+ night Wood Floor - 186'x76' In-line skates w/brakes permitted [ aboulanger@ldgo.columbia.edu (Albert Boulanger) - edited ] Clinton Skating Center had an OK adult skate form 7-10 PM Tuesday. As I recall, they also have an adult skate on Sunday. [grr] Rockville is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain and is represented by the National Capitol Dance and Figure Club out of the Seabrook MD rink. ==== Cumberland, MD 21502-2304 Moon Glo Skating Rink 12700 Bedford Road Northeast Cumberland is in the northwestern Maryland panhandle area. From I-68, get off at the US 220 exit, and head north on US 220, which will turn right to follow Bedford Road. The rink is somewhere northeast here, along Bedford Road. 301-724-9086 Fri 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sat 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Hockey Club This rink has limited public hours and focuses mainly on birthday and private parties. ==== Cumberland, MD 21502-7030 Star Lite Roller Skating Center 100 National Highway - US 40A Cumberland is in the northwestern Maryland panhandle area. From I-68, get off at the Rt 51 - Queen City Drive exit and head north on Queen City for a couple of blocks, then turn right onto Balritmore Avenue across the tracks and left on Henderson Avenue, which is also US 40A. The rink should be about three blocks up on the right - if not, you'd best ask a local. 301-724-5500 ==== Gaithersburg, MD 20878 Sportland America 9811 Washington Boulevard - Rio Mall Gaithersburg is located about 20 miles north of Washington, about halfway to Frederick. From I-270, get off at the Sam Eig Highway exit and head north, opposite the I-370 Spur. The rink should be in or ajacent to the Rio Mall, which is just off the highway in this area. 301-840-8404 Mon noon - 10:00 PM Tues noon - 10:00 PM Wed noon - 10:00 PM Thurs noon - 10:00 PM Adult Session live DJ in the evening Fri noon - midnite Sat 11:00 AM - midnite Sun 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Small In-line and quads skates available for rent [ web gleanings ] A 55,000-square-foot indoor amusement center with more than 300 skill and video games, roller skating rink, bumper cars, batting cage, pool tables, miniature golf, soft play mazes, velcro jumping and gladiator climbing wall. According to the taped message, there's an "Adult late skate" on Thursdays with a live DJ, the rest of the time they probably play tapes or a music service. There appears to be a small Sportland America chain, the one I've visited had a small wood skating floor with a couple of support posts for obstacles, this one may differ. ==== Hagerstown, MD 21740-7604 Family Skating Center (aka Roller World, Sammy's Skating Center) 1733 Virginia Avenue - US 11 Hagerstown is located in northwestern Maryland near the junction of I-70 and I-81. From I-81, get off at the US 11 exit and head east towards Hagerstown for about 1-1/2 miles. The rink should be on the left in the area of Halfway Boulevard. 301-582-2020 RSA Member Rink ==== Hagerstown, MD 21740-4136 Starland Roller Rink 800 Park Road Hagerstown is located in northwestern Maryland near the junction of I-70 and I-81. From Downtown, head southeast on US 40, then turn left onto Rt 64 - Cleveland Avenue, and then right onto Jefferson Street, then left onto Division Avenue and up to Park Road. The rink should be at the corner of Division and Park. 301-739-9844 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO, Hockey and Speed Clubs ==== Laurel, MD 20723-1906 Laurel Skating Center 9890 Brewers Court Laurel is located in eatern Maryland, about midway between Baltimore and Washington DC. The rink is located along US 1, about 1-1/2 miles north of Laurel, on the east side just past where the northbound and southbound routes converge. 301-725-8070 Mon 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Open Skating (Christian 1st Monday) Tues 10:00 AM - noon Morning Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Discount Night Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Adult Dance/Fun Skate Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Organ Music (tapes) Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Geared towards Teans Sat 10:00 AM - noon Tiny Tots 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Family Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Open Skating Sun 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Open Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Alternating Country, Gospel and Dance *** additional weekday matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor - 186'x'76 Laurel is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain. [ JOYCE.PASTORE@hq.doe.gov (Joyce Pastore) - edited ] I am the competitive skate coach at the Laurel skate club. We are part of National Capital Dance & Figure club, which includes rinks that belong to Jack Becker (a once very proficient coach himself). We provide beginner to advanced level skaters training and have had many national placements. We also provide inline classes for beginners. There is a nice Wednesday evening adult "fun skate" with dance sets from 7 to 10 PM. [ megan@snowmelt.gsfc.nasa.gov (Meg Larko) - edited ] Sunday night at Laural is a special theme which changes each Sunday, e.g. Country music night or Gospel music or Dance night. There is a competitive club at Laurel coached by Joyce Pastore. The web page with last years Regional and National results are on http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/megan/Meg.skate.html ==== Marlow Heights/Washington DC, M 20748-1004D Skate Palace (aka Crystal Palace) 3132 Branch Avenue Marlow Heights is located in Maryland just outside of Washington DC. From the I-495 Beltway south of I-95, get off at the Rt 5 - Branch Avenue Exit and head west on Branch Avenue towards Washington. The Skate Palace is in a shopping center on the right side of the road, between Naylor Avenue and the Suiteland Parkeway. The most obvious sign for the shopping center is for a Pawn Shop, the Skating Rink sign is harder to spot. The rink sits sort of above the road, and if you hit the Suiteland Parkway interchange or a residential area, you missed it. 301-894-8500/899-6048(shop) **** See the neighborhood/rink saftey note in the overview posting Mon 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM Gospel Night Tues 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Ladies Discount Night Wed 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Kalorama Night Adult-25 & Up Thurs 8:00 PM - 11:30 PM Adult-21 & Up Fri 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM Family night 11:30 PM - 2:30 PM Late Night Gospel Skate Sat noon - 4:00 PM Matinee Skate 8:00 PM - midnight Sun noon - 4:00 PM Matinee Skate 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Adult-25 & Up (sometimes ends a 11:00 PM) *** additional weekday matinee session during the summer Wood Floor - 80'x180' - Good Condition - Smaller Party Floor Snack Bar - Skate Shop - Game Room RSA Member Rink [ anon ] The Crystal Palace is definitly one of the largest skating facilities on the East Coast. It's in a strip mall in a not so great neighborhood near DC - Park near a light, think twice about going at night, and don't carry weapons because they will definitely check you. Once you get in though, it's a great place to skate. They have a very small floor for children or absolute beginners and a fairly small floor for relatively slow skaters and then the biggest darn floor I've ever seen for the jammers. A competitive speed skater I know was asked to leave the floor for skating too slow. Not for the faint of heart. [ grr ] I talked to a person working at the rink Pro shop. According to him, the rink clientelle is predominatly black, though there are a few white skaters. I asked if there were any problem with white visitors and he said no, at one time the rink did have a bad reputation, but since then they have brought in security and cleaned up the problems. The Thursday night session is apparently the highest energy session, while Wednesday and Sunday are quieter due to the over 25 age limit. I later visited the Skate Palace on a Sunday night. This was a very mellow session, not at all like described above. There were maybe fifty skaters, and the music was basically dance oriented, not high energy, but rather slower stuff that you could take it easy with or put some feeling into your skating. No hardcore or nasty Rap, at least during the second half of the session I hit. This floor was one of the most slippery I've run into on a dry day - I'm not sure if it's normally this way or they'd just cleaned it or something. They were in the process of sanding down the smaller floor prior to refinishing while I was there. While the facility is large, the floors aren't excptionally so - the main floor is about 80'x180' and the smaller/party floor is maybe 60'x90' with a couple of padded posts out in the middle. The skate shop is attractive and well stocked, they had some disco specialty items and some older wheels (FO-MAC) stocked and on display. They are one of the few outlets to carry the Bones Elite wheels in colors, not just the usual white and whiskey flavors. There wasn't much security in evidence, maybe one roamer. The parking lot is off street, partially isolated and reasonably well lit. I was able to park near the entrance, but on a crowded night you might end up off in the darker margins. One local newspaper article implied there had been fewer problems at the rink since they has stopped hosting live music events, while an older article mentioned fights as a crowd of 2,500 youths left the rink. As always, conditions may vary radically by season and between teen and adult sessions, so take care... ==== Owings, MD 20736 Calvert Roller Skating Center Route 4 and Chaneyville Road Owings is on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay east of Washington. From I-495 - The Washington Beltway, take Rt 4 - Pennsylvania Avenue south. You will pass a Safeway on the right-hand side of the road. The next traffic light is Chaneyville Road. The rink is at the corner of Rt 4 and Chaneyville, about 19 miles from the beltway. 301-855-6202/410-257-7772 Mon 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM Dollar Night Tue 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Night Wed 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Early Evening Skate (kids 10 & under) Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Country Music and 50's-60' hits Fri 7:00 PM - midnight Late Night Teen Skate Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM *** additional weekday matinee sessions when school is out Wood Floor - 186'x76' In-line skates permitted Calvert is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain and is represented by the National Capitol Dance and Figure Club out of the Seabrook MD rink. ==== Rockville, MD 20850-1341 Rockville Skating Center 1632 East Gude Drive Rockville is north of Washington, along I-270. From I-270, take the Shady Grove exit. Bear right on the exit ramp and take the cut-off marked Redland Road. Take this road to Rt 355. Turn right on Rt 355 and go to the third traffic light which should be Gude Drive. There is a Chevy dealer and an Exxon station at the intersection. Turn left on Gude Drive and go to the fifth traffic light and turn left and then immediately turn right onto a service road and you're there. 301-340-7767 Tues 7:00 PN - 10:00 PM Adult 18+ Night Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Discount Night Fri 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Geared towards Teens Sat 10:AM - noon Tiny Tots (except summer) 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Family Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Geared towards Teens Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Faimly Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor - 186'x76' Rink-Safe in-line skates permitted [ slebzak@oasys.dt.navy.mil (James Slebzak) ] If you skate Rockville on Tuesday adult night. Say *hi*. [grr] Rockville is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain and is represented by the National Capitol Dance and Figure Club out of the Seabrook MD rink. ==== Seabrook/Lanham/Maryland Suburbs, MD 20706-2631 Seabrook Roller Skating Rink 9901 Lanham-Severn Road Seabrook is just northeast of Washington. From the I-495 Beltway exit 20, head west on Rt 564 - Lanham-Severn Rd for about 2 miles. The rink should be near 98th Avenue, on the right as you go up a slight hill past the post office. 