Skating Centers make for great field trip venues, you just have to promote it! If you don’t already have offer special field trip pricing and packages, consider creating some. Then you can reach out to some local daycares, schools, and churches to see if you can strike up a partnership.

To help you promote your field trips, here are a few reasons why roller skating makes for the perfect field trip:

1. Skating is Fun – This one seems obvious, but it’s important to mention that kids love roller skating. And it doesn’t hurt that parents and teachers will love that skating tires them out.
2. Skating is Active – Skating is good exercise. In fact, it burns roughly the same amount of calories as jogging. A skating field trip isn’t just fun, but there’s also a physical education component built in.
3. Skating Presents Teachable Moments – You can learn (or teach) all kinds of things at the skating rink. Offering STEM field trips is a great way to emphasize this. STEM focused field trips can include a discussion of the physics and engineering needed to skate.
4. Skating is Great for Day Camps – You shouldn’t just target schools, but also local Family Y camps, daycares, vacation bible schools, community centers, and scouting organizations.

Promoting yourself as a good field trip venue can help you drum up business during the school year and during the summer months.

Keep your skating center running smoothly by making sure you have all the skating rink equipment, the newest skates, and prize center novelties. And for more, don’t forget to sign up for our skating center newsletter!

Summer is nearly here, which means more kids at your rink! Make sure your skating center is ready with these summer roller rink planning tips:

• Extend Your Summer Hours – The kids are out of school and looking for something fun to do, so make sure to extend your summer hours to accommodate them.
• Plan for Large Groups and Field Trips – Make arrangements with local daycares, summer camps, and church groups to host field trips at your rink. This is a great way to predictably bring in large crowds.
• Have Ice-Cold Refreshments – It’s hot outside and skating works up a thirst, so make sure to have plenty of cold drinks on hand (and make sure they’re well-advertised). This one is also a great way to boost concessions sales.
• Refresher Training for Employees – Give your employees a refresher on your procedures for dealing with large groups and parties. If there are seasonal changes to the way you’ll handle things like group sales, drop offs, hours, or policies, make sure your whole team is aware of when the changes start and end.
• Plan Activities – Summer means more kids at the rink, so be sure to plan some games or races. If you already do skating games, maybe shake things up with a few new or extra rink activities.
• Stock Up! – More guests mean more skating center supplies will be needed to keep things running smoothly.

So make sure your roller rink is well stocked for the summer crowds. We offer all the skating rink equipment, the newest skates, and the best prize center novelties to make sure your skating center is ready for summer.

As a skating rink owner, you’ve probably heard it all when it comes to roller skating. But whether you’re looking for some fun skating trivia or need a refresher on the history of the sport, we’ve got you covered.

• Skating Fitness – This is a great one to communicate to your customers. Roller skating for about 30 minutes burns approximately 250 calories! It’s also great for building core, leg, and back muscles. Best of all, it’s low impact so it makes a great part of an exercise routine for people of all ages.
• Skating Celebrities – Celebrities — they skate just like us! Celebrities such as Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys all have been very open about their love of roller skating.
• Skating History – Roller skating rinks are the site of some of America’s most treasured nostalgia, from the carhops of the 1950s to the roller disco craze of the 1970s. But skating is actually much, much older. The first recorded use of roller skates was part of a London skate performance in 1973. In 1818, skates were worn as part of a Berlin ballet performance. The First patented design was claimed in 1819, and the first public skating rinks opened in 1957 in the Strand, London, and Floral Hall.

Of course, skates have come a long way since 1818. If you’re looking for the best new skates for your roller rink and pro shop, then you’ve come to the right place! We have all the skates and skating rink supplies you need to keep your skating center running smoothly.

Online reviews are a big source of stress for many small business owners, but they don’t have to be! While it’s true that negative reviews can hurt your business, there’s actually a lot more to it than that. Read on to learn why online reviews are so important, and how you can make them work in your favor.

Why Do Reviews Matter:

• Reviews affect local SEO – Online reviews affect how search engines rank your business on their result pages.
• They affect sales – It’s a known fact that customers spend more money at businesses with 4 star or higher reviews than they spend at businesses with low reviews.
• You should care what your customers think! – How your customers feel about your business is generally an indication of how you’re doing as a business owner (mostly).

