skating (Elgin, Tinley Park, South Elgin: rental, new house, school)

[daddy dj]

I was wondering how many people still rollar skate? I love to and been doing it for many years now. What do you look for when u go to a rink?

[sgresident]

i haven't been in years, but there is a great place in batavia, Funway. they have bumper cars, the roller rink, bowling etc. it is a lot of fun. you should look into it.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sgresident

i haven't been in years, but there is a great place in batavia, Funway. they have bumper cars, the roller rink, bowling etc. it is a lot of fun. you should look into it.

Funway. Oh man. Talk about junior-high memories! WOW! Its a nice rink, fun to go skating at night with the lights low and the music blaring. A nice arcade upstairs too, and as you mentioned, they recently added some outdoor activities (ie batting cages, bumper boats, go-karts, etc).

[daddy dj]

I work at orbit skate center in palatine and im seeing what people are looking for when they go skating? We dont have all the stuff that funway does but we have some really cool things like our cosmic skate, great music and a fun place to be. I would like any input you guys mite have for me. Ive been to funway and I do like it. There adult night on sunday has been one of my favorite sessions. Thx B

[Steve-o]

Things we're looking for in a skate place? Toss out the gangsta rap music for one. Who the heck wants to skate while listening to braindead rappers talk about his/her bling-bling-yo Cadillac Escalade? Last time I was at Funway (didnt skate) they played too much rap music, it was obnoxious. Put on some music that has a groove and that you can skate too, you cant do that with rap, just doesnt work.

[cdc3217]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Things we're looking for in a skate place? Toss out the gangsta rap music for one. Who the heck wants to skate while listening to braindead rappers talk about his/her bling-bling-yo Cadillac Escalade? Last time I was at Funway (didnt skate) they played too much rap music, it was obnoxious. Put on some music that has a groove and that you can skate too, you cant do that with rap, just doesnt work.

What a fuddy-duddy!

Actually we do school outings at the roller rink in Tinley Park and every time I remind the DJ - no stripper rap. One of the parents who organized the last one was shocked that they didn't still play the Bee Gee's and whatnot.

Its hilarious - you can tell which parents grew up in the 70's from their skating prowess.

[daddy dj]

At orbit Im one of the dj's. I play a great range of music. I do play some hip hop but I would have to agree gansta rap doesnt have a beat. I thing is if it has a beat u can skate to ill play it. Things i play alot are r&b, funck, old house as well as new house, a little trance, dance, freestyle, little of 80s rock some new rock, not alot. mostly if its requested. slow jams are big. flash backs from the 70s 80s 90s and today new stuff. Its a great time there. The reason i ask what people want when they go to a rink is when I was a kid the rinks where packed. Now a days there not like that. why?

[sgresident]

how about earlier this winter when the roof collasped at the aurora skate center! my son went to a birthday party there and it was just ok.
when i was a kid..a long time ago, there was a roller rink in South Elgin. I used to go there all the time. my grandparents had the restaurant just 2 buildings away from there.
the last time i drove through on route 31, it was an ace hardware. don't know what is there now. talk about memories!

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by daddy dj

At orbit Im one of the dj's. I play a great range of music. I do play some hip hop but I would have to agree gansta rap doesnt have a beat. I thing is if it has a beat u can skate to ill play it. Things i play alot are r&b, funck, old house as well as new house, a little trance, dance, freestyle, little of 80s rock some new rock, not alot. mostly if its requested. slow jams are big. flash backs from the 70s 80s 90s and today new stuff. Its a great time there. The reason i ask what people want when they go to a rink is when I was a kid the rinks where packed. Now a days there not like that. why?

Sounds like you cover alot of bases with your music choices. Thats good. The last time I was at Funway it was almost non-stop rap music, just didnt work at all! House and techno can definitely create a good atmosphere to skate to, especially during the cosmic skating events.

As for rink popularity? I think most people would rather inline-skate outdoors, thats why I think rollerskating's popularity has gone downhill. I think rinks need to do something more to attract people. Exactly what I dont know, but I dont see any efforts.

[cdc3217]

Again I'm thinking families, so...
My experience is that the rinks are not really updated looks-wise, so they're not real attractive, and there's a lot more competition for kid/family entertainment than in the past. If skating rinks are not aggressive in their marketing then we have a lot of other choices. If I was running a rink I'd think about offering lessons, theme nights, updated the concessions, and make sure my rental skates had decent laces, etc. Maybe some rinks do all this, but if they don't get the word out and really make an effort to keep up with the times, then it won't be as popular.