301-577-1733/577-9639(payphone) Mon 8:30 PM - 11:30 PM Private Gay Night (DC Sports Assoc) Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Discount Night Wed 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Adult 25+ Night Thur 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Gospel Music Night Fri 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Session 10:00 PM - noon Kids Session (school year only) Sat 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Public Matinee 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Session Sun 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Public Matinee 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Session ** additional weekday matinee sessions in the summer Maple Floor - 186'x76' - Fair Condition - Sometimes Dirty Snack Bar - Games - No Smoking - Air Conditioned In-line Skates permitted USAC/RS Artisitic and JO Clubs [ esmith@melpar.esys.com (Eric Smith) ] The National Capitol Dance & Figure Club is a competitive artistic roller skating club located in the Washington, D.C. area. The club actually encompasses five skating rinks which roughly form a circle around the nation's capital. The rinks are located in: Calvert County, Franconia, Rockville, Seabrook, and Waldorf. The rinks are all located in Maryland except for Franconia which is in Virginia. National Capitol is chartered in Seabrook, MD, which makes it part of the Southeastern Region. National Capitol has skaters in all artistic disciplines and an excellent teaching staff. Margaret Bargmann . . . . . . . . . . . Calvert Skating Center David and Debra Adamy . . . . . . . . . Franconia Skating Center Kay Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rockville Skating Center Ronald Fitzgerald . . . . . . . . . . . Seabrook Skating Center Carl Henderson . . . . . . . . . . . . Waldorf Skating Center In addition, there is a non-competitive skating club located in Laurel, MD. For furthur information about National Capitol Dance and Figure Club, e-mail your questions to Eric Smith at: esmith@melpar.esys.com [ StuSkater@aol.com (Stu Newman) - edited ] The Seabrook rink was the first in the Wheel-A-While chain built by Jack and Nancy Becker. The floor is wood and about 186'x76' - all the rinks in the chain have similar size floors. New Roll-On is put down about every three years although the club members grumble about this and try to persuade Jack to do it more often, but it just doesn't happen. The floor is dry mopped daily, at least during the artistic skating season. The in-line skates which are now allowed are beginning to take a toll on the floor with gouges and dents. They are not currently being inspected for compatibility with the floors so I'm sure we will see some additional damage before any inspection or restriction is put in place. There isn't much of a skate shop, but the manager keeps some supplies on hand and can get skates ordered in about a week if he doesn't have them in stock. Quality skates are something else, most competitors here deal with the manager knowing that it will take some time to get the supplies because Snyder or A.T.L.A.S. parts are not usually in stock. The coach, Ronnie Fitzgerald, often has a piece or two to get you back on skates from things like broken king pins, axles, lock nuts and a bearing or so. The snack bar has the conventional sodas, popcorn, ice cream, etc. and outside food and drink are not allowed. There is no smoking allowed in the building and exiting the building requires a new admission to re-enter. There are pinball and the usual electronic arcade games. The rest rooms are tolerable but the clientele have a knack for seeing what they can break up while they are there. The building is usually air-conditioned, but with the moderate DC area weather it is sometimes difficult to persuade the manager to turn it on. Prince George's County is predominately black and this is reflected in the rinks public session clientelle. The music(?) selection is aimed at the younger African-American preferences and there are no dance or artistic sessions, though some of the other rinks in the chain do have those activities; Pasadena on Tuesday evening and Laurel on Wednesday evening. I get discouraged trying to skate at a different rink to hear music and then they don't have anything we can skate to. My wife and I are competitive skaters so we like music you can dance to and it is just not available at Seabrook at any time other than club time or during a skater's lesson. The National Capitol Dance & Figure Club has about 60-70 skaters from five of the rinks in the Wheel-A-While chain and 40+ went to nationals this year, so we are quite active and successful in the Southeastern Region. [ DickKitty@aol.com (Dick & Kitty Hopkins) - edited ] Most sessions are just that, no dance time or public sessions that are attended by club members. The pro, Ron Fitzgerald, usually teaches seven days a week starting in the early morning. ==== Waldorf, MD 20602-9805 Waldorf Roller Skating Center 3410 Waldorf-Leonardtown Road - Rt 5 Waldord is located in southern Maryland, about 25 miles south of Washington, DC along US 301. From US 301 in the Waldorf area, head east on Waldorf-Leonard Road - Rt 5. The rink is probably not far from US 301 and is behind a Taco Bell and the Chew-Chew Lounge, a strip joint. 301-843-1122 Mon 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Fri 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Sat 10:00 AM - noon Tiny Tots (10 & under) 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor? - 186'x76' Waldorf is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain and is represented by the National Capitol Dance and Figure Club out of the Seabrook MD rink. Their sessions are all open admission, family oriented. ======================================================================== Maryland (410+443) - Eastern Annapolis, Baltimore, Ellicott City, Salisbury Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directories. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 410+443 area codes. ==== Bel Air, MD 21014-1809 Bel Air Roller Rink 1403 Conowingo Road (Business US 1) Bel Air is located in northeastern Maryland about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore along US 1. From Baltimore, head northeast on I-95 and get off at exit 24 - Rt 24, then head north on Rt 24 into Bel Air and on to where it joins the US 1 Bypass. Follow Route 1 until you come to a T-intersection with Business US 1 - the rink is directly across the street. 410-838-8192 Fri 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM (3rd Sat is Christian Music) Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM *** may be more sessions call Hardwood Floor - about 160'x80' - Good Condition Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Air-Conditioned In-line Skates Prohibited RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs This rink was built in 1952 by Charles Durham, who ran it until he died in 1994. He willed it to his manager, Eloise Hagy, who now runs it with her daughter. The rink probably hasn't changed a whole lot since it was built - It's a big cinder block building with an arched wood roof and open trusses on the inside. The entrance, snack bar, seating and skate rental are at one end with a passage along one side of the floor leading back to the restrooms at the rear and a tiny, narrow practice floor. The hardwood floor is about 160'x80' and in reasonably good condition. It's smooth, but there are a few lengthwise wavy spots and little dips at the front end. Somewhere between coats of varnish, it got a coat of battleship grey, but you can see boards where that wore through. Threre is a fairly large area in the center set off by a black line that has a couple sets of figure and loop circles. An interesting feature is the pipe railing around three side of the rink, which hangs from the roof trusses so that it doesn't actually reach all the way to the floor! This has its good and bad points, but I guess it's been the way it is for a long time. I attended their Saturday evening session, which was pretty mixed in age, from little kids to young teens and a few older teens and adults. It was moderately busy - from what the attendent said, on Friday night there's a big line of kids when they open, but Saturday is slower and only gradually fills up. The music was mostly Top-40 stuff played by a teenage DJ, but the sound system was pretty miserable - four sets of antique speakers out in the middle which sounded ok for light tunes but completely muddled anything with bass or mid-range. In general the rink is set up as a local, family operated, fun-for-kids operation. The problem is they have rather restrictive posted rules and even though the rules said "no freestyle in the center", when I went to practice figures there, the skate guard came over and told me that I couldn't skate in the center at all. He was nice about it, but said if kids saw me, they they'd be all over the center too. The most daring thing that skaters were allowed to do, other than skating forward, was a spread-eagle, side-winder skating. On kid was working on skating just on one set of rear wheels, another had some good indide and outside broken ankle stuff. They did have backwards and couples only specials. The rink does have an artistic club with several coaches, actually the only one in eastern Maryland until you get down into the Baltimore - Washington corridor. They have Christian music for the third Saturday evening session each month. There were signs that mentioned a Tuesday night session and also a monthly Rock Oldies session, but they didn't mention these when I asked about the schedule. ==== Baltimore, MD 21217-3116 Shake & Bake (at Baltimore Neighborhood Recreation Center) 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue Shake & Bake is located in downtown Baltimore in the area north of the Harbor. From I-83, get off at the US 1 - North Avenue exit and head west on North Avenue to Rt 129 - Druid Hill Avenue, southeast on Druid Hill to Wilson Street, turn left onto Wilson and go four blocks to Pennsylvania Avenue. Turn left and the recreation center should be halfway down the block, across from Pitcher Street. 410-728-7601/728-7607(center) Sun 7:30 PM - midnight Adult? Session Wed 7:30 PM - 11:30 PM Adult? Session Wood Floor **** See the neighborhood/rink saftey note in the overview posting [ mindset@earthlink.net (Kevin Williams) - from list ] This rink is in the 'hood. [ Jioj309@aol.com (Joi Loftin) - edited ] I went to Shake and Bake skating rink this Saturday for a skating party. The rink is located inside of a recreation center. The floor is wooden, but the decor gets a big zero. Not much to say about this rink, it used to be a gymnasium. ==== Columbia, MD 21045 Supreme Sports Club 7080 Deepage Drive Supreme is located in the southern part of Columbia, from Route 32, get off at the Broken Lands Parkway exit and head north on the Parkway, then make the first right onto Snowden River Parkway. After about 1/2-mile, turn left onto Carved Stone Drive at the Brunswick Lanes and then right onto Deepage Drive. 410-381-5355 Fri noon - 3:00 PM Matinee (summer only) 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Rink Safe in-lines skates permitted and available for rent This is primarily a member oriented sports club, but they also offer weekly public skating sessions in an indoor arena. They feature pop music and have quad and in-line skate rentals. In-line skates must be "rink safe" and have non-marking brakes. The other facilities include raquetball/handball courts, weight rooms, various machines, basketball/volleyball arena, indoor track, pool, sauna, pro shop and a restaurant/bar. ==== Crofton/Odenton, MD 21114 Skate City II Route 3 South at Capitol Raceway Road Crofton is located between Washington and Annapolis near the Bowie racetrack. From Baltimore, take I-97 south to Rt 3, from Washington take US 50/Rt 301 east to Rt 3. Capitol Raceway Road is just north of Davisville road. 410-721-3971/7155 Wed 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Wacky Wednesday Thurs 9:30 PM - 11:30 PM Stroller & Trike Skate 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM 99-cent night Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Teen TGIF Night Sat 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Tiny Tots (8 & under) noon - 4:30 PM Afternoon Matinee 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Retro Music 70's & 80's Sun 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Afternoon Matinee RSA Member Rink Skate City has a stroller skating session for mom pushing stroller and kids on (rink safe) tricycles on Thursday mornings. In addition to the public sessions they have several pick-up hockey sessions, including on for adults 18&up on Wednesday evenings. ==== Dundalk/Baltimore County, MD 21222-1413 Skateland North Point 1111 North Point Boulevard North Point is along the Back River just east of Baltimore. From the I-695 Beltway, head for the Key Bridge, take exit 39, go about a block and turn left on to Rt 151 - North Point Road. The rink should be a mile or so down on the left. 410-282-0223 Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:30 PM - midnight Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM Sun 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM *** Sat evening double session skate-thru option also ==== Pasadena, MD 21122-1210 Pasadena Roller Skating Center 2318 Mountain Road Pasadena is located in eastern Maryland about halfway between Baltimore and Annapolis. From the Baltimore area, take either I-87 or the Arundel Freeway - Rt 10 south to Route 100 - Mountain Road Bypass, then get off at Catherine avenue and head north for about a half-mile to Mountain Road. Turn left to head west on Mountain Road and the rink should be about two blocks down on the right. 410-437-3636 Mon 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating (alt Mondays are 1/2 price) Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating (adult/artistic??) Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Discount Night Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Public Skating Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - midnight Public Skating Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor - 186'x76' In-line skates w/non-marking brakes permitted USAC/RS JO and Speed Clubs Pasadena is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain. Apparently they aren't part of the National Capitol Dance and Figure club, and have independent Speed Clubs. They are supposed to have some kind of adult/artistic session on Tuesday evenings. ==== Putty Hill/Baltimore County, MD 21236-3711 Skateland (Putty Hill) 8019-8025 Bel Air Road Putty Hill is just northeast of Baltimore. From the I-695 Beltway, take exit 32, and head north on Rt 1 - Bel Air Road. The rink is on the right, just before the Ridge/Putty Hill Road intersection, but it's off the road and hard to see. Look for a neon-lit Jerry's car dealership and then a Denny's. The rink is set behind the Denny's sharing the same entrance road. 410-661-7778 Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:30 PM - midnight Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM Sun 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM *** Sat evening double session skate-thru option also Wood Floor - 180'x76' - Octagonal - Excellent Condition Snack Bar - Games - Air Conditioned - No Smoking In-lines Skates Permitted I dropped in on Skateland for their Saturday late skate. Even though this session runs till 1AM, it is an all ages session and there was a mix of young kids and teens, with only a few older teens and adults present. I found this odd, but there were some non-skating parents just watching and I guess it also serves as a late evening supervised child-care, for parents that work or want Saturday night on the town. You can't get in for the late session till 11PM, but skaters doing the double-session apparently get to skate through the half-hour break. It was at the end of a long day for the rink and perhaps didn't show it to best advantage. Although the rink is a relatively modern suburban design and nicely decorated, it was dirty - pieces of paper towel strewn around, a moderate amount of kid goo on the floor, the mens room was flooded, with the floor covered with wheel muck, the snack bar area had been mopped and was super-slippery. The floor is a relatively large 180'x76' and is in really nice condition. It is flat and smooth, and gripped well, which really helped when coming down the long straightaway and having to cut in sharply to avoid kids. There were some clumps of kid goo, but I only had to stop a couple times to run my wheels across the carpet to clean off bits that stuck. There was a relatively small rectangular area in the center delineated by a black line and also some faded figure circles outside this area that had apparently never been restored after a refinishing. There was a carpeted runway all the way around the rink, with the carpet relatively clean and easy to roll on. The snack bar was pretty large and there was a large adjacent open area with party tables. There are lockers and an area with video games. There was a counter with some wheels on display that I wouldn't quite count as a skate shop. The rentals were mostly pastic quads and some leather speed skate, and I didn't notice if they had rental in-lines. This was an all ages session and they broke up the session with some games - hokey pokey, topsy-turvy and four-corners. There were one or two optional couples-only skates and a backwards skate. Instead of ending with a couples only, they did a race where they kids with their own skates took them off, the skate guards scrambled them and the kids had to run from the far end, put them on, tie and get back to the far end. I guess the winner got a free pass, but it was mostly to get the kids out of the skating mood and off the floor. The DJ played mostly top-40 with a couple of country songs thrown in. The sound system was simple - a cluster of six sets of speakers hung over the center of the rink provide adequate volume and good quality throughout the rink. The lighting was pretty basic, a couple stars of colored light bars over either end of the rink, but the most obvious effect was a some of the area lighting synchronized to the music, the flickering was almost strobe-like but not as irritating. The kids at the rink were pretty friendly, for a while I had a pack playing follow the leader with me. They seemed a bit awed by even simple things like outside spread eagles and three turns. One girl complimented me by saying I made it look so easy and another kid was scratching his head at some fast backwards footwork. Most of the kids were just skating fowards with a few attempts at pack shuffling, but the skate guard didn't object to my skating backwards or turning. There were a couple hulking college-age security guys, but they were friendly. People coming in got a quick pass with a hand-held metal detector, but I overheard them explain that it was more because of past trouble at the other (Towson) rink than any problem there. The manager projected a "Mom" atomosphere, she indulged in a bit of good natured harrasment of some of the kids during the games over the PA sytem and seemed to know a lot of the kids by name. There appeard to be be about a half-dozen special status teens, I'm not sure if they were part-time skate guards at the earlier sessions, members of a speed team or just long term rink rats. The only real question I have about this rink is - where are the adult skaters in Baltimore? ==== Salisbury, MD 21801-6920 Skate Land - Salisbury 1305 South Division Street Salisbury is located on the Delmarva Penninsula, a few mile south of the Delaware border. From downtown, head south on Business US 13 - Salisbury Boulevard for about a mile or so to Milford Street, turn left a cross the old railroad tracks and continue to where the street dead-ends at Division Street. The rink should be within a block or so either way. 410-742-1070 Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM Fri 7:30 PM - midnight Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM Sun 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM *** Sat evening double session skate-thru option also RSA Member Rink [ web gleanings ] Rollerskating! Available for birthday parties, private parties and special groups. Admission fee charged, dependent on day and time. Skate rental available. ==== Towson/Baltimore County, MD 21286-2142 Skateland (Orchard) 8855 Orchard Tree Lane Towson is just north of Baltimore. From the I-965 Beltway, take exit 29 - Loch Raven Parkway, south to the intersection with Joppa Road. Turn right, Orchard Tree should the the second road on the right. 410-825-3013 Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:30 PM - 12:30 PM Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 9:30 PM - 12:30 AM Adult-21 Session Sun 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM A number of articles in the Baltimore Sun describe problems at this rink that are mostly associated with the crowded Saturday evening session, but not with other sessions or at the owner rinks in the country also owned by Michael Rommel. The core of the problems seems to be that the Saturday night session features rap music and draws a crowd of as many as 500 predominately black youths into the largely white suburban area. While the vast majority are there to skate and have a good time, there has been a long history of fights, gang turf disputes, rowdiness and vandalism in the neighborhood that the local residents and businessmen associate with crowds leaving the rink or loitering in the area. Other nights feature rock or Top-40 music and draw attendance mostly from the immediate neighborhood. While the owner employs private security guards and metal detectors to control problems inside the rink, he says that he can't be responsible for what people do outside his business. Various solutions have been tried including crowd limits, creating a special Saturday night bus stop right the rink and assigning extra police patrols to the area, but according to police the problems recur. Community members have pushed to get the rink to abandon the rap music and change to a format that would supposedly atract a more racially mixed or smaller attendance. In 1995, the county passed a law requiring the licensing of skating rinks, with Towson in mind. The law gives the county more power to influence the operation of rinks and the threat of closure or failing to renew the licence of a rink that's held to be a public nuisance. The current resolution seems to be that the Saturday night is reserved for private parties, than an adult, 21 and over, late session. ==== Upperco/Baltimore County, MD 21155-9710 Sportsman's Hall Roller Skating Center 15500 Hanover Pike Upperco is a crossroads along Maryland Route 30, about 25 miles northwest of Baltimore. The rink is along Hannover Pike about 5 miles north of Reisterstown. From the Baltimore area, take I-795 - the Northwest Expressway to the northern end at Reisterstown, head briefly south on Rt 140, then turn left to head north on Rt 30 - Hannover Pike for about 5 miles. The rink will be on the left, it's well lit with big windows so you can see skaters and hard to miss. 410-833-1170 Wed 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Fri 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Hardwood Floor - 172'x80' - New Snack Bar - No Smoking - Not Air-Conditioned RSA Member Rink Sportsman's Hall was an old rink that was kind of out in the country, perhaps midway between Baltimore and Gettysburg on the old main road, rather than in any town. The rink burned down in 1995 or 1996 and apparently just reopened in January 1997. When I visited they were still a little disorganized and the skate shop hadn't been set up yet. The new rink is very nice and has a fairly unique design - newly built but with some old-fashioned fundamentals. It isn't air-conditioned, but there are side windows that open up and a peaked roofline to let fans blow the hottest air out of the rink. The front of the rink facing the road is big glass show-windows that let people driving by see that there's something going on in there! The floor is only about average size but there's a lot of wood in the surrounding areas, including the locker area, skate rental and changing areas. There is also an area about 80'x20' that can be used either as an extension to the snack bar or partitioned into practice or kiddie rinks, in addition to a fenced in area for with party tables. The main floor is new and smoothly laid, though still a bit slippery. There is a relatively narrow area enclosed by a black line in the center, but no figure circles, and a large mirrored wall section at the far end. They don't permit in-line skates or skates with black toe stops, and all of the rentals were the all-plastic Roller Derby models. I attended on a Saturday evening and the rink was doing a very good business - the parking lot was full and the rink was packed with a mix of kids and parents, teens and some older skaters. I got the impression that the kids were having the most fun, it was too crowded to do much except roll along in the crowd, and you had to constantly slow to avoid getting cut off or tripping over a fallen child. The three skate guards were friendly and trying hard, but seemed frustrated trying to deal with everything going on. The music was mostly C&W stuff with some light rock. The PA system was adequate, but not really projecting - it was more like music playing than music for skating to, even though they did have a DJ. They did several long couples skates and also ladies/mens-only, but no backwards skates. The skate guards didn't mind my skating backwards and turning inside the line, but little kids leaking into the area or short cutting the ends limited what you could do even there. All in all it's a pretty nice rink and will probably get better once things settle down. Given the crowd, I think they'd be able to pull off a Saturday night Adult-16 late skate or split session to sort out the crowd better. It's also possible the Sunday or Wednesday night session would offer more for the adult skater. Although the rink is still out in the country, access from the western Baltimore beltway area is fairly quick - it's only about 10 minutes beyond the end of the I-795 Owings Mills/Reisterstown spur. ==== Westminster, MD 21157-6314 Carroll Indoor Sports Center 918 Gahle Road Westminster is located in northern Maryland, about midway between Baltimore and Gettysburg, Maryland along Rt 140. From downtown head east on Rt 27 - Railroad Avenue/Manchester Road for about 1-1/2 miles and turn right onto Gable Road. The sports center should be a little ways down the left, about midway between Rt 27 and Rt 852. 410-857-5098 Fri 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Sun 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Hockey Only According to the attendant, this is primarily an indoor roller hockey facility, but there are recreational skating sessions on Friday and Sunday evenings. I got the impression that these sessions were more in the way of family hockey practice with balls and sticks allowed, just not formal game play. ==== White Marsh, MD 21162 Freestate indoor Sports Arena (also On the Edge Sports) 5811 Allender Road White Marsh is located in northeastern Maryland, about 12 miles east of Baltimore along the US 1/I-95 corridor. From I-95, get off at the Rt 43 - White Marsh Road exit and head east on White Marsh road for 1 miles across US 1 to US 40. Turn left to head north on US 40 for about 2 miles to Allender Road, then turn left again and the arena should be about 1/4-mile further on the left near the corner of Allender and Red Lion Roads. 