How to Get Good Reviews:

• Get ‘em while they’re happy – You have happy customers, so simply ask them to go online and share their experiences! Often it’s just when someone’s frustrated that they’ll take the time and effort to go online and leave a (negative) review. It’s not that you don’t have perfectly satisfied customers, it’s just that most people won’t go to the effort if they don’t have some reason to do so. Train your staff to respond to praise with “Thank you so much! If you get a chance, it would mean a lot to me if you’d go online and leave us a review!”
• Make it easy – Display signs (or even better, QR codes) to the site or sites you’re trying to get good reviews on. Simply directing your customers to a review site lets your clients know that you care about your reviews.
• Turn Your Negative Reviews into Positive Reviews – Even if you get a negative review, you can turn it into a positive! How you respond to criticism shows your customers that you care — it can even improve your brand perception.

Of course, to get good reviews your skating center needs to be well-stocked, and we have the skates and rink equipment you need to keep your rink running smoothly.

Spring is just around the corner which means it’s time to tidy up! Here are some tips for rink owners on how to clean rental skates as the busy season approaches.

• Sanitize Your Skates

Rentals have been worn by many people throughout the year. Although we sanitize them after each use, spring is the perfect time to deep clean rental skates. Start by wiping each pair down with a damp cloth, making sure to get any major scuff marks off the skates. Be sure to remove any dust or dirt that has built up on the bottom of the skates or in between the wheels, and finish by spraying the inside of the skates with sanitizing spray

• Clean the Bearings

Cleaning and lubricating the bearings of the skates periodically saves you money by extending the amount of time before they have to be replaced. To do so, first remove the bearings from the wheels. Next, use a safety pin to remove the rubber shield from the bearings and place the shields in a small glass. Add warm water and a drop of soap in the glass, cover it, and shake the glass. Rinse the shields off and set them aside. Use the bearing cleaning unit that came with the skates filled ⅓ of the way with isopropyl alcohol, slide the bearings onto the axle of the unit, screw a wing nut onto the end, insert the axle into the bottle, screw it on, and shake the bottle. Repeat this step one or two times if they don’t get completely clean the first time before drying the bearings with a lint-free cloth. Finish by lubricating the bearings, putting them back together with the shields, and inserting them back into the wheels.

Doing these two things will greatly improve the look and function of your skates, so hop to it! Contact us at Southeastern Skate Supply to purchase any materials needed to help keep your skates in tip top shape.

Here are some roller skating health and fitness facts to pass along to your customers:

• Skating is good great cardio – According to the CDC, heart disease is responsible for 25% of the deaths in the U.S. It is recommended that everyone get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 days a week, but most people don’t. But if you pick an exercise you enjoy, like skating or playing a sport, then you’ll be much more likely to stick with it.
• Skating burns calories – On average, skating burns roughly 528 calories per hour. That’s high for a such a relatively leisurely activity.
• Skating builds core strength – Nobody likes doing crunches, and skating is a great alternative! Maintaining balance on skates takes more than just leg muscles, it also engages your core abdominal muscles.
• Skating is low impact – Skating is less harsh on your joints than activities like running. This also makes roller skating a good physical activity for skaters of all ages.
• Skating builds leg muscles – No one likes leg day (that’s part of the reason there are so many jokes about it). Thankfully, skating is a great workout for your legs too.
• Skating manages stress – Part of being healthy is about managing stress. Physical activity is great for stress, especially if it’s an activity that you enjoy

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest skating rink tips and industry news to keep your skating center running smoothly. And of course, make sure you are well stocked on all the latest skates, skating rink equipment, and novelty toys for your skating rink.

Make sure your pro shop employees know how to help a first-time skate-buyer find the right skate for them. You don’t want a new skater to become discouraged because of an ill-fitting boot or the wrong mount!

Tips for First Time Skate Buyers

Find Your Fit

Skates should fit the same way shoes do. Ideally, you’re generally looking for about 1/4″ to 1/2″ between the front of the boot and your big toe. Different brands and models run slightly differently, so it’s a good idea to check a brand specific sizing chart before ordering. If boot size is a concern, talk to your customer about buying a boot before buying an entire custom skate (so that they can return the boot if it doesn’t fit).

Also, make sure your customers are wearing proper socks when trying on skates!

Test Your Mounts

Short mounts are often used by Derby skaters. New skaters tend to feel less comfortable on this mount. Regular mounts are generally the preferred mount for new skaters. Long mounts are generally reserved for jam skaters to make tricks easier.

What Size to Buy for Growing Children?

Of course, fitting skates for young skaters can be very difficult as children as constantly growing! That’s why we’re so excited about Warp Skates. Warp is an adjustable youth inline speed skate that comes in two sizes. Small Warps adjusts from sizes 12J-2 and large Warps adjusts to sizes 2-5. With Warp, parents can feel confident knowing that their child won’t quickly outgrowth their skates.

To stay up to date on the latest skates and skating center equipment, sign up for our newsletter now!