Going to ISI school for arena management

[dbny]

My company (that laid me off in March) offers an education grant, and I have just decided to use part of it for iAim, the ISI school for ice arena management, programming, and operations. My fantasy is to land a job running a rink after we move. The next one week session starts Sept 29, in Marlboro, MA. Has anyone ever been to one of these? I'm kind of hoping it will work out for my husband to go also, but I'll go alone if not.

[Black Sheep]

Sounds like a great career move. Good luck! ;)

[TashaKat]

Originally posted by dbny
My company (that laid me off in March) offers an education grant, and I have just decided to use part of it for iAim, the ISI school for ice arena management, programming, and operations. My fantasy is to land a job running a rink after we move. The next one week session starts Sept 29, in Marlboro, MA. Has anyone ever been to one of these? I'm kind of hoping it will work out for my husband to go also, but I'll go alone if not.

Wow, that sounds GREAT, what a fantastic opportunity :) Good luck :)

L x

[Mrs Redboots]

Sounds great, DB - go for it! When you consider how most of us moan about our management, having a skater running a rink would be our dream.....

[dbny]

Thanks for the encouragement. Truthfully, I'm a bit scared. It looks like I'm going alone. I've always been able to talk to strangers pretty easily in the right environment. I just hope this is not one of those situations where everyone already knows each other, that could be difficult. I also just found out there is a test at the end....duh. I can't remember the last time I took a test.

Does anyone know if there is any skating near Marlboro? If I have any time in the evenings I'm hoping to skate.

[TashaKat]

Originally posted by dbny
Thanks for the encouragement. Truthfully, I'm a bit scared. It looks like I'm going alone. I've always been able to talk to strangers pretty easily in the right environment. I just hope this is not one of those situations where everyone already knows each other, that could be difficult. I also just found out there is a test at the end....duh. I can't remember the last time I took a test.

:) You'll probably find that they DON'T all know each other but even if they do you'll be fine. You are going to be there with people who want to do the same thing as you, you already have things in common before you even open your mouth! You'll also probably be suprised at how much you alrady know, of course there are things that you don't know, and things that will be looked at from a different perspective BUT you have a 'unique' viewpoint in that you can see it from you customers point of view (our manager sees it from a hockey point of view! nuff said :roll: ). You are so lucky in that you have the opportunity to fulfill your dream :) Very few people get that opportunity these days ..... enjoy every minute and let us know how it goes :D

Good luck

L x

[kar5162]

Originally posted by dbny
Does anyone know if there is any skating near Marlboro? If I have any time in the evenings I'm hoping to skate.

There is a 4 rink complex in Marlboro...they held Sectionals there 2 years ago. You can check the New England Figure Skating website for more info and I think the rink has a website too.

Good luck with the school.

[garyc254]

Way to go, Dinah!!!!!

I'm jealous of your opportunity. You'll do terrific. You'll probably get lots of interesting info to share with us.

Here's a site that could help looking up rinks.

http://www.arenamaps.com./

Just plug in "Massachusetts", then search.

VERY COOL,
Gary

[Mazurka Girl]

dbny, enjoy the seminar. You can also obtain a PSA rating in rink management which I would highly recommend. Maybe your grant fund will help subsidize that too. If you really want to go into this business, check out park & municipal rinks. They often have a lot more job opportunities & more (and/or better paying) mid-management level jobs for new employees. In our area, they are more consistent in pay scales & have much better benefits than the private rinks.

[Stormy]

The New England Sports Center is MY rink and I had no idea they were even running that seminar!! Maybe I'll check it out....

[dbny]

Stormy, I don't know if it has anything to do with the New England Sports Center. The course is being offered by the ISI. You can find the info here Ice Skating Institute (http://www.skateisi.com/) Select "educational programs", then "managers/operators iaim".