410-344-0767 Planned Roll-on over Concrete? I get the impression that this facility isn't quite open for skating yet, but plans to open in the March/April timeframe. [ web gleanings ] The Freestate Inline & Roller Hockey Association is the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic area. We organize and promote all aspects of inline skating. Freestate offers youth and adult roller hockey league play for the new and seasoned players, hockey camps, inline skating lessons, tournements and also public inline skating sessions for fun and recreation. Hockey League play starts April 1997 and incudes ball and puck hockey for both youth and adults. Protective gear is required and play is by RHI rules. On the Edge Sports is a pro-shop located at the arena which can supply all your inline and Roller Hockey needs! See http://www.ontheedgesports.com/ for more information about the shop, hockey leagues and arena. ======================================================================== ======================================================================== North Carolina (919) - Eastern Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 919 area code. ==== Cary/Raleigh, NC 27606 Jellybeans 1120 Buck Jones Road Cary is located in central North Carolina, about 8 miles west of Raleigh at western beltway. From I-440 west of Raleigh, get off at the Crossroads Boulevard/Walnut Street/Buck Jones Road exit and head northeast on Buck Jones road towards the South Hills Outlet Mall. The rink should be on the left not far from the interchange. 919-854-1333 Wood Floor Jellybeans is a new [1996] roller in in the Research Triangle ara. While built with hockey in mind, it is still a conventional roller rink with a wood floor and disco ball. According to a newspaper article the rink, was built by Robin Rose, while Bob Boucher handles the hockey aspect. The article only mentions ball hockey for kids. There is also an ice rink nearby on Buck Jones road, the Ice House or alternatively the Triangle Skate and Hockey Center. See http://www.citysearch.com:8086/E/V/RDUNC/1003/10/29/cs1.html for a CitySearch directory entry, which is currently pretty empty. ==== Durham, NC 27703 Wheels Recreation Park (aka Wheels Family Fun Park, Durham Wheels) 715 North Hoover Road Durham is located in central North Carolina, about 25 miles northeast of Raleigh. Wheels is located in the eastern suburbs. From I-85 east of town, head south on US 70 and get off at the first exit, and head south on Hardee Street for about a quarter mile, then turn left to head east on Cheek Road, back across US 70 and then make the first right onto Hoover Road. Wheels should be on the right, before Southerland street forks off. 919-598-1944 Mon 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM Beginner Lessons 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Tues 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM Family Night Wed 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Speed Skating Lessons Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Rolling Oldies Extravaganza Fri 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Artistic Skating Lessons 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sat 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM Speed Skating Lessons 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sun 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Speed Skating Lessons 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Adult-18 Night *** facility hours may differ, call... Snack Bar - Games In-line Skates Permitted Wheels Family Fun Park opened in 1992 when the Wheels skating rink in Durham moved to the new location and added a variety of activites, including paintball, bumper carts, miniature golf, batting cages, basketball, go-karts, and party and child-care facilities. The orginal location is now a furniture outlet. See http://www.citysearch.com:8086/E/V/RDUNC/0003/11/70/ for a CitySearch directory entry, which has current schedule information. ==== Garner/Raleigh, NC 27603-4130 Skate Ranch of Garner 5300 Fayetteville Road The rink is on hiway 401 south, about 2 miles from hiway 70 east - going south on 401 from 70E, the rink is on the right. 919-772-4297 Monday Christian Night Friday Evening Session Saturday Day and Evening Sessions Sunday Day and Evening Sessions Maple Floor - about 120'x80' - Oval - poor condition Skate Shop - Snack Bar - No Smoking Area - Air Conditioned - Games In-lines Permitted - rentals planned [ rwatson@nando.net (Robert Watson) - edited from form ] The rink is basically nice. The floor desperately needs refinishing, but that is scheduled for '96. There aren't special adult sessions, but the Monday night Christian session is usually more calm than other nights. There are usually a bunch of birthday parties on Saturdays and Sundays, but then there have also been times on Saturday mornings when I have literally had the entire skate floor to myself. Hard to complain at times like those. ==== Goldsboro, NC 27534-3469 Round-A-Bout Skating Center III 1305 Parkway Drive Goldsboro is located in central North Carolina, about 60 miles east of Fayetteville. 919-778-1831 RSA Member Rink According to a business profile in the Fayetteville paper, the Goldsboro Round-a-Bout was built in 1993 to by Gene Hodges, the owner of the two Round-a-Bout rinks in Fayetteville, to replace an older Goldsboro rink that the Hodges had bought in the early 70's. ==== Greenville, NC 27858-5701 Sportsworld 104 Red Banks Road 919-756-6000 ==== Henderson, NC 27536-3039 Skateeum 1248 Coble Boulevard 919-492-5033 RSA Member Rink ==== Kinston, NC 28501 Galaxy Skating Center (aka Galaxy of Sports) Highway 70 919-522-4656/522-3038 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Arstistic Coach ==== Morehead City, NC 28557 Sportsworld of Morehead Highway 70 West 919-247-4444 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS JO and Hockey Clubs ==== New Bern, NC 28560-4086 Rollerland 3502 Neuse Boulevard 919-633-3804 RSA Member Rink There's also a listing for a Kid's Camp at Rollerland, possibly a day care operation at the rink. ==== Raleigh, NC 27604-3754 Skate Ranch Number 1 2901 Trawick Road 919-872-1149 ==== Raleigh, NC 27612-7144 Skate Town 7009 Glenwood Avenue 919-787-2181 Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Games RSA Member Rink [ web gleanings ] Skate Town has public sessions, birthday and private parites, a snack bar and skate shop and also a game area. See http://www.citysearch.com:8086/E/V/RDUNC/0000/68/02/ for a CitySearch directory entry, which has some rink information. ==== Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 Skateworld 10th Street 919-535-3041 ==== Rocky Mount, NC 27801 Sky-Vue Skateland Tarboro Highway 919-442-7418 ==== Rocky Mount, NC 27803-0216 Sport World Roller Skating 131 North Wesleyan Boulevard - US 301 Bypass 919-977-0600 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Speed Coaches ==== Sanford, NC 27330 BJ's Skate Ranch 111 Rand Street 919-774-4596 RSA Member Rink ==== Tarboro, NC 27886 Tarboro Skate Center 2201 Saint Andrew Street 919-641-1218 ==== Washington, NC 27889 Skate Trak Of Washington Highway 17 South 919-946-6076 ==== Wilson, NC 27893-3413 Wheels Of Wilson 1800 Forest Hills Road West 919-237-7113 USAC/RS JO and Speed Clubs ======================================================================== North Carolina (910) - Central Greensboro, Winston-Salem Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 910 area code. ==== Asheboro, NC 27203 Jones Skating Rink 728 NC Highway 42 South 910-629-1364 ==== Asheboro, NC 27203-7303 Roll-A-Bout Skating Center 1801 South Fayetteville Street 910-626-7000 RSA Member Rink ==== Burlington, NC 27215-6450 Roll-A-Bout Skating Center 605 Chapel Hill Road 910-227-7769 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs ==== Clemmons, NC 27012-9229 Skateland USA Of Clemmons (aka Hawkins ...) 2512 Neudorf Road 910-766-6699 ==== Clinton, NC 28328-9804 Seven Gables Skating Rink 840 Oakland Road Clinton is a small town west of Fayetteville. 910-592-3948 Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM ==== Dunn, NC 28334-2310 Wheels Of Dunn 1500 North Ellis Avenue 910-892-4647 ==== Eden, NC 27288-3201 J-R's Archery & Skating 319 West Meadow Road 910-623-9605 ==== Eden, NC 27288-5342 Roll-A-Bout Skating Center 1020 South Van Buren Road 910-627-5173 RSA Member Rink ==== Fayetteville, NC 28304 Round-a-Bout Skating Center (Bordeaux) 1740 Owen Drive at Boone Trail Extension - Bordeaux Shopping Center Fayetteville is in the southeastern area of North Carolina, about 75 miles south of Raleigh/Durham. This Round-a-bout is in the Bordeaux Shopping Center on Owen Drive, just off Business I-95/US 301 at the southern end of town. 910-323-1818 Mon 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Tues 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Thurs 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sat 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Slow Rollers 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sun 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Wood Floor RSA Member Rink According to the attendent, they don't have any "adult" nights, but there are more adults on their Tuesday family night and Thursday Christian night. According to a business profile in the Fayetteville paper, the Bordeaux Round-a-Bouut was built around 1970's the Gene Hodges and Joe Stout as part of the Bordeaux Recreation center which included a theatre and bowling alley in addition to the rink. Hodges decided to leave the construction business to run the rink with his wife Jo Ann. They've been running the rink ever since and later expanded to add the other rink in the Eutaw Village and a rink in Goldsboro. The Round-a-Bout rinks provide entertainment, each sesion has a format, with games for kids and mens and ladie's only skates. The rinks also sponsor an annual speed meet that's one of the largest in the country. ==== Fayetteville, NC 28303 Round-a-Bout Skating Center (Eutaw) 880 Elm Street - Eutaw Shopping Center Fayetteville is in the southeastern area of North Carolina, about 75 miles south of Raleigh/Durham. This Round-a-bout is in the Eutaw Shopping Center on Elm Street, just off Rt 24 in the northwestern section of town. This is a couple miles east of the intersection of the US 401 Bypass and Rt 24. 910-484-4466/484-4465 Mon 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Tues 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Thurs 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sat 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Slow Rollers 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sun 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Wood Floor RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Speed Clubs According to the attendent, they don't have any "adult" nights, but there are more adults on Wednesday and Sunday nights. According to a business profile in the Fayetteville paper, the Eautaw Village Round-a-Bouut was built in 1974 by the Gene Hodges, after the Bordeax rink - see that entry for general information. ==== Greensboro, NC 27405 Greensboro Indoor Roller Hockey 2100 East Wendover Avenue 910-230-2220 This appears to be a new facility which opened in 1996. There's also an Autozone auto parts outlet at this address. ==== Greensboro, NC 27405-2619 Skateland USA North 3801 North Church Street 910-621-5632 RSA Member Rink ==== Greensboro, NC 27409-1812 Skateland USA West 200 Stagecoach Trail Greensboro is about 90 miles west of Raleigh/Durham. Skateland is in the western suburbs, near the airport. From downtown, take I-40 west, get off at Exit 212 - Chimney Rock Road, head north to US 421 - West Market Street, turn right to head east on US 421 and Stage Coach Trail will be the second left turn. 910-855-1669 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Speed Clubs [ Brandy1982@aol.com - edited ] Check us out at the Piedmont Artistic Skating Club in Greensboro. We have about 30 club members and have one of the best coaches in North Carolina - Tina Yow. We practice on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoon/night. We also have group classes on Monday night. Come visit us anytime. Skateland will have the southeastern regional championships this year [1997]. ===== High Point, NC 27263-1926 Carousel Skating Center 208 West Fairfield Road 910-434-2554 RSA Member Rink ==== High Point, NC 27262-7832 Rol-A-Rink Skating Center 2421 North Main Street 910-869-3715 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS JO, Speed and Hockey Clubs ==== Jacksonville, NC 28540-5216 Skate World 1518 Gum Branch Road 910-455-1977 RSA Member Rink ==== Jacksonville, NC 28540-3655 Wheels Roller Skating Rink 648 Richlands Highway 910-455-8711 ==== Jonesville, NC 28642 Star Lite Skate Center Jonesville is a small town west of Winston-Salem along I-77 Starmount Plaza Shopping Center 910-526-2050 Wed 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM ==== Kernersville, NC 27284-2141 Skate World 1995 West Mountain Street 910-993-3382 ==== Laurinburg, NC 28352-5005 Rockers Roller Dome 1529 Atkinson Street 910-277-1998 ==== Lumberton, NC 28358-2769 Mr P's Skateworld 3495 Fayetteville Road 910-738-2888 This rink is operated by Danny and Mary Pittman, hence the Mr. P's. ==== Mount Airy, NC 27030-2750 Starlite Skate Center 804 Fowler Road 910-786-7676 USAC/RS Hockey Club ==== North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 Wheel Fun Skating Route 268 East 910-667-8500 USAC/RS JO Club ==== Pembroke, NC 28372 Pembroke Skateland West 3rd Street Pembroke is a small town southwest of Fayetteville. 