Making the Most of Open Skates

by Veruc Assault


First off, awesome job for attending an Open Skate Session! The more time you spend on your skates, the more comfortable you will get on them!
When attending open skate, it is always a smart idea to wear your protective gear.
If you do not have gear at this time, take it easy! Some of the activities may be out of your comfort zone without proper protection, so work on getting comfortable rolling first and foremost. There will be plenty of time later for trick spins and jumps when you are geared up!
At open/session skates, the rinks provide games to entertain the skaters. A few of those games can actually help you practice your derby skills.

Red Light/Green Light

The object of this game is to listen to the caller, wait for them to call “Green Light,” skate fast! When the caller shouts “Red Light,” all movement must cease. The person to make it to the end of the rink first wins. This works on attentiveness, starts, stops, and falls. Use your toe stop runs to take off when “Green Light” is called. When “Red Light” is called you can use t-stops, plow stops or reverse toe stops. (All of these stops will be explained and taught during recruitment training!) However, the fastest way to stop is to practice one of your falls. Baseball slides and one knee falls work well with this game. Knee pads are really helpful, as no one wants bruised knees!

The Dice Game

The rink guard puts out four to six cones. Everyone starts skating in a counterclockwise direction when the music starts. When the music stops, you must find the nearest cone and stop! This is a great way to practice t-stops, plow stops, and reverse toe stops.

The Limbo

How low can you go?  You’ll have to bend those knees!

Cha Cha Slide/Hokey Pokey

Get out there and enjoy these with the kids! It will help you with stepping and lateral movements. Keep your head up while moving your feet from side to side. On the Cha Cha Slide you will work on your hopping on skates.

Speed Skate

The rink guard sets up two cones and splits the skaters by by age and/or gender. Then skaters are allowed to skate as fast as they can around the two cones for a song or two. This will test your endurance, and you will be able to practice your crossovers! Always try to catch up with the person in front of you. Keep going and don’t stop! You can do it!

Cautions

Always remember that there will be people around you. Some of those people are little and are using skate mates. Avoid them at all costs. You don’t want to plow into a small child. You also need to watch out for the people skating the opposite direction then they should be. Always follow the rink rules and listen to the floor guards.
Lastly, Friday nights are usually teen nights. They are very crowded. It is good practice for weaving and avoiding unexpected falling objects.