Within the past decade it has been more common for people to capture photos and videos on their phone rather than a traditional camera. With #SkateTok quickly gaining popularity over the past year, we’ve seen it for ourselves on the rink. If you’re looking to show off your skating moves on TikTok or just for yourself, we’ve come up with our 5 favorite techniques to capture them!

Panning Shot

Panning combines slow shutter speed and camera motion that is focused on your moving subject. You can keep the skater in focus while blurring the background. It is best in landscape mode. It is not an easy technique to master, but it is worth it once you do.

Invisible Motion

Invisible motion is a super cool technique. You photograph movement, but you don’t see the subject. An example of this is the light trials from cars, you can see the trial of lights but can’t see the cars on the road. For this to work best, you typically need a longer shutter speed. It will give your skater a ghostlike presence in the photo.

Blurred Images

Blurred images are some of the most popular. They can tell a great story as well and make the image look more like a painting. To accurately do this technique, you choose a longer shutter speed, focus on the subject, and then slighting move your phone from side to side.

Chronography

Chronography is when you capture movement by taking several images and combining them into one. It’s very popular in skating, skateboarding, and skiing to see the full range of motion in one image. You’ll want to have your phone on a tripod to prevent any camera shake and choose continuous shooting mode. From this, you’ll capture every range of motion and be able to put them all together using computer software like Adobe.

Timelapse

You can easily capture movement with a timelapse. Luckily enough, most smartphones now have a timelapse option. So it’s as easy as turning it into timelapse mode and recording!

Remember that with any of these techniques, practice makes perfect! With your new camera skills, you may have the next viral skating video on TikTok in no time. Remember while you’re practicing to come skate with us at Rainbow Rink!

When skating, sometimes there’s no way to avoid falling, bumping, scratching, or sliding, especially if you’re a new skater. So how can you protect your toes on the rink when you fall or slide? You need toe caps on your skates!

What are toe caps?

Toe caps, also known as toe guards, go on the nose of your skates. They not only protect your toes, but your skates as well. There are many variations of them. Most of them have a large hole for your toe stop and either one large hole or two smaller holes to run your laces through.

How do you put toe caps on your roller skates?

Because there is a space for laces and a space for the toe stops to go through the toe cap, you’ll need tools to help take the toe stop off and of course you’ll need your skates. Here’s how you add toe caps to your skates:

1. Remove the laces entirely and set them to the side.
2. Take the toe stop off, and set the bolt and washer to the side.
3. Once your laces and toe stop are off, you’re ready for toe covers.
4. Place toe covers on your skates and get everything lined up.
5. Then you’ll put the toe stop back on properly. The flow should be toe cover, bolt, washer, and then toe stop. That way you can hear the washer rattling if your toe stop becomes loose.
6. Get your toe stop to the height you prefer and tighten the bolt.
7. Then simply just lace back up your skate. There are many ways to lace your skates back up, you can choose which way looks and feels best to you.
8. Once you’ve got the skate laced back up, your toe cap should be secure on the skate.
9. Then repeat the process with your other skate!

We hope these tips help you preserve your toes and skates! Make sure your toes are protected next time you’re skating with us at Rainbow Rink!

You probably know that there are many different types of roller skating, but did you know there are even more types of skate wheels? There are certainly generic wheels for skates, but there are also wheels that were created for certain types of skating. When you’re looking at getting new wheels for your skates, it’s important to choose the right wheels for the type of skating you enjoy. Here are the 3 main categories of wheel differences you should look into before purchasing a new set of wheels:

Hardness

Wheel hardness can also be referred to as the grip level. You can find it as a number with an A behind it. The higher the number is, the harder the wheel and the less grip it has. For example, a high hardness with no grip would be 103A. When outdoor skating, a softer wheel is needed. Softer wheels will absorb more shock as you roll over cracks and any other small debris outside. A good wheel hardness to look at for outdoor skates would be 78A.

Size

Sometimes there are differences in the outer width and height of the wheels. The other measurements of the wheel are height and width and they are measured in millimeters (mm). If you tend to skate a certain style, it would be good to check with other skaters that skate that style to see what they prefer. Wheels also come in several heights. Large wheels make it easier to maintain speed, but smaller wheels are better for quick movement. It may take a bit of experimenting to decide which height is best for you and your skating style.

