Rink schedule logistics

[eonice]

Someone help me make sense of this. I know it's up to the individual business to set hours and of course there are variations, however the common theme I've observed is:

* early to mid-morning: freestyle
* mid-morning to mid-afternoon: public
* mid-afternoon to late afternoon: freestyle
* Friday night: public
* Saturday night: public
* Saturday/Sunday early to mid-morning: freestyle
* Saturday/Sunday mid-morning to late afternoon: public

On weekdays, after the last freestyle, some rinks may have a hockey game or two, but before/after that...nothing. Same with Sunday night. So basically, the ice is just sitting there. Also, who are daily public sessions for in the middle of the day if adults are working and kids in school? What is the reasoning behind these business decisions?

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Some potential reasons, off the top of my head:

1. Might be a challenge to find staff—esp a Zamboni driver—willing to work late hours. Also, rink may not be able to afford paying staff for evening work.

2. Maintaining ice quality. Ice has a limited lifespan. Some ice surfaces may not be able to handle an extra ~10 resurfacings per week and a rink may not want to replenish with a mid-season flood.

3. Interest. Maybe there just aren't enough bodies coming in to warrant keeping the lights on?

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

As for sessions during the day, I think you are forgetting that many competitive skaters use that ice time (and receive alternative educational instruction). Additionally, there are adults—many retirees, remote workers, and people who have more flexible schedules—that can take advantage of these hours. I can only speak of my experiences at my rink, but we have well-attended daytime adult-only sessions.

We also offer evening adult-only sessions, which is the reason I plunk down a wad of cash every year to skate there, as its incredibly compatible with my work schedule.

 

[gkelly]

I think it varies depending on the rink/location. Some rinks have a lot of hockey time scheduled and not much freestyle. Some offer dedicated ice dance sessions. Most offer some sort of learn-to-skate lesson times.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

Some of the rinks near me have hockey games scheduled from 6am-8am, and from about 3pm until 1am, if not later, in season. The very late games are for the adult leagues.

The mid-day publics and freestyles at the rinks near me tend to vary in the numbers of skaters on them. The mid day publics attract adults, college students, and also school groups who come on buses. The rink also holds "learn to skate" classes for homeschooled kids on these sessions. The freestyles are used by adults and elite level skaters. In my area, most of the elite level skaters skate during what are traditional "work hours".

 

[overedge]

It also depends who's setting the schedule. The rink I skate at is owned by the city, and at the start of every season, each sport that uses the ice sends a club/league representative to a meeting with the facility manager. They look at what each sport needs in terms of ice hours, and work out something that makes everybody satisfied, if not happy.

I think skating is a bit more challenging to schedule than other sports because there can be a wide age range among the participants, and different age groups can or can't be on the ice at certain times. Also, different kinds of skating need separate ice times. E.g. you can't put learn-to-skate classes on the ice at the same time as higher-level competitive skaters, and you can't put synchro teams on the ice at the same time as singles skaters.

 

[ZilphaK]

Curious: If your rink offers programming throughout the day, what kinds of other programming and classes seem to be most popular, bring in the most people? For example, Mommy and Me type classes or Adult Learn To Skate? How about things like special passes for public ice (monthly or seasonal) or other ways ice is sold that's outside the ordinary?

 

[spinZZ]

How about things like special passes for public ice (monthly or seasonal) or other ways ice is sold that's outside the ordinary?

For public sessions, one rink I go to offers a pre-paid pass (12 sessions for the price of 10). Another offers a rewards card that's even better, since it requires no pre-payment: skate 4 sessions, the 5th is free. Other specials include half-price admissions at certain sessions, and discounts for kids, seniors, and military.

I've come across monthly or seasonal passes for freestyle, but not for public.

 

[spinZZ]

Also, who are daily public sessions for in the middle of the day if adults are working and kids in school?

I'm retired now, so I'm grateful for weekday morning public sessions. Depending on the rink, there's a mix of:

* Retirees
* Working adults on flex-time (especially those who are self-employed); or working adults who work second or third shift
* Workers who work close to the rink and have the freedom to take an extended lunch break
* Stay-at-home moms (or dads) with pre-school kids; sometimes it's grandma or grandpa looking after pre-school grandkids
* College students and professors who don't have classes that morning
* Home-schooled kids [not die-hard figure skaters] who need to fulfill phys-ed requirements
* Home-schooled kids who are die-hard figure skaters [that is, they are specifically home-schooled to allow them access to more ice time]