Hi, I've been lurking here for a few months and finally decided to take the plunge and sign up.

Currently I skate in Delaware and when I graduate from school, I will move to NJ. The closest rink to my new residence is the Raritan Valley FSC. Are any of you familiar with this rink and know if it offers morning freestyle sessions? How about other rinks in the NJ area?

Also where are good places to skate in the NJ/NY area? I used to skate at Sky rink when it was in the old building (somewhere near W33st). I've never been to the new Chelsea Piers location. It seems there are quite a few NY skaters here so maybe you can tell me what it's like to skate the morning sessions. How friendly are the morning sessions for beginners? Are they really crowded? What is the atmosphere like?

Thank you.

Hi there,

I live in Hudson County, New Jersey and skate out of the Ice House in Hackensack. I've never been to the Raritan Valley FSC facility so I can't really share information regarding that particular rink.

Regarding the sessions at the Ice House, I usually skate the obscenely early (5:50 am) sessions during the week, three times a week, and I skate for an hour and a half on Saturdays (7:40 am to 9:10 am). The weekday early morning sessions are pretty good. The majority of our adult contingent is present at these sessions along with a few kids. It's a pretty laid-back atmosphere which I guess is to be expected considering the un-Godly hour (5:50 am!! But I'm not bitter. ). The Saturday sessions had been much more animated than the weekday sessions since the majority of your younger skaters were gearing up for Norths up until last week. I'm not sure how these sessions will be after Norths.

I have occasionally skated at other arenas within the area. However, that was mostly for events and not for freestyle sessions so I don't think I can really comment on what those particular sessions are like.

Best of luck with your move out here and congratulations on your graduation.

Take care,

Frank

Soogar,


I may be able to help. What town will you be moving to?

Lwalsh

I'm moving to Sayreville, near New Brunswick.

Sorry, I thought posted to this thread.

I believe the Raritan Valley FSC skates out of Old Bridge Arena, a community rink. It's only partially enclosed, so it's not open year-round. Still, it's a very nice rink and the people are friendly. If you go to the USFSA website, you can get a current contact name and number for the Club. They don't appear to have a website.

Raritan Valley FSC used to have sessions at the Woodbridge Community Center, which is a stone's throw from the Woodbridge Mall. I don't see sessions on the rink website for the Club this year, so that may no longer be true. The rink does have a handful of freestyle sessions and clinics. It's year-round, one surface facility with a really cool roller rink next door.

If you don't mind crossing state lines, you can try the Staten Island Skating Pavilion, which has no Club, but very active freestyle sessions. There are two morning and two afternoon sessions each week. It's also a year-round, one surface facility.

You're also pretty close to Bridgewater Sports Arena. The SC of Bridgewater is a dual ISI/USFS Club that seems pretty nice. Their website is www.scob.org.

Chelsea Piers is a long trip from Sayreville.

Check out www.arenamaps.com for more rinks and welcome to the neighborhood.

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I can beat that! I skate twice a week at 5:30 AM on Long Island so that I can make it to work in Manhattan on time! Of course, I'm the only crazy adult up at that hour - it's all teenagers.

Thank you .

I'm trying to get a job in NYC which is why I asked about Chelsea. I figure that if I commute in on a daily basis, I'll be able to skate before or after work.

I used to skate at the old Sky Rink and sometimes Rockefeller Center when I worked in Manhattan. Makes the day go faster!

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