Hubs

There are 2 main styles of hubs, nylon and aluminum. Nylon is lighter and most common in skate wheels. Aluminum is sturdier and has less give to it. If you find yourself needing to change your wheels frequently, it may be time to invest in aluminum hubs.

We hope these tips help you choose the best roller skating wheels! We can’t wait to see your wheels hitting the rink at Rainbow Rink!

Summertime brings the warm, beautiful weather, long days, and fun activities! It’s time for you to start making your family’s 2022 summer bucket list. There are so many things you can do around Tonawanda, New York. It will be hard to fit everything in over just the few months of summer. Because of this, we put together a list of 5 things that need to be on your bucket list for summer 2022!

Saturday Morning Shopping

Get some fresh produce and other goods for your family at the North Tonawanda Farmers Market! Discover new fruits and veggies from local farmers, or pick up gifts and goodies from makers in the community. The farmer’s market is a great place to spend the day learning about nutrition, cooking, farming, and more with the whole family!

Practice Your Aim

Adventure Landing Buffalo is a great place to brush up on your mini golf skills. For a little extra competition, form teams and compete to see who’s the ruler of the course. Losing team buys the post-game ice cream!

Spend A Day On The Water

Get out on the water with Erie Canal Boat Company. Rent a few kayaks and enjoy beautiful weather, fresh air, and exercise while you explore all the beauty of the area from a new point of view.

Skate Your Worries Away

We couldn’t leave out a trip to see us at Rainbow Rink. Your family can skate along and have fun with us all day long.

Make sure to let us know that you’re doing our summer bucket list suggestions while you’re here!

Are you getting started roller skating for the first time? Maybe you’ve caught on to the skating trends on TikTok or YouTube and thought to yourself that you’d like to give it a go! Maybe you’re coming back to roller skating again after decades away from a rink, or helping your child learn how to skate and want to skate along with them. You could just want to get some extra exercise while avoiding the gym!

Reasons to Start Skating

No matter what category you fall into, you’re going to need a good pair of skates to get started roller skating. Yet, how do you know where to start? There’s so much information on the web, but how do you decipher all of it? At Rainbow Rink, we’re on a mission to get more people out on the rink! This blog post will help you find the best roller skates for beginners.

Beginner Skate Basics

A good beginner skate is comfortable, doesn’t leave you dealing with blisters, and has plenty of ankle support to keep you stable while you learn the basics. Look for a boot with plenty of padding and laces that go to the top of the boot for extra ankle stability. And don’t go for the most complicated, high-maintenance skates on the market for your first pair. Starting simple and choosing a skate that is ready-to-roll will help you stay motivated to keep practicing and not give up when the going gets tough!

Another major consideration when choosing your first pair of skates is location, location, location! Indoor rinks require different wheel hardness than outdoor surfaces like pavement or asphalt. Think about where you’re going to be doing most of your skating, and remember that most rinks won’t allow outdoor skates to be used on their indoor rink in order to avoid bringing in rocks and debris on the wheels that can damage the floor.

Your skate size is usually the same as your shoe size – snug but not pinching, and not so big that you’re tripping over your own feet. Balancing on skates can be a challenge at the beginning, so don’t complicate the process with the wrong size boot!

We hope this helps you get started on your roller skating journey! We can’t wait to see you out skating at Rainbow Rink!

Having a variety of skate skills can be so much fun! Instead of walking you through how to do some fun tricks on the rink, we wanted to show you. We compiled some of our favorite tricks of varying skill levels to share with you.

Here’s our list of great videos for tips to elevate your skating skills:

1. Beginner Tricks

You’ve mastered the rink, and now it’s time to start learning some tricks! The two foot jump, bunny hop, and spread are a great place to start. This video will have you learning all of these tricks in no time to show out to all your friends!

2. Learn To Dance

If you’re ready to get your groove on while you skate, start learning some easy dance moves from this video! You can add some spice to your skating out on the rink with these moves.

3. How To Spin

Everyone wants to learn how to spin on skates, because it looks so cool! This video will walk you through the process of learning how to. You’ll be spinning out in the middle of the rink very soon!

4. Trucking or Jam Skating  

Learn how to do the classic jam skating! Impress anyone from any generation with your moves and just get into the rhythm on the rink.

5. How To Do A Barrel Roll

How many people do you know that can do a barrel roll in skates? Probably not many! This video will take you through one of the hardest tricks on roller skates. Be patient with yourself, we know you’ll have it in no time!
We can’t wait to see you nailing these tricks at Rainbow Rink! We’ll see you soon!