910-521-0990 ==== Rockingham, NC 28379 J & M Skating Golf & Games Tri-City Shopping Center 910-895-0590 Fri 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sat 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM Roller Hockey ==== Rockingham, NC 28379-3742 Skating Rink 858 Rockingham Road 910-895-4304 ==== Roxboro, NC 27573 Outer Limits 4324 Boston Road - Highway 501 North 910-599-5065 ==== Sneads Ferry, NC 28460 Star Skating Sneads Ferry Road 910-327-2277 ==== Sparta, NC 28675 Village Entertainment Trojan Village Shopping Center Sparta is located at the northwest corner of North Carolina near Galax, Virginia. 910-372-4144 ==== Thomasville, NC 27360-3416 Great Skate 1203 Lexington Avenue 910-472-1499 ==== Topsail Beach, NC 28445 Topsail Skating Rink South Anderson Boulevard near Flake Avenue Topsail Beach is located on Topsail Island, a barrier island about 25 miles north of Wilmington. 910-328-3281 [ web gleanings ] An institution for more than 40 years, this quaint, unpretentious upstairs roller rink is in a lime-green house above the tiny post office. It is open 7 to 10 PM seven nights a week in the summer and on weekends during the off-season. Sessions are inexpensive, as are the available skate rentals. The building is an easy walk from the Patio Playground. ==== Wallace, NC 28466-1549 Skate City 605 North College Street 910-285-3479 ==== West Jefferson, NC 28694-7115 Roll Arena Skating Rink 498 Beaver Creek School 910-246-7755 ==== Whiteville, NC 28472 Gliding Skates the Second South Franklin Whiteville is a small town south of Fayetteville. 910-642-0292 ==== Wilmington, NC 28403-7021 Showtyme Skating Center (aka Skaters Choice Roller Skating) 5216 Oleander Drive Near the intersection of Oldandar Drive and Forest Park Road, about 5 miles from downtown Wilmington. 910-791-6000 Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Games [ web gleanings ] Showtyme successfully provides good, clean fun to entire families in the context of indoor roller skating. Skaters roll to music, the styles of which change from night to night and range from pop to oldies to Christian. The rink has a large, well-stocked pro shop providing sales, rentals and repairs, an arcade and snack lounge. The rink is open seven days a week year round. The center keeps daytime hours Saturday and Sunday and evening hours Monday through Saturday. Extended summer hours are in effect during the school recess and include weekday afternoons. In keeping with the management's wish to foster good moral fiber, house rules prohibit profanity, intoxicants and anything but appropriate clothing. ==== Wilmington, NC 28412-1836 Sunset Skating Center 341 Shipyard Boulevard 910-791-8550 Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Games RSA Member Rink [ web gleanings ] Children and adolescents make up the bulk of Sunset's clientele, and the Carter family, operator of the Center since 1964, are so well trusted that parents often leave their children at Sunset to enjoy the evening themselves. Among Sunset's most unusual offerings are what's known in coded parlance as "72747" sessions, i.e., overnight skating sessions, usually on holidays, that run from 7 PM to 7 AM. Skating at Sunset is affordable, there are sessions on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The rink is well maintained, complete with red carpet, snack area, an excellent sound system and the signature mirror ball. There's a pro shop on premises, and the center offers day-care groups, private skating parties, fund-raiser sessions. ==== Winston-Salem, NC 27104-2440 Skatehaven USA 120 Hood Drive Skatehaven is located in the suburbs west of Winston/Salem. From downtown, head west on I-40 get off at the US 421 exit and head west on US 421. Get off at the South Peace Haven road exit and head north on Peace Haven. At Country Club road, turn left and then make the first right onto Hood Drive. 910-765-1041 RSA Member Rink ==== Winston Salem, NC 27127-4755 Skate Odyssey 3170 Peters Creek Parkway 910-785-1050 ======================================================================== North Carolina (704) - Western Asheville, Charlotte, Salisbury Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 704 area code. ==== Albemarle, NC 28001-9510 Footloose Skating 2223 US 52 North 704-982-8665 A rather long people note about Harriet Lee Graham and her skating career in the November 1996 Greensboro paper mentions that she bought the Footloose rink with her parents in 1992. She had competed in the 1980's but was pretty much retried and content with running the rink when a much younger skater, Jeff Clement, convinced her to try dance skating as his partner. The article doesn't say much about the rink and leaves them on their way to the worlds in Argentina, but they did place 3'rd in World Class Dance at the Worlds in 1996! ==== Asheville, NC 28804-1230 Skate-A-Round USA 310 Weaverville Highway 704-645-4715 RSA Member Rink ==== Boone, NC 28607 Skate World Roller Skating Boone Heights Shopping Center 704-264-5994 ==== Burnsville, NC 28714 Riverside Roller Rink US 19E - Ashville Highway 3 miles west Burnsville is in the northwest corner of North Carolina, about 30 miles northeast of Ashville. From Ashville, take US 19 north to Bald Creek and then US 19E east towards Burnsville. The rink is located on US 19E 3 miles west of Burnsville at Riverside, near the Cane River. 704-682-2651 Fri 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Sat 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Family Skate 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM ==== Charlotte, NC 28205-5638 Grand Central Skate Station 3646 Central Avenue Charlotte is located in southwestern North Carolina. Grand Central is located in the eastern part of Charlotte. From downtown, take US 74 west to the Eastway Drive exit, and head north on Eastway for about a mile, then turn left onto Central Avenue. The rink should be on the left, just after the intersection. 704-536-0800 RSA Member Rink ==== Charlotte, NC 28227-3940 Roll-A-Round Skate Center 8830 East Harris Boulevard Charlotte is located in southwestern North Carolina. Roll-A-Round is located in the eastern part of Charlotte. From downtown, take I-77 north to I-85, head east on I-85 to US 29 / Rt 49 and then further east on Rt 49 to the W.T. Harris Boulevard. Turn right to head south on the Boulevard for about 3 miles, then the rink should be on the left, just after crossing The Plaza Boulevard. 704-568-5700 RSA Member Rink ==== Charlotte, NC 28273-5903 Skate Palace 7115 South Boulevard - US 521 Charlotte is located in southwestern North Carolina. Skate Palace is located in the southern part of Charlotte. From downtown, take I-77 south to the Arroood Road exit, and head east on Arrowood for about 2 miles to South Boulevard - US 521. Turn right onto South, the rink should be near the intersection on the left side. 704-552-2626 ==== Charlotte, NC Tradewinds Skating Center (was Kate's) 4750 Old Pineville Road Charlotte is in the south-central area of North Carolina, about 100 miles soutwest of Greensboro. Tradewinds is in the southwestern part of the city, along I-77. From downtown, take I-77 and get off at the US 521/Woodlawn Road Exit. Head east on Woodlawn and Old Pineville Road should be about a half-mile down, just before the railroad tracks. Turn right onto Pineville and the rink should be near the corner. 704-523-6455 Wooden Floor RSA Member Rink USAC/RS JO Club [ ali00dxw@unccvm.uncc.edu (Dailene Wilson) ] We have a rink in Charlotte called TradeWinds that allows in-line skates and on Tuesdays they have speed times where you can go as fast as you wan for a short period [grr] This appears to have been the Kate's rink on Old Pineville Road. A 1988 article in the Charlotte Paper talks about speedskating practice at the rink. ==== Concord, NC 28027-5516 Frye's Roller Rink (aka Skateland USA) 2800 Poplar Tent Road Concord is located in southwestern North Carolina, about 20 miles northeast of Charlotte, near Kanapolis. Frye's is to the west of Concord. From Charlotte, take I-85 eastwards towards Concord and get off at exit 55 - Rt 73, head east on Rt 73 and make the first right turn to head south on International Drive for about 1-1/2 mile, then turn left onto Poplar Tent Road. The rink should on the left not too far from the intersection, next to the Frye's Bowling Lanes, but be warned there's no sign, everybody just knows where to go. 704-782-5513 Snack Bar - Games - No Smoking In-line Skates Permitted RSA Member Rink Owner Larry Frye operates both the Frey's Lakes Lanes bowling alley and the Frey's Roller Rink in Concord, and is involved in several other North Carolina rinks under the Skateland USA name. An article in the March 1994 Charolote Observer goes into great detail about the Friday night teen scene at the rink. The article says that the main draw is the kids too young to drive and too old for Disney movies, older kids start cruising. The rink serves as a Friday hang- out, meeting and socializing place with no parents in sight, but enough adult supervision and rules to keep the parents happy. The rules are the usual - no gum, smoking, drinking, questionable dress or shirts with foul language. Kissing is also forbidden, at least the getting caught part. The article doesn't really say much about the rink, beyond the fact that it was built in the 1940's, is fairly large and has neon lights and a sound system. Older skaters, meaning apparently anyone much over 16, frequent Saturday nights and leave Friday to teens. ==== Forest City, NC 28043 Skates & Stuff 102 Second Woods Drive 704-248-1308 ==== Franklin, NC 28734 Franklin Skateway Highway 441 Bypass 704-524-8429 ==== Gastonia, NC 28052-3530 Starburst Skating Rink 1000 South Myrtle School Road 704-853-3333 USAC/RS Artistic/Speed Coaches ==== Hendersonville, NC 28792-6460 Skate-A-Rama Skating Center 1705 Spartanburg Highway 704-693-8818 RSA Member Rink ==== Hickory, NC 28602-4630 Skateland USA of Carolina 2820 US Highway 64-70 South Hickory is located in western North Carolina, about 70 miles east of Asheville. Skateland is located in the western part of Hickory, along US 70 about 3 miles west of downtown, at 28th Street near the Catawba Mall and the Catawba Catawba Vally Community College Campus. 704-322-8824 Tues 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Christian Music Night Wed 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Family Night Fri 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM Sat 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM *** call to check for additional hours RSA Member Rink USAC/RS JO and Speed Clubs According to an article on family skating in the Charlotte paper, the manager at Skateland recommends the Tuesday Christian music night and the Thursday Family Night for families. The rink has small sized skates for kids and a small kids floor separate from the main floor for smaller children. See http://users.twave.net/speed for the Skateland Speed Club's home page. ==== Hudson, NC 28638-9559 Skylite Skating Rink 1509 Cajah Mountain Road Hudson is located in western North Carolina, about 60 miles east of Asheville and 5 miles northwest of Hickory. Skylite appears to be located out in the countryside on Cajah Mountain Road. From US 321A in Hudson, head east on Elm Street and at the 3-way fork after crossing the tracks, bear slightly left for Cajah Mountain Road. The rink is probably not right near the town, but the road is only about 2-1/2 miles long. 704-728-4803 Mon 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Tues 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Wed 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM *** probably also daytime hours on the weekends According to an article on family skating in the Charlotte paper, the weeknights at Skylight are better for families because weekend skaters operate at a faster pace. The rink provides good basic skating and has skates for small children. ==== Indian Trail/Charlotte, NC 28079 Kate's Skating Rink (was Super Skate Center?) US 74 near Indian Trail Charlotte is in the south-central area of North Carolina, about 100 miles soutwest of Greensboro. Indian Trail is about 15 miles south- east of Charlote along US 74. Exactly where the rink is located isn't clear, but it should be in the neighborhood of the developed area along US 74 near Indian Trail Road. 704-821-7465 A January 1991 newspaper article describing development in the Indian Trail area mentioned that a roller rink, the Super Skate Center was to open in late Summer, as one of the family/recreation facilities in the 74 Business Village. The rink was to be located in one of the vacant building and would be operated by George Andrews, owner of the Skate Palace in Charlotte. There's no further information about this rink, but in May 1996, Rob and Wendy Schisler opened a newly constructed 27,000 sq.ft. roller rink in the same area. The Schislers said that they were looking for another location and found that this was a growing area. The rink is open nearly 7 days a week and available for parties and rentals. ==== Iron Station, NC 28080 Act 3 Skateland 3920 East NC Highway 27 Iron Station is located north of Charlotte, a village along Rt 27 with a chunk of old Rt 27 and a few local roads. 704-735-1164 Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM ==== Kannapolis, NC 28083-2787 Skateland USA 311 Brookdale Street 704-938-3013 RSA Member Rink ==== Lawndale, NC 28090 Rollerama Skating Rink (aka McIntyre ...) Highway 226 South 704-538-8261 ==== Lenoir, NC 28645 Roller Palace Abingdon Road Lenoir is located in western North Carolina, about 60 miles east of Asheville and 10 miles northwest of Hickory. The Roller Palace is somewhere on Abingdon road, which is off of Business Route 18 - Harper Avenue about a miles southwest of downtown. 