Rinks in Boston

[Verena]

Hi all!
I am going to be in Boston on 14-19 of July. I would really like to find a rink to practice on these days. Actually, I am going to be at the Boston University. Does anybody know any rinks that have practicing hours on these days and that are close to the Boston University?

Thanks!

[SynchroSk8r114]

I'm not from anywhere near Boston, but my university competed up there this past February. The rink we skated at was the Walter A. Brown Memorial Skating Pavillion - more specifically, I think the rink was the Walter Brown Arena. I'm pretty sure this is where the Boston University FSC skates out of. It was a nice little rink, and we had a great time there! Everyone was really nice! Here's a link to the BUFSC Web site - maybe that'll help you out...

Boston University FSC:
http://people.bu.edu/bufsc/

Boston University Fitness & Recreation Center:
http://fitrec.bu.edu/facilities/more/brown.html
This has information (not sure how up-to-date it is) about the Water Brown Arena, such as hours, free skate times, and a map to the rink. It's actually really easy to get to if you're riding the T...

Have fun in Boston - it was a lot of fun exploring the city. We were right around Boston University, so there's lots to do and neat little shops around the rink! :D

[icedancer2]

I haven't lived in Boston for 14 years but there are rinks EVERYWHERE but a lot are not open in the summer. The Skating Club of Boston, although not really near BU/Northeastern, is open all summer - they are open to guests but I would call first to find out their walk-on policy.

Have a great time! I miss Boston and especially the skating there! Awesome!

[BigBaaadBob]

Please do stop in at The Skating Club of Boston. See http://www.scboston.org/ for schedules, etc. It's a place full of skating history and the home of the current Junior World Champ, Steven Carriere, and lots of other great skaters, but it is also friendly for Adults, etc. Full Disclosure: it's my club and I'm kinda proud... :P

[WJLServo]

Live a bit North of Boston, so I keep pretty good track of rink schedules in North Suburbs & up into Southern NH. Do know a few "in town" rinks. In particular, like a lot of colleges in town, BU runs their own ice rink:

BU's own rink:
http://fitrec.bu.edu/facilities/more/brown.html

And, of course, there is SCOB:

Skate Club of Boston
http://www.scboston.org/

Facilities Management Corporation runs rinks all over Massachusetts, with a few rinks in town:

FMC Rinks:
http://www.fmcarenas.com/PublicSkating.htm

The Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation (used to be known as ) runs some in town rinks, a few near to BU, but, not at all sure that any of them have summer ice; the DCR rink near my home town does not. In any event, can reach them at:

Daly Memorial Rink
Nonantum Rd
Brighton, MA
(617)527-1741

Reilly Memorial Rink
Cleveland Circle
355 Chestnut Hill Ave
Brighton, MA 02135
(617)277-7822

[Verena]

Thank you all of you! I have some probably stupid questions.. Do I have to make an application to just walk in the rink (as a non-member) and skate in the free skate sessions? Since I am an adult, I have to look for skating sessions that are only for adults? How are public skating sessions? I mean, are people allowed to practice jumping and spinning during them?

V.

[icedancer2]

I do't know about walk-on freestles, as I only danced and skated publics while I lived in Boston - the dance sessions were literally walk-ons - they kind of would say, "well, as long as it's not too crowded", but it never was (SCOB) and you could skate.

The public sessions there, though, were WILD - they had a Tuesday night session that started around 8:30 that was Adult only, but there were usually literally hundreds of people on the ice, especially in the summer... Saturday afternoon wasn't much better. You could jump and spin on them (in the center) but why would you try?

So, I guess that's not really useful, but if you were going to look into the Tuesday night session, if they still have it, I would be warned that it might be very crowded!

Have fun in Boston, though - it's a great skating town!!

[BigBaaadBob]

I have some probably stupid questions.. Do I have to make an application to just walk in the rink (as a non-member) and skate in the free skate sessions? Since I am an adult, I have to look for skating sessions that are only for adults?

Speaking for SCOB (which is an all-day figure skating facility), some of the sessions are only for club members and the rest are available for the general public. The sessions (which are generally 50 minutes) are restricted by test level, but quite a number of them include either no-test or low-test. Also, the sessions are restricted by discipline (i.e., there are ice dance sessions which are only for ice dance, free skating sessions only for free skating, and moves sessions only for moves). All of that is listed on the schedule available at the link that has been posted above.

The so-called "public" sessions are primarily for recreational/social skating as noted by icedancer2 above. There is an evening public session specifically for adults that is interesting because they sometimes have a live organist playing, and have called rotations of various kinds of skating. It is a kind of immersion in skating history and I'm ashamed to say that even though I'm an adult skater and a member of the club I've never skated during that session.

The club has a large adult skating community (both ice dance and free skating). At SCOB there are no adults-only free-skating or ice-dance sessions: if you qualify by test level you are welcome to skate on the (open) session if there is room. There is however a weekly adults-oriented basic skills session, but it isn't available for drop-ins. It also has a strong social program including weekly Friday-night dinners (for members and guests) with skating exhibitions during the Club season which is roughly September through June.

Also, the Club hosts the Adult Theatre-on-ice team "Imagica" which has won the US International TOI championship adult division the last two years running. They practice late Sunday evenings.

You are expected to be a member of US Figure skating (which includes a basic skills membership) or member of an organization that reciprocates with USFS. This is for insurance purposes.

[icedancer2]

The so-called "public" sessions are primarily for recreational/social skating as noted by icedancer2 above. There is an evening public session specifically for adults that is interesting because they sometimes have a live organist playing, and have called rotations of various kinds of skating. It is a kind of immersion in skating history and I'm ashamed to say that even though I'm an adult skater and a member of the club I've never skated during that session.



LOL - I used to go to these sessions before I got re-hooked on dance in a big way - the sessions were wild with hundreds of people as I mentioned before, but then they would turn down the lights for a bit, put on the colored, rotating lights and play the organ (actually the organ often played for the entire session) and they would ask that just couples skate around the ice - mostly it was just the recreational skaters skating around in Killian position or maybe hand-in-hand. It was definitely a time harkening back to another time in skating and was kind of sweet.

Bigbadbob I wonder if I know you - did you used to skate and live in NH?

[cecealias]

I skated at SCOB last summer because it was the only place open in the Boston Area I could find in the middle of August. They are pretty nice about letting visitors skate, however the sessions are expensive and short (compared to CA).

Also, don't even think about trying to skate higher level moves or FS if you are on a lower level session. They WILL kick you off (guess how I learned :giveup: )

[Verena]

Hi again!

Finally, after thorough search, I have concluded that the only place I can skate in Boston this time of year is the Scating Club of Boston. Fortunately, this is better than nothing. I have downloaded their summers schedule, but I need some clarifications..
What level are the sessions:
Free Sr/Nov
Free Sr/Int
Free Juv/No
Free No/Juv
Free Sr/ Prel
Free Sr/Juv
...
Does each combination mean something different?
My level of jumps is axel/double jumps - (still learning them)
Which ones of th above combinations fit best my level?

Thanks!

[blue111moon]

Those are the ranges of test levels allowed on each session.

Your best bet is to call the office and talk to them. Boston's pretty busy during the summer and some of the open sessions could already be full.