Do I Need A Secondary Skating Rink?

I didn’t think I’d be doing this so soon, but I am looking at a secondary rink to skate at. I love my home rink, the Onyx, but I am getting kind of sick of seeing the same people over and over again. It is also too far from work, so if I get a half day job it doesn’t make sense for me to drive out there to skate a half hour.

I visited a rink in Royal Oak yesterday evening and it was okay. It’s a small rink and after talking to the workers for a bit I quickly noticed that they have a very small tight knit skating community. It also seems as if they have a decent sized adult skating community in their skating club, more than that in Rochester. I figured I would give it a try a few times, it couldn’t hurt right? Plus, if I end up working near there next year I could set up some contract ice time before work. I picked up a learn to skate flyer on my way out. They have a Thursday night adult class that begins next week. If I signed up for this class I would meet some other adult skaters and I would ultimately get to skate Wednesday-Sunday (week breakdown below) every week without a work conflict!

You guys know me pretty well by now if you’ve been keeping up with this blog. Ice time is precious time and I will take what I can get. If I sign up for this class I can stop skating during the day while I should be focused on other priorities and just skate in the evenings.

Now unfortunately I need to seriously start considering my finances and how much I am spending on this sport. I am literally dropping hundreds every month on private lessons, group lessons, competitions, the gym membership, and skate gear. If I sign up for this class it’s almost another $100 for an extra night to skate every week. Gahh!

I have until next Thursday to make up my mind, I should know by then if I want to make this jump. I know I need the extra practice time, especially with my first competition coming up. I just don’t know if it’s feasible.

Skating Breakdown -

Wednesday Evening - Adult Class at Onyx (1.5-2 hours)

Thursday Evening - Adult Class at Royal Oak (1.5 hours)

Friday Evening - Private Lesson at Onyx (1.5-2 hours)

Saturday - Open Skate (1.5 hours)

Sunday - Open Skate (1.5 hours)