:) Florida Rinks

[singerskates]

Hi, I am going on vacation in a few weeks to Florida, St. Petersburg and Orlando. Which rinks have guest skating? How much does guest skating cost? If no guest skating, do they have walk on sessions or ticket ice? What about public ice? Is freeskating allow on public sessions in Florida?

I'm deciding if I want to take my skates with me or not.

Oh, what is the adult ice like in Florida rinks? Is freeskating allowed or is it just ice dance or public skating for adults?

[1lutz2klutz]

Adult skating in the Tampa Bay area is very supportive and welcomes new faces any time! The two major rinks in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area are Sunblades at 13940 Icot Boulevard in Largo (off US 19 and Ulmerton Rd.) and the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar (Tampa Rd. and Forest Lakes Blvd.) I skate on the early morning freestyle sessions at Tampa Bay, paying $10 for the 45 minute sesssion (walk on coupons). It's around the same price at Sunblades. Both have good open afternoon public sessions that are great for freestyle, dance, or just skating around. The adult session times tend to change a bit in the summer, so your best bet would be to call ahead to check times and dates. Phone number for Sunblades is727-530-3790 and for TBSA 813-854-4010. There are also small rinks in the Pinellas Park shopping center and in the Countryside Mall, but they tend to get really crowded on public sessions and it's hard to do any real practice on them. Hope you enjoy your time in Florida. If you need more info, you can contact me at skate@tampabay.rr.com :D

[Ice T]

Hi there! I skate at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy with 1lutz2klutz. I skate in the early morning and the last session in the afternoon. Right now, most of the skaters are on vacation, so it's pretty quiet on all the sessions, and we have lots of ice time during the summer schedule, which runs through July 31st. We have our annual USFSA Orange Blossom Open competition the first weekend in August, so if you want to compete, you could possibly submit a late entry. Check our website at www.tbsc.net

The adult only public sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoon and you get 2 hours of ice for $7.00. What a deal!! Plus, it is not crowded at all, you can do moves, dance, and freestyle, and even put your music on and go through your program.

Otherwise, it looks like 1lutz2klutz has covered everything pretty well! :)

Hope to meet you sometime this summer! :)