Spring break is quickly approaching! That means it’s time to make some outing plans to ensure you and your kids don’t go stir-crazy inside of your house. We know what that feels like and wouldn’t want it to happen to you, so we’ve come up with some suggestions to help keep you sane.

Here’s some fun activities we think you should do on spring break:

1. Explore a park

A park day is the perfect idea for a beautiful, sunny day. Be sure to pack a picnic basket, blanket, outdoor toys, anything else to keep your kids having fun, and lots of water for everyone!

2. Learn something new

They may not want to take a learning opportunity over spring break, but look into what exhibitions your local children’s museums are having! If it’s something your children are interested in, take them! They’ll enjoy the experience without even realizing you tricked them into learning more during their week out of school!

3. Catch a movie

This is a perfect rainy day option over spring break! Take your children to the latest movie they’ve been begging you to see. Grab some popcorn and make it a whole family trip.

4. Make new animal friends

Though they may be a bit crowded during spring break, your kids will enjoy spending time with the animals or fishes and will also get some extra energy out of their systems while walking around.

5. Hit the rink

Of course, we couldn’t not mention roller skating! We’d love to have you here at Rainbow Rink anytime school is out!

We hope these tips help you stay sane during spring break, and to see you and your family rolling with us at Rainbow Rink!

Sometimes the things we love the most can cause us the most pain, and unfortunately skating can be a part of that. Roller skating can cause a variety of injuries to the foot with a variety of levels of discomfort. This can include pain on the bottom, top, or sides of the foot. 

Skating, along with other sports, can become difficult or even impossible without proper foot care. Thankfully, there are ways to relieve your pain from skating and prevent it from happening again in the future. 

Boot-Related Foot Pains

Poorly fitted skating boots can contribute to foot pain. Properly fitted boots can help you remain pain free and skating strong! You’ll want to avoid boots that are the wrong size, whether they are too small or too large, the boots will cause pain. Blisters are another thing to be aware of with ill fitting skate boots. Another thing to avoid is lacing your boots too tightly, which is known as lace bite or skate bite. Lacing your boots too tightly can irritate the soft tissue on the tops of your feet.

How To Prevent Pain

The best news is that most roller skating pain is completely preventable! Having skates that fit correctly and are properly padded is half of the battle. Another way to prevent skating pain is proper stretching and warmups before stepping on the rink. Lower body stretches that stretch out your lower back, hips, legs, and feet help gear your body for the exercise you do while skating.

Many skaters that have foot, ankle, or knee problems wear custom inserts that help align their skates properly. These gel inserts or heel supports can relieve pain during skating.

When foot pain occurs, it’s important to reduce or stop skating until the pain is completely gone. If you have any swelling or discomfort, elevate your affected foot and apply ice to the affected area for 20 minutes to reduce any pain or swelling.
If you’re interested in better fitting skates or ways to upgrade your skates to prevent foot pain, check out our Pro Shop. We hope these tips help you relieve and prevent skating pain!

Girls’ night out has been known to be one of the best nights of the week. There’s even research that proves girls’ night is good for your health! So be sure to take a girls’ night as often as possible with your besties and do a kid-free activity. At Rainbow Rink, we have an Adult Retro Skate for 18 and up every Wednesday night! 

Why should you spend your GNO at Rainbow Rink? We have 4 reasons for you:

Let loose and have fun!

We know skating probably isn’t your regular girls’ night activity, but why shouldn’t it be? During the Adult Retro Skate, it’ll be the perfect vibe for you and your girls to relax, skate, and just have fun!

Bond with your girls!

Life can sometimes get in the way of friendships. Having a regularly scheduled girls’ night is the perfect way to ensure that you will see your besties and spend quality time with them. Having your GNO at Rainbow Rink allows the bonding time to laugh, dance, and skate the night away!

Forget about stress!

Leave your stress at the door and just have fun! Trust us, you can’t dwell on your stress and skate at the same time. It’s virtually impossible!

Get a great workout!

You may not realize it while doing it, but skating is a great workout and has several health benefits! What better time to sneak in a little workout than while hanging out with your best girls?
On your next girls’ night out, be sure to come out and see us one Wednesday for our Adult Retro Skate from 8:00pm to 10:30pm. It’s $8 for admission and $4 for skate rental. We can’t wait to see you and all of your girls here at Rainbow Rink!