‘Skate Floor Etiquette’. First, let me define what the word etiquette means: *The customary code of polite behavior among a particular group* How does this relate to an adult skating session? I believe that skaters should skate their style while maintaining respect and consideration for other skaters around them. To explain in a more simple way, I would like to make an analogy. Analogy means "the process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject (skating) to another (freeway).

To me, skating at an adult skating session is like driving on the freeway. As a driver, everyone should understand ‘Freeway Etiquette': the inside lane is for faster cars, the middle lane is for medium-fast cars, and the outside lane is for slower cars. As drivers, if we did not have this understanding, there would be total chaos. People would be driving all over the place at whatever speed they wanted to drive without any consideration of other drivers. Well, believe it or not, skating at a public adult skate session works the same way, with a slight modification.

My thoughts are that we need four lanes of movement on a skate floor. Especially for adult skate sessions. The inside lane is for the slower skater; moving to the right are the intermediate skaters; to the right of them are the advanced skaters; and to the right of them is a two-foot safety zone around the skate floor for the very beginner skater. For session growth, it is important that the beginner skater not feel intimidated by the advanced skaters as they go around the skate floor. This established zone also allows skaters of all levels to get on and off the floor. It is not my intent to discredit anyone or to suggest that I know everything; I don’t! But I do know a lot because of my passion for skating and my skating involvement over the past 50 years throughout the greater Seattle, Washington, area.

At a public skating session,the skating floor is for skating, not standing to watch other skaters skate. 👎🏿 If your not skating, please don’t sit on the walls or stand in the center of the floor talking and not moving. This behavior stymies other skaters from really doing their skate thing. Instead of concentrating on the moves or skate routines, they worry about whether they will run into someone just standing there. No Good! This behavior also messes up the flow on the floor. So no one should be just standing in the center of the floor watching other skaters skate or just talking.

Management must set the tone and environment for making sure that their customers feel safe and entertained. This means that every skater that walks in the building must know that they are a guess and that they are there to be entertained in a safe manner. The worst way to destroy an adult session is to allow advanced skaters to take over. Then the session becomes their session and not entertainment by the vrink. Not! There must be a DJ who not only delivers the playlist in an energetic way but must also take time (2 to 3 minutes) to go over the session rules so that skaters know the rules. The DJ then must make short announcements throughout the session to remind skaters of the session rules.

In the past, the DJ would play music for the first 45 minutes, then stop all music while skaters were listening to the rules, and then the session would pick up again. Then there must be an adult, like a floor guard, who takes ownership of the skating floor to enforce skate ‘Floor Etiquette’ (skate floor rules). This process should be repeated every time the doors open for an adult session. I often hear that no one wants to follow the skate floor rules. Well, to those, I say, "You are welcome to skate outside, and then you have all the skate freedom you want. Last but not least, Rinks needs to start entertaining there adult customers. What happened, at least in the Northwest, as well as the order ‘National Skate Parties I have attended, Men’s Only, Women’s Only, Trios, (not together with trains) Trains, and Couples This would encourage skaters to develop more artistic and expressive movements through the specials being offered. The general rule at any skate session is that while skating, if skaters are passing you on your left side as you go around the skating floor, then you are going too slow to be on the outside. Except in the safety zone!"