This is our local rink in Kokomo, IN, owned by Dan Dumoulin. It's a great place to skate and a lot fun. It has a wood floor which I prefer. You'll find me here most Saturday evenings giving the teenagers a little competition in the races.
Kokomo used to have two rinks - North and South. The South rink closed many years ago, and the North rink was demolished by a tornado several years ago - so we didn't have any rink for a while until this one opened a few years later.
Kokomo is hometown to the skate/dance group Breaksk8 which sometimes practices here. The rink is now managed by Jessy Nice of Breaksk8 so you will at least find Jessy here most sessions unless traveling with Breaksk8.
It's also home to the Kokomo City of Fists Roller Derby.
This is on Neville Island in Pittsburgh, PA. This is an old rink that was around when I was a kid but I never skated there until recently because most of the rinks closer to Munhall have closed. It was recently taken over by Jim and Sophie Park - I met Jim on my first visit and Sophie on a later visit and always say hi to them when there. It is a nice large rink with wood floor - really well run but still a lot of fun. The floor is just about perfect for a hockey stop. I'm occassionally asked to 'slow down' - and sometimes I even deserve it. Many skaters, especially the younger ones, wear blades. Most of the older skaters (like me) wear quads. They draw a good adult crowd so I'm not the only old dude. On my first visit, I did poorly in the races but probably better than the guy next to me expected who wished me a sarcastic 'good luck' before the race, and then proceded to take first about half a lap ahead of me. I think I came in 4th. I look forward to going back whenever in the 'Burgh - even in the summer when I usually don't skate indoors.
This is in Logansport, IN - about a half hour north of Kokomo, owned by Mark Heredos. This is a newer rink with a wood floor - really nice. Several times I was there, the floor was too oily to do a respectable hockey stop. Last time, though, they had recoated the floor and thought I was gonna take out an ankle. It's probably just about right by now.
This is in New Orleans, LA - although they call it 'west bank' it's on the east side. I was a little unsure about this place - the area seemed a little seedy. There were two rental cops in the parking lot so I watched from my car for a bit and the people entering looked okay so I decided to go in. In the lobby the posted rules included things like 'no gang colors' - I thought "Hmmm..." but decided to go in anyway. Once inside there was a metal detector - again, I thought "Hmmm..." but figured I might as well stay - and it turned out to be a really nice place. Good crowd, everyone was nice, no problems. I did wonder the whole evening if my rental car would be still be there at the end, but it was. The one rental cop did come inside and hung around some young chic all night which I didn't know what was up with that. I look forward to going back.
This is in Glendale, CA. I skate here when in Los Angeles for business. It is a nice rink with a great crowd and a great adult crowd. The floor is wood but with such a thick coating it doesn't skate like wood. They are more concerned about keeping the floor shiney than letting you have fun. After attempting a hockey stop I was told "we don't do hockey stops here". So I resorted to my toe stops which left marks on the floor and was told "you can't do that". I later saw someone hassling the guard over one of the marks I had left. I made several friends there including Ron the guard and Frank the skater who was kind enough lend me a pair of skates and give me a ride a few times. It's a must-visit if you're in the area - I always look forward to going back.
This is in Marion, IN - about an hour east of Kokomo. This is a nice older rink with a wood floor. We skated here a bunch before Kokomo Skate World opened. A great place to skate but the weekend evening crowd can get kinda rough. 1988 olympic couples skaters Kim and Wayne Seybold grew up in Marion and skated here. We met Kim at an ice skating rink that she owned in Westfield, IN but the last time we were there it seemed she had sold it. Wayne is now the mayor of Marion.
This is in McKeesport, PA. I skated here as a kid, mostly for middle school skating parties. At the time it seemed 'so big' compared to Park Arena but when I went back it seemed small - I can only imagine how small Park Arena really was. They used to have a two rinks - a beginner rink and the main rink. The beginner rink is still there but much smaller, replaced by a number of party rooms. It was really cool to skate there again.
These are in Raleigh and Cary, NC - nearly identical rinks, one north and one south, I've skated at both. They are large rinks with wood floors - primarily for roller hockey and there is a lot of interesting collateral damage from pucks. Last time I went on a Wednesday night the north rink had like 'Zumba on skates' which I don't know what that is but I was afraid it involved people who needed exercise and couldn't really skate, while the south rink had 70's/80's flashback music - so I headed south. Good adult crowd - I look forward to going back.
This is in Indianapolis, IN. This has a caveman theme which is kinda cute. The rink is nice and well run, but the floor is some kind of coating which I really don't care for. They have a dancefloor in the middle of the rink.
This is in Lafayette, IN - about an hour west of Kokomo. This is an older rink with a wood floor. I thought I was the best skater there until at the very end this guy did a Scott Hamilton style backflip which left no doubt who was the best skater.
This is in Slidell, LA - just down the highway from our Covington office. This is an old rink with coated concrete floor which I didn't like. Overall it was kinda crappy. I'd go back but I'll look for another rink with a wood floor the next time I'm in Covington. I couldn't skate here on a regular basis.
This is also in Logansport, IN. This is an old rink with a wood floor. We skated here a bunch before Kokomo Skate World opened. It is small but has a wood floor and a decent adult crowd. The roof leaked so when it rained the floor was sprinkled with buckets to catch the drips which made skating 'interesting' - this was a few years ago, it may have been fixed since. It was always fun, though, and quite inexpensive.
This is in Frankfort, IN - about a half hour southwest of Kokomo. This is an old rink with a strange coated floor that I didn't like. This was probably my least favorite place to skate. I couldn't skate here on a regular basis.