704-758-9098/754-4937 Mon 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Gospel Music Night Tues 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Wed 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM According to an article on family skating in the Charlotte paper, the Monday night at the Roller Palace is the best for familes because they play only Gospel Music and it's slower paced than other nights. The rink keeps a security officer on duty every night they're open. This rink has conflicting listings under the both the rink name and Lester Gentry, the operator. The newspaper article does specify that the rink is on Abingdon Road. ==== Lexington, NC 27292-4427 Anchor Skating 220 Young Drive 704-249-1386 ==== Lowell, NC 28098 Kate's Skating Rink Wilkinson Boulevard - US 74 Lowell is about 12 miles west of Charlotte along US 74. 704-824-2552 Hardwood Floor USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Speed Clubs A couple of articles from the Charlotte paper in the late 1980's talk about artistic skating at this rink, with the then youngsters Trey Knight and Nekoe Wilson, coached by Rob Schisler, also speed skating. One article also talks about the strict rink and christian recreation values that the original owner John Grice, had in mind when he opened the rink in 1960, and named it after his wife Kate. Currently this rink and several of the other old Kate's rinks are operated by the Schieslers and it's not clear whethere there's still a lot of artistic activity here, or it's moved to one of the other rinks. ==== Monroe, NC 28110-2917 Hatley's Skating Rink 1705 Concord Avenue 704-289-6752 ==== Monroe, NC 28110-3513 King's Skating Center 523 Purser Avenue 704-283-2780 ==== Mooresville, NC 28115 Lake Norman Sk8 Club 2714 Charlotte Hwy 704-663-7465 ==== Morganton, NC 28655-4003 Pavilion Roller Skating 2147 South Sterling Street Morgantown is located in western North Carolina, about 60 miles east of Asheville and 10 miles west of Hickory. The Pavilion is about 2-1/2 miles southeast of town, on Route 18 just north of the I-40 interchange. 704-433-5655 Mon 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Tues 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Wed 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Fri 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM Sat 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM *** sessions may vary, call... Accordding to a Charlotte newspaper article, Thursday night at the Pavilion is the best for families and they pride themselves on service to children. They have small skates for little kids and offer extra daytime skating hours during holiday periods. ==== Murphy, NC 28906-2602 Murphy Skateway 149 Regal Street 704-837-9552 ==== Oakboro, NC 28129-9641 Oakboro Skating Rink 12273 NC Highway 205 - Main Street Oakboro is a small town located east of Charlotte. 704-485-3981 ==== Robbinsville, NC 28771 Outer Limits Skating Rink Sweetwater Road 704-479-3725 ==== Statesville, NC 28677 Statesville Skateland (aka Wonderland Skate Center) Buffalo Shoals Road Statesville is located in central North Carolina, about 40 miles north of Charlotte. Skateland is in the western part of town, on Buffalo Shoals Road, probably about a quarter mile south of the US 64 intersection, near the railroad tracks. 704-872-1618 According to an an article in the Carlotte newspaper, Bob Salas and his business partner Lee Simon bought this rink in 1986 and changed the name to the Wonderland Skate Center. They were looking for their own rink to start a competitive club and liked the potential of the area. They upgrade the rink with new paint and colored lights and added Christian music nights and Tiny Tot mornings to broaden the appeal of the rink. The rink still exists, listed under the original name, but there doesn't seem to be any skating club there... ==== Sugar Grove/Boone, NC 28679 Skate World of Boone ? 704-297-3296 This is about 10 miles outside of Boone... ==== Swannanoa, NC 28778-2843 Tarwheels Skateway 978 US Highway 70 704-298-6606 RSA Member Rink ==== Waynesville, NC 28786 Mountain Skate Center Waynesville Bypass 704-456-4441 ======================================================================== ======================================================================== Virginia (703) - Northeastern and DC Suburbs Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, Herndon, Quantico, Vienna Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 703 area code. ==== Alexandria/Virginia Suburbs, VA 22310-2719 Franconia Roller Rink 5508 Franconia Road Alexadria is located just southwest of Washington. From I-495 - The Washington Beltway, get off at exit 3 in Virginia - Van Dorn Street. At the end of the exit ramp turn right on Van Dorn and then take Van Dorn about 4 traffic lights to Franconia Road, which will be the first major intersection you come to. Turn left on Franconia Road and a Crown gas station will be 1/4 mile down on the left-hand side of the road. The rink is directly behind the station, you need to turn in just before the station, not the intersection beyond. 703-971-3334 Mon 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Tues 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Family Discount Night Wed 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Thurs 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Public Skating Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Public Skating 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday afternoon matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor - 172'x72' - Good condition No Smoking I visited this rink on a Sunday evening in the summer time, which isn't exactly peak skating season in VA. There were maybe about 20 skaters at the session which thinned out as the session progressed. Although not specifically an "adult session", there weren't any children present and the music was mostly 70's/80's top-40, with the usual 80's skate rap blessedly absent. The DJ booth is elevated at the side of the rink, it wasn't clear if the manager was playing records or if it was just mix tapes. The facility is reasonably nice but could use a bit of spiffing up, the floor is wood, clean and reasonably smooth, but of the short-board variety. No skate shop, but a snack bar and seating area. The people were friendly and having fun, but with the small crowd there wasn't anything really happening, it was just the only place to skate in the area on a Sunday evening, probably a lot more teen & family action on other nights during the school year. [ harbour@rapnet.sanders.lockheed.com (Susan Harbour) ] Sessions are nearly nightly 7 to 10 pm, except where there is a private party. The night I was there, there was an adult beginner class going on before the session. I wasn't around long enough to get into that, but it's probably pretty good since there are a couple of ex-national champions teaching there - David and Debbie Adamy. The session had about 5 people attending after that, so it was great for figure practice and dance practice as well, but probably not what you [Albert?] would be looking for in a roller rink. I understand the weekend sessions are very popular and much more crowded. The floor is wood and is in pretty nice condition. It's a little small, but about average size from what I've seen around the country. They made me show them my skates when I arrived to be sure I had toe stops. My "dance plugs" were allowed, and they didn't hassle me about my figure skates, which don't even have a receptacle for a toe stop!. Given that, I'm not sure what their policy is on roller blades. [grr] Franconia is a member of the Wheel-A-While chain and is represented by the National Capitol Dance and Figure Club out of the Seabrook MD rink. This rink earned a bad reputation in the gay community in August 1993, when the Associated Press covered a story that the manager had ejected a lesbian couple for holding hands during a couples skate. The couple admitted that the announcment was for male and female couples, but felt that was all more reason to do it, while the manager said that anyone not following the rules were asked to leave, even though there is no prohibition of same-sex couples in the posted rules. The couple left, but a 14-year old girl who had vocally supported them was arrested when she refused to leave the rink. There are still a large variety of signs posted alluding to "proper" behavior and dress. ==== Appalachia, VA 24216 Star Skate Roller Rink East Main Street Appalachia is located at the western tip of Virginia, about midway between Roanoke and Nashville, Tennessee. From I-181 in the Kingsport Tennesseee area, follow US 23 north for about 35 miles to where US 23 and US 23A fork, and take US 23A for about 4 miles into Appalachia, where US 23A becomes East Main Street. The rink should be located on East Main as you head out the eastern side of town. 703-565-9822 ==== Leesburg, VA 22075 The Rink 446 South King Street Leesburg is located in northeastern Virgina, about 35 miles north- west of Washington. From the Washington area, take the Dulles Greenway to Leesburg, then head southwest on the US 15 - Leesburg Bypass to US 15 and then north on US 15 - South King Street. The Rink should be a quarter mile from the interchange, on the right near Catoctin Circle. 703-771-4684 ==== Manassas, VA 22110-5215 Skate City 8907 Mathis Avenue Manassas is about 25 miles southwest of Washington. From Fairfax, take Rt 28 south to Manassas. Take a right on Liberia then left at the next traffic light on Mathis. The rink is the third building on the left, behind a car dealership, and across the street from a cinema. 703-361-0425 Wed 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Wacky Wednesday Thurs 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Adult Morning Session Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Public Skating Sat 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Kidz Skate (10 & under) 11:30 AM - 4:30 PM Public Skating 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Public Skating Sun 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday afternoon matinee sessions during the summer Wood Floor - Fair Condition In-lines Permitted and available for rent RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Arstistic and JO Clubs [ harbour@rapnet.sanders.lockheed.com (Susan Harbour) ] The floor is wood, and in fair condition. The sessions are very crowded. I went on "Wacky Wednesday" and most of the skaters were adolescents, and pretty wild. They had a song or two for backward skating only, couples, races, and the usual stuff that goes on in public sessions. Not a real "practice" type atmosphere, or even "roller disco" more of a kid session. Their rules seemed pretty layed back (as in you could skate backwards and/or use roller blades.) I also saw that they have a Thursday 10 to noon adults only skate. ==== Manassas, VA 22110 Skate City USA (aka Skate-n-Fun Zone) 7878 Sudley Road Manassas is about 25 miles southwest of Washington. From Fairfax, take Rt 28 south to Manassas. After crossing Liberia, take a right on on Sudley Road. I don't know how far down the rink is. 703-361-7465 Tues 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM 99-cent night Wed 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM 2-buck night Thurs 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Stroller & Trike Skate Fri 6:30 PM - 11:30 PM Teen Night Sat 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM Mega Skate Sun 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM Public Skating *** additional weekday matinee sessions during the summer In-line skates permitted and available for rent [ harbour@rapnet.sanders.lockheed.com (Susan Harbour) ] I think this is probably managed by the same folks who own Skate City, because their session schedule is just about identical. I didn't get to this rink, so I have no information about the floor, or detailed directions. However, skaters at Skate City seemed to think it was a bigger floor. [grr] This rink has been written up several times because they're the eastern example of the strollercize or stroller skating concept, where parents, mostly mothers, come to the rink to push their kids around in strollers while they skate. Tots a bit older are allowed to ride their trikes in the center - plastic tricycles only. While the whole idea may seem a bit silly, it gives the newly homebound parents a chance to socialize and get some exercise, while the kids get some developmentally benefical stimulation. From the rink's perspective it helps feed the tiny-tot and family skating programs and keeps the lost married-with-children age group aware of roller skating. Most of the articles are ambiguous about which of the Skate City rinks have this program, since both are in Manassas and owned by the Tharp family, but this seems to be the one that actually has the program. Skate City also offers the usual variety of sessions, special events, including overnight lock-ins for kids and party rentals. The rink has also added a clibing wall, lazer tag and a soft play area as part of the Family Recreation Center theme. ==== Woodbridge, VA 22191-3560 Total Sports Pavilion 14843 Persistence Drive Woodbridge is located in northern Virginia along the western side of the Potomac River about 25 miles south of Washington. From I-95, get of at the Rt 123 - Gordon Boulevard exit and head east for about a half-mile to US 1, then turn left to head south on US 1 for about 2 miles. Turn left onto Featherstone Drive and head east, towards the river for about a mile and then turn right onto Persistance drive just before the tracks. The pavilion should be nearby. 703-490-4988 Hockey Small [ daves@azrael.mitre.org (Dave Smith) ] Playing [hockey] at Total Sports is fun, but the rink is *really* small, there are no benches, and the boards have NO "give". [grr] Total Sports is mentioned briefly in an newspaper article discussing the growth of roller hockey in the DC region, at the expense of street and deck hockey. It appars that this is basically a deck hockey facility that's saying "roller hockey too", although they have only the smaller deck hockey courts instead of a real roller hockey rink. ======================================================================== Virginia (757) - Eastern Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 757 area code. ==== Franklin, VA 23851 Isle of Wight/Franklin Skating Highway 258 North Franklin is located in southeastern Virginia, about 45 miles miles west of Portsmouth. From the Portmouth area head west on US 13, then US 58 and Business US 58 to the Franklin area. It's not clear whether the rink is on US 258 where it diverges from Business US 58 about 1-1/2 miles east of Franklin or whether it's south of town. 757-569-9316 USAC/RS Hockey Clubs ==== Hampton, VA 23663-1326 Plaza Roller Rink 1924 East Pembroke Avenue Off Mercury Boulevard, coming towards Buckroe Beach, Take a left on East Pembroke, go through two stoplights. When you come to Taco Bell on your left, start looking for our sign on your right. The rink sits behind a Hobby Shop. 757-723-7993 Tues 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM Ladies Night Wed 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Report Card Night Thurs 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM Family Night Fri 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM Top-40 Night Sat 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Kidde Club Matinee 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM Evening Session 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM Late Disco/R&B Skate (Adult 16+) Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Sunday Matinee Roll-On over Particle Board - 170'x75' - Oval - Smooth & Clean Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Games - Air Conditioned In-line Skates Permitted RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Speed Cubs [ Gem617@aol.com (Jeanene Nolte) - edited ] The Plaza has a Maple colored Roll-On over Particle Board floor, 170'x75' oval. It is smooth and clean. We have a skate shop, full snack bar, video games, and air-conditioning. Inlines are welcome, although we do not rent them [ Jeannene and her husband are the owner/operators ] ==== Newport News, VA 23601-3801 Peninsula Family Skating Center 307 Main Street Newport News is located in eastern Virginia, aross the James River from Norfolk. The Skating Center is in the Riverfront Park area. From I-64, get off at the US 258 - Mercury Road exit and head south- west on US 258 for about 2-1/2 miles to the US 17 - Jefferson Avenue interchange and then north on US 17 for about a mile to Main Street. Turn left onto main and the rink should be on the right just before Tyler Avenue. 757-599-4769 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs [ GldMdlSk8r@aol.com - Kathy Hollway ] Where we used to get a group together to go to on Saturday nights sometimes was Peninsula Family Skating Center up in Newport News on Main Street. Best jamming music around, non-stop, good sound and light show. We all left tired - no one ever wanted to get off the floor. [ AStern5870@aol.com ] I've skated at the Peninsula Family Skating Center a couple of times. The only problem I had with them was the rink was smaller than Haygood or Kempsville. The music selection and sound system where ok. ==== Portsmouth, VA 23701-1310 Plaza Skating Center 1050 Hodges Ferry Road Portsmouth is located in eastern Virginia, just southwest of Newport News. The Plaza is about 5 miles west of Portsmith. From I-664, get off at the Rt 337 - Portsmouth Boulevard exit and head east, towards Portsmouth, for about 3-1/2 miles. Take the thrird right after crossing the bridge, onto Hodges Ferry Road and the rink should be on the right, about where the road makes a sharp bend. 757-488-7751 Hardwood Floor USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs An illustrated feature article in Sunday, July 31, 1994 Virginian-Pilot profiles several skaters from the Plaza going to the artistic nationals and shows them practicing. Their coach is Hazel McCaskill and they have pratice time 5 days per week. An earlier article mentions Al McCaskill as the owner, and as the roller skating coordinator of the 1990 Virginia State Games, in addition to coaching at the rink. An article from July 1996 describes the roller hockey program at the Plaza, which is run by Kevin KcCaskill, the son of the operators. They play non-contact puck hocky and have between 75-100 players in the program. Participants range from 5-40 in mixed-sex teams. Games are on Sundays. ==== Suffolk, VA 23434-8036 Plaza Roller Skating Rink 2764 Godwin Boulevard - Rt 10 Suffolk is located in eastern Virginia, about 25 miles west of Portsmouth. The Plaza is locate north of town along Goodwin Boulevard. From the Portmouth area, head west on US 58 to the Suffolk area, and follow US 58 around to the north side of town and get off at the Goodwin Boulevard - Rt 10 exit. Head north on Gowdwin Boulevard and the rink should be on the right about a quarter-mile down the road. 757-934-3866 ==== Virginia Beach, VA 23464-3512 College Park Skating Center 964 South Military Highway Virginia Beach is located in eastern Virginia, generally east of the Portmouth/Norfolk area. College Park is in the western part of Virginia Beach almost in Norfolk. From I-65, get off at the Rt. 407 - Indian River Road exit, and head west on 407 for about a half-mile to Rt. 407 - Providence Road. Turn left to head west on Providence for for another half-mile to US 13 - the Military Highway. Turn right to head north on US 13 and the rink should be on your right near the intersection. 757-420-0187 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs ==== Virginia Beach, VA 23455-5438 Haygood Roller Skating Center 1036 Ferry Crossing Plantation Road Virginia Beach is located in eastern Virginia, generally east of the Portmouth/Norfolk area. Haygood is in the Bayside area of Virginia Beach. From I-265, get off at the Rt 403 - Newtown Road exit and head northeast on Newtown Road for about 3 miles. The last street before Rt 225 - Independence Boulevard is Ferry Crossing Platnation Road, turn right onto Ferry before the Haygood Shopping Center and the should be on the right in the second block. 757-460-1138 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, Hockey and JO Clubs [ AStern5870@aol.com ] I've skated at Haybood - it's ok, but I didn't like their sound system. I used to skate there for skating parties back in junior high school. [ GldMdlSk8r@aol.com - Kathy Hollway ] I used to compete out of Haygood Skating Center. Yes it's true Haygood's sound system wasn't the "state of the art" system like a new rink had. But the floor was, and is, wonderful, and the coaching excellent, which is why I was there anyway. [ grr ] The Haygood rink has been owned by Ray Chaput since 1997 and various family members coach at the rink. They have active artistic skating program with many national placements, and a roller hockey program that includes a regional league. Several articles in the Virginal Pilot profile artistic skaters and the hockey area without shedding much light on the rink or public sessions. ==== Virginia Beach, VA 23464-6771 Kempsville Family Skating Center 5351 Lila Lane Virginia Beach is located in eastern Virginia, generally east of the Portmouth/Norfolk area. Kempsville is in the western part of Virginia Beach. From I-64, get off at Rt 407 - Indian River Road exit and head east on Indian River Road for about 3/4 mile. The rink should be on the right, just off of Indian River at Lila Lane. 757-420-9400 Large - Good Condition In-line Skates Prohibited? RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Hockey Clubs [ bprend@juno.com (Bob Prendergast) - edited ] Although I've only had opportunity to visit this rink twice, I did thoroughly enjoy it. I believe inlines are prohibited, but may be wrong - everyone had quads. The floor was pretty big and well kept. In early May, the floor was very tight, with just enough give to let you really get into shuffling there. The side isle is carpeted, but since the floor is a step-down, it can be entered from any point around it. The sound system was very good. It had plenty of bass and the highs were very crisp. Their music was good to average for a Saturday night. They played many of the old school favorites such as "Planet Rock" and "Double Dutch Bus". They also played some other popular songs that I can't remember. The lighting was Excellent. During their experienced skate, called "The Cruise," they played about four or five FAST songs and turned out the lights completely. With the main lights off, they turned on a number of strobes and a few other brightly colored lights. If you are ever in the Virginia Beach area, I HIGHLY recommend this one - I plan to return this spring. Out of all of the rinks I've been to, Kempsville was my Favorite. [ AStern5870@aol.com - edited ] I used to skate at Kempsville Family Skating Center. I've also been to a couple other ones in the area, but thought this one was the best. They feature specials on a regular basis. Friday and Saturday Night Specials include: Crazy All Skate, Couples & Backward Skating, Races a 4-Part Special (Ladies in time with the music, Ladies Fast Skate, Mens Fast Skate, Men in time with the music) and the Evening Cruise (a 10-15 minutes of segued specials for shufflers only). They call shuffle skating "Cruising" in this area. They also have a Sunday Night Cheap Skate, which has all of the above specials except races and crazy all skate. ==== Virginia Beach, VA 23454 Ocean Arena Sports Complex (aka USA Entertainment) Dam Neck Road Virginia Beach is located in eastern Virginia, generally east of the Portmouth/Norfolk area. The Arena would be located southwest of Virginia Beach on Dam Neck Road near the Corporate Landing office park. 757-???-???? Planned According to articles in the local news paper, a pair of Virgina Beach entrepreneurs, Steve Murdock and Mark Gresalfi are planning on building a $4.5 million, 100,000 sq.ft. indoor sports complex, which would include two full-sized indoor roller hockey rinks with boards, glass and plastic surfaces. The facility would also include a restaurant, hockey shop, arcade/game room, health club and locker rooms. The arena would also support a variety of indoor sports such as basket- ball, lacrosse, volleyball and indoor soccer. There would be seating for 4-6 thousand to allow for minor league professional sports and a stage for shows or concerts. The developers received City Council approval of the plans and zoning changes in October 1996, and said that it would be open by Labor Day, but it can be a long road between plans and construction. ==== Virginia Beach, VA 23456 Strawbridge Skating Center 2180 McComas Way Virginia Beach is located in eastern Virginia, generally east of the Portmouth/Norfolk area. Strawbridge is located southwest of Virginia Beach along the General Booth Highway Corridor. From the Virginan Beach - Norfolk Expressway, get off at the Rt 225/410 - Independence Boulevard exit and head south on Rt 410 for about 7 miles, then turn left to head east on Rt 140 - Princess Anne Road for another two miles. At Rt 615 - General Booth Boulevard turn left to head nort on the boulevard, the rink is probably in the area of Princess Anne Road and Strawbridge Road, just off of the boulevard or in a business park, next to the Princess Anne Recreation Center. 757-427-1668 Monday Adult 18+ Tues Christian Music Night Wed Roller Hockey Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Family Night Fri 7:00 PM - 12:00 PM TGIF Skate Sat 10:00 AM - Noon Kis Skate 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Matinee 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Silly Skaturday Night Skate Sun 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Matinee Additional seasonal sessions, call for details. Coated Concrete Floor - Medium Size Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Game Room - Party Rooms - Lockers In-line Skates permitted and for rent RSA Member Rink According to a March 1996 Virginian-Pilot newspaper article, the Wilson family had recently opened their new $1.4 million Strawbridge Skating center just off General Booth Boulevard. The family including Rich and Linda Wilson, and their children Bob and Laurie previously operated a beachfront skate and cycle rental operation and are all involved in the skating rink. The floor is 13,000 sq.ft. of epoxy coated concrete, with a state of the art sound system and twirling mirrored disco balls. They have a snack bar, game room, party rooms a skate shop and lockers. They offer both in-line and quad rentals. While the facility is targeted at family entertainment, they're also starting a roller hockey league and a speed skating team. The rink has something going on nearly every day, including an Adult only night, a Christian Music night, hockey and a teen TGIF night. See http://www.homeexpo.com/skate for additional information. ==== Wattsville/New Church/Chincoteague, VA 23415 Dream Roller Rink 32438 Chincoteague Road - Rt 175 Chincoteague is located on the Delmarva Penninsula just south of the Maryland Border. The rink is located along Rt 175 - the main road from US 13 to the Chincoteague beach area. It's not clear whether the rink is near US 13 or further towards the beach area. Look for a Pizza Hut. 757-824-4515 Fri 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM ======================================================================== Virginia (804) - Central Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Richmond, Williamsburg Phone numbers and addresses checked against a CD-ROM Phone Directory 4/96, RSA directory and USAC/RS directory. This should be essentially all the roller rinks in the 804 area code. ==== Altavista, VA 24517 Celebrate & Skate 1305 Main Street - Business US 29 Altavista is located in western Virginia, about 20 miles north of Lynchburg. From the Lynchburg area, take US 29 south towards Altavista, and take Business US 29 instead of the bypass. The rink should be on the left, about 2 miles from the bypass, or about a half-mile from the center of town. 804-369-7078 RSA Member Rink ==== Ashland, VA 23005-1310 Skateland of Ashland 516 North Washington Highway - US 1 Ashland is located in central Virginia, about 15 miles north of Richmond. From I-95, get off at the Rt 54 - Courthouse Road exit and head west towards Ashland for about a half-mile, then turn right to head north on the Washington Highway - US 1. The rink should be about a half-mile furhter, on the left between Smith Town Road and Berkeley Street. 804-798-6550 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs Also at this location, Skateland Business office 804-798-3076, for rinks in Ashland, Williamsburg (Road) and Fredricksburg. ==== Chester, VA 23831-2367 Skateland 2300 Southland Drive Chester is located in central Virginia, about mid-way between Richmond and Petersburg. From I-95, get off at the Rt 10 - Hundred Road exit and head west towards Chester for about a half-mile, then turn right to head north on US 1 - the Jefferson Davis Highway. Take the first right onto Southland Drive, the rink should be nearby. 804-748-0379 USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs ==== Danville, VA 24540-1507 Skatetown Of Danville 1049 Piney Forest Road - US 29A Danville is located in southwestern Virginia, on the North Carolina boarder about 75 miles southeast of Roanoke. From the Greensboro, North Carolina area, head north on US 29 for about 30 miles across the border into the Danville area. Where US 29A and US 29 fork off southeest of Danville, take US29A - Memorial Drive and follow it for about 5 miles to the northern part of town. Somewhere along the line it changes to Piney Forest Road and the rink should be on the left between Ash Street and Dalton Street. 804-836-3648 RSA Member Rink ==== Hayes, VA 23072 Hot Wheels Family Skate Highway 17 Hayes is located in southeastern Virginia, across the York river from Yorktown and about 25 miles north of Newport News. The rink is along US 17 - Memorial Highway in the Hays area, probably about a mile or two north of the bridge. 804-642-9134 ==== Lynchburg, VA 24502 Fun Quest Family Skate Center (aka Skateland of Lynchburg) Old Graves Mill Road Lynchburg is located in western Virginia, about 50 miles east of Roanoke. The rink is located about 5 miles southest of downtown along the US 460 corridor. Headed south on US 460 continue past the US 50 interchange for for about another 1-1/2 miles and the turn right onto Old Graves Mill Road. The rink could be in this area, it's supposed to be across from an Armory, but it could be further up Old Graves Mill Road by the railroad tracks or the US 50 expresway interchange. 804-237-4930/239-6411 In-line skates permitted and avilable for rent RSA Member Rink USAC/RS JO and Speed Clubs IAPII Member [ web gleanings ] Funquest seems to be primarily a roller rink, but they also have an arcade and costumed characters for the kids. Skateland - A great place to roll around. Filled with middle and high school students, but still fun. Theme nights. Rates and times vary. Call for information. [ David Doughty (doughty@ena-east.ericsson.se) - edited ] Fun Quest on Graves Mill Road across from the armory allows blades with no exposed metal bolts. They used to sell the plastic nuts to use on the bolts, they probably have a few if you need them, just ask. They rent blades for use in the rink. They also have a tiny laser-tag arena. [grr] An article in the Roanoke paper on the 1993 Virgina Commonwealth Games spotlights speedskater Gayla Anderson, daughter of Jim and Cindy Anderson, the owners of Skateland. The article mentions that skating for the Andersons is a family affair, with Jim, Gayla and sister Kristi all taking part in the games. Cindy is also an ex-competitive skaters and is a speed coach at the rink. ==== Mechanicsville, VA 23111-4623 Skate America 7147 Brandy Run Drive off Mechanicsville Pike Mechanicsville is northeast of Richmond -- it shows up on the Richmond detail map if not on the main Virginia map. Skate America is off of US 360 - Mechanicsville Turnpike, not far past the I-295 interchange. Take exit 37A - Tappahannock off of I-295. The rink is behind the Lakeview Tack Shop and Western Wear at 6519 Mechanicsville Pike. Turn right at the traffic light for Brandy Run Drive. 804-730-3252 Sun 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Open Session Tues 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Family Night Thurs 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Cheapskate Fri 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Open Session 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM TGIF Jam Sat 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM Open Session 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM Top-40/Country Wood Floor - Good condition - Usually Clean - Beginners Area Skate Shop - Snack Bar - No Smoking - Games - Air Conditioning In-line Skates Permitted and available for rent RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs [ GilbertML@aol.com (Mike Gilbert) - edited from form ] My frame of reference may be different than most of the reviewers since I'm not into the artistic/competitive stuff. I guess I'd describe myself as a fairly decent second generation shuffle skater just trying to have fun and get some exercise. The third generation (my boys, ages 3 and 7) is just getting started. You should see some of the strange looks we get when my dad and I drag the older boy out to skate trios to "Elvira"! The floor is wood, in good shape with only a couple of rough spots, and usually kept pretty clean. It is smallish, but with a decent sized separate beginner's area There aren't any regularly scheduled adult sessions, but there was an "experimental" adult session on a recent Wednesday. There was a pretty good turnout and we all had loads of fun! They may decide to do it again but nothing firm as yet. Otherwise there's usually a pretty good crowd of adults there on Tuesdays and Thursdays along with all of the kids (mine included). The music is mostly popular music that you can skate to and is usually tolerable to my age 30-something ears, but my dad doesn't fare as well. They don't play any organ music except during "dance time" yuk :-). Overall the rink is pretty good atmosphere-wise. One thing I don't like is lack of a rail to limit access points to the floor. People tend to come and go without thinking and it makes the floor effectively smaller because you have to leave some buffer around the edge or risk creaming somebody. ==== Midlothian/Richmond, VA 23113-6845 Roll-O-Rama 201 Wylderose Rd. Midlothian is a general area about 10 miles southwest of Richmond. from the Richmond area head west US 60 for about 15 miles. The Roll-O-Rama rink should be just off US 60, past some discount stores and behind a Virginia Power facility. 804-378-0791 Tues 7:30 - 9:30 Adult Session - Top 40 and requests RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs The attendent said that they didn't have any organ music or artistic sessions, though they would play organ music on occassional requests during the Tuesday session. She mentioned that they were planning on a Sunday night "oldies" session starting in January, in conjunction with one of the local radio stations. ==== Midlothian/Richmond, VA 23112-3334 Skate-A-Way 3330 Speeks Drive Midlothian is a general area about 10 miles southwest of Richmond. From the Richmond area head southwest on US 360 - Hull Street for about 10 miles past Gregory Pond and across Courthouse Road and then take the second right onto Speeks Drive. The rink is probably not far off US 360 and is across from a mini-storage place. 804-674-5070 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic, JO and Speed Clubs ==== Montross, VA 22520 Stan's Skateland ?RFD 3 Montross is located in eastern Virginia along the western shore of the Potomac about midway between Richmond and Washington, about 25 miles east of Fredericksburg. From I-95, get off at the US 17 exit near Fredericksburg and head south on US 17 for about 30 miles, then east on US 360 to Warsaw and north on Route 3 for about 10 miles to the Montross area. The rink could be along Route 3 or somewhere in the general area. 804-493-9890 RSA Member Rink ==== Petersburg, VA 23805-2408 Rollercade 2530 South Crater Road - US 301 Petersburg is located in southeastern Virginia, about 30 miles south of Richmond. The Rollercade is at the southern edge of town. From I-95 get off at the US 301 - Crater Road exist to the south of town and head south on Crater Road for about a mile. The rink should be on the left just after crossing some tracks and near the Walnut Mall shopping center. 804-733-4151 A June 1996 article which was probably picked up by the wire services for humor value, describes an incident where the Vice-Mayor of nearby Hopewell, the Reverend Curtis Harris and his son were arrested for trespassing at the Rollercade in Peterburg. Apparently his granddaughter had been ejected from the rink for chewing gum, which was prohibited. When he and the girl's father went to the rink to try to reqest a refund, they got in an argument with the manager and refused to leave. The local police arrested the two and they were later convicted and fined $25 each plus court costs. ==== Richmond, VA 23224-2414 All American Skate 5500 Hull Street - US 360 Richmond is located in eastern Virginia, about 100 miles south of Washington, DC. All American is in the southwestern suburbs about 4 miles from downtown Richmond along US 360. The rink should be on the right, about 1-1/2 mile after crossing Rt 16 - the Belt Boulevard, roughtly opposite Linwood Avenue. 804-233-7215 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs ==== Richmond, VA 23294-4441 Golden Skateworld West 3214 Skipwith Road Richmond is located in eastern Virginia, about 100 miles south of Washington, DC. Skateworld is the northwestern suburbs about 7 miles from downtown Richmond along the US 250 - West Broad Street corridor. After crossing Rt 73, Parham Road, make the next left onto Skipworth Road, the rink will be on the right between US 250 and Rt 73. 804-270-2314 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artisitic and JO Clubs ==== Richmond, VA 23231-2827 Skateland #3 (aka Airport Skateland) 4902 Williamsburg Road Richmond is located in eastern Virginia, about 100 miles south of Washington, DC. Skateworld is the eastern suburbs about 5 miles from downtown Richmond along the US 60 - Williamsburg Road corridor, in the direction of the airport. From I-64, get off at the Labrnum Avenue exit and head south on Laburnum for about a mile, then turn left onto US 60 - Williamsburg Road. The rink should be on the left a block ahead, at the corner of Allenshaw Drive. 804-270-2314 804-222-5765 RSA Member Rink USAC/RS Artistic and JO Clubs ==== South Boston, VA 24592 World Of Sports Skating (aka Sport Gallery) Bill Tuck Highway - US 58 East World of Sports is located about a mile east of South Boston on US 58. South Boston is about 32 miles east of Danville, 100 miles southwest of Richmond. 804-572-6969/572-2695 Plastic/Concrete Floor - Rectangular - Large - Fair Condition - Dirty Skate Shop - Snack Bar - Games - No Smoking - Air Conditioned In-lines permited and available for rent [ andyr4@ix.netcom.com (Andy Rice) - edited from form ] The floor at World of Sports is "hot pink" plastic over concrete. It's on the large end of the scale. It is rectangular with no obstructions and no walls/boards around the perimeter, just a 6 inch step down from carpet to the surface. The floor is mostly smooth, with some rough areas. It's usually dirty, with an unpredictable amount of grip, and can go tacky to slick in the same session. There's also a small separate floor for beginners with the same construction. There is a skate shop that is under-stocked, and a decent snack bar. The facility is air-conditioned and no smoking is allowed inside the building. There are video games, billiards tables, and air hockey tables. There's also a play area for children. All sessions are open to the general public, with hours that change seasonally. The best session for adults or artistic